Results 6,701-6,720 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

School Enrolments (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: We had envisaged that there would be increases of more than 45,000 primary school pupils and 24,900 post-primary pupils, excluding post-leaving certificate students, between now and 2018. The 2011 census did not change that. We have to provide new schools and extensions to existing schools as well as additional teachers to cater for the increased number of pupils. Detailed analysis is...

School Enrolments (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am satisfied that it will do so. I am not sure if the Deputies opposite have had an opportunity to examine the new geographical information storage system which tracks the locations where child benefit, for example, is paid. I will raise it at the relevant committee of the House to ensure the system is available to every Member. Deputy Wallace might be interested in it. We now know the...

School Enrolments (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I will have that arranged.

School Enrolments (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Two separate issues arise from the Deputy's question. Parents in built-up areas might prefer to send their child to a gaelscoil or an Educate Together school but cannot do so. They might prefer the local Church of Ireland school, but it might be full because its numbers have grown and it is obliged to give priority to members of the Church of Ireland community. Such parents might end up...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Each main contractor that is engaged in a major school building project is required to produce a performance bond before it commences works. The bond provides security for the State if the contractor becomes insolvent and is no longer in a position to complete a contract. If such a scenario arises before the building is completed, a completion contractor can be appointed to complete the...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: A number of contractors that were undertaking schools building projects have gone into receivership. They are in suspended animation, in effect, because they are not performing. The sites in question will have to be taken back. The contractual procedures in the building industry can be quite elaborate. If the Deputy wishes to inquire about specific projects, I invite him to table a...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I know from my previous background as an architect that in recessionary times, contractors sometimes undercut other tenders or bids when a project goes out to tender. They are hoping to buy work, in effect, and subsequently claim extras to recoup the margin and bring the project into profit. I understand that under contract law, the client - the building section of the Department in this...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Yes. It is something that concerns me already because there have been bankruptcies in a number of projects. One must put the completion of the contract out for re-tender and that process is cumbersome, slow and, as a result, costly. It also delays the delivery of the final product for the students and teachers.

School Staffing (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am committed to ensuring that schools employ registered teachers who have the qualifications needed for teaching in recognised schools. This is important in terms of quality provision to pupils and in ensuring qualified and registered teachers can secure employment. My Department recently issued a circular requiring schools to prioritise teachers over unregistered persons and appropriately...

School Staffing (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy opposite, Deputy Crowe and I were at the INTO conference in Sligo just after Easter at which time this issue was hotly debated. It really must be brought to the attention of everybody involved that on short notice it is the principal who is the person who hires the substitute teacher if somebody reports sick or cannot attend. The INTO has given a clear indication to all of its...

School Staffing (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: We will be moving to have in place by autumn a system whereby the school will make available a panel of substitute teachers that it has in mind should a necessity to hire somebody arise and that panel will be open to scrutiny by members of the school community, the board of management and the parents, and perhaps by a wider public if that is necessary. At the same time, teachers who are...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As Minister, I do not make individual decisions regarding the allocation of special needs assistants to a particular child. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is responsible for allocating SNAs to schools. The NCSE is in the process of advising schools of their SNA allocations for the coming school year. Some 10,575 whole-time equivalent posts are being provided for the coming...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand the concern the Deputy expressed. I have had it expressed to me by parents in my constituency and around the country, and by many of the Fine Gael and Labour backbench Deputies. I hope the NCSE will be able to respond to the kind of comment Deputy Crowe and others have made in this regard. The value for money report is a revealing document and should be read carefully by every...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am unsure what the response to getting the statistical data on a county basis will be but I will make inquiries in that regard. If the data are available I will make them available to all Deputies in the House and to Senators as well. The position regarding holding back a certain number of posts was genuinely misunderstood across the sector at the time. It was a good management...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My officials are working on the preparation of legislation to give effect to the Government decision to reconfigure the VEC sector. This will take the form of a Bill that will consolidate the existing nine separate tranches of legislation. Ultimately, the timeframe for implementation of the decision will depend on the passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas. Consequently, it is...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: No. We are consolidating nine separate tranches of legislation. The first Vocational Education Committee Act was in 1930. Since then and as recently as 2001, for various reasons there has been various amending legislation. We are using the reconfiguration of the 33 VECs to update and consolidate into one Act all the relevant legislation regarding the operation of the VECs. We are...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, there are 33 VECs currently. Within that structure, 22 of the chief executive officers, CEOs, are permanent and the others are acting at present. The union representing the 22 CEOs on a professional basis, SIPTU, is in discussion with the Department to evolve a mechanism that will enable the 16 CEO designates for the new entities to be identified in a manner...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: There is similar thinking on this side of the House in respect of that matter. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, will have responsibility for taking the training element that was FÁS into the space currently occupied by the further education sector and bringing together the disparate elements of the further education components of VEC activities along with what...

Higher Education Grants (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The economic circumstances of the country are such that the decision by the previous Government to introduce a new student contribution charge of €2,000 from this September cannot be reversed. The programme for Government commits the Government to implementing the decisions of the 2011 budget, which was passed by the last Dáil. The new student contribution will replace the previous...

Higher Education Grants (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision to increase the student contribution from €1,500 to €2,000 was made in December 2010. The election took place in February and the programme for Government adopted in full - because the incoming Government had no other option - the entire array of economic decisions contained in that budget of 2011. This included the increase by one third of the student service charge as it...