Results 7,421-7,440 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: To satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course.The objective of this policy is to help as many students as...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The allocation for student grants in 2011 is just over €386m. This is an increase of some 5% or €19m over the 2010 provision. Preliminary information supplied by the 66 grant awarding authorities indicates that some 72,500 students were in receipt of a grant for the 2010/2011 academic year. A comparable figure for 2011/2012 will not be available until the end of the academic year. The...

Written Answers — Schools Funding: Schools Funding (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I refer the Deputy to the decision of the previous Government to increase the pupil/teacher ratio in schools and to remove certain funding from Protestant fee-charging schools in the Budget of October 2008.There are currently 55 fee-charging second level schools in the country, of which 20 are Protestant, two Inter-denominational, one Jewish and the remaining 32 Catholic. It is estimated that...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Since my appointment as Minister, the following appointments have been made to the Boards of the Bodies under the aegis of my Department. Mr. Eamonn Devoy, Mr. Tony Donohoe, Professor Anne Scott, Ms. Maria Bourke and Ms. Audrey Deane were all appointed to the Board of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) with effect from end March 2011. While the terms of office for these...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to clarify that the recruitment and deployment of SNAs within schools are matters for the individual Principal/Board of Management. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of...

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The proposal referred to by the Deputy has been received and a direct response will issue as soon as possible. The 20 year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030 contains a number of actions relating to improving the quality of Irish teaching. A working group has recently been established, under the auspices of the Department of Community, Equality and the Gaeltacht, to scope out and...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that a technical inspection was carried out by my Department's officials at the school to which he refers in September 2011. The information gathered during the visit is currently being examined to determine the level and configuration of development that the site is capable of hosting. My Department will be in contact with the school authorities as soon as this...

Written Answers — Curaclam Scoile: Curaclam Scoile (13 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Táim díreach tar éis comhairle na Comhairle Náisiúnta Curaclaim agus Measúnachta (CNCM) a fháil faoi leasúchán ar an Teastas Sóisearach. Doiciméad creatlaí é seo agus níl aon mhionsonraí suntasacha ann i dtaobh na sonraíochtaí d'ábhair aonair. Táim tar éis tosú ar chomhairle na Comhairle Náisiúnta Curaclaim agus Measúnachta a bhreithniú agus níl aon chinneadh...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is examining the accommodation needs of the school to which he refers. My officials will be in further contact with the school authorities as soon as this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The provision of a new building for the school to which the Deputy refers necessitates the acquisition of a suitable site. This is actively being pursued by my Department. Due to the commercial sensitivities attaching to site acquisitions generally, I am not in a position to comment further on this aspect of the matter at this time. Once a site has been acquired, the advancement of a...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Major Building Project at this school is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The design team is working on stage 2(b) of architectural planning, which includes applications for planning permission, fire certificate and disability access certificate and the preparation of tender documents. Planning permission was granted on 22 February 2011. Upon completion of stage 2(b),...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: In arriving at my decisions on the location of headquarters of merged VECs, I considered a range of factors including the need to ensure the location of a VEC headquarters will, to the greatest extent possible, facilitate staff redeployment under a redeployment scheme within the context of the Croke Park agreement and the need to operate at lowest cost having regard to the accommodation...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I regret that the information requested by the Deputy is not collated by the student grant awarding authorities.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: An application for redundancy in respect of the person referred to by the Deputy was received by my Department on 9 September 2011. Redundancy applications are processed in date order of receipt. Every effort is being made to process these applications as quickly as possible. Applications received in December 2010 and January 2011 are currently being processed. The priority of the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Once a site has been acquired, the advancement of a building project will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in view of the priority being given to school applications for essential mainstream classroom accommodation to meet demographic demands which will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The school to which the Deputy refers has applied to my Department for funding for the provision of a General Purpose Room. In accordance with the agreed criteria for the prioritisation of projects, the application was assessed and assigned a Band 3 rating. Given the current financial constraints within which my Department is operating, the position is that priority is being given to school...

Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Currently under the terms of my Department's Free Fee Initiative the Exchequer meets the cost of tuition fees in respect of eligible students who are pursuing full-time undergraduate courses of study which are a minimum of two years duration in an approved higher education institution. The main conditions of the scheme are that students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Oct 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Under Special Education's Assistive Technology Scheme, the Department provides funding to schools towards the cost of assistive technology for pupils in primary schools and special schools for personal computers and specialist software. However, funding is not provided towards the cost of communication devices. On 08 September 2011, a letter issued to The Principal of Nagle Rice Primary...