Results 7,721-7,740 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I have just received the report referred to by the Deputy, which relates to the sustainability of the existing funding framework for higher education. The report, which was undertaken by the Higher Education Authority, was submitted to me on Monday of this week. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between funding levels, the scale of growth and the maintenance of...

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am not entirely sure why a report that is the product of another body has come to me first. It has not come as a draft report. The report has been completed. I will make inquiries to find out why that has happened. I will take on board the Deputy's point that the report should get into the public domain as soon as possible.

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy knows, these matters are still under consideration. Budgetary decisions have yet to be finalised. I will bear in mind what the Deputy has said.

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I do not know how many times it has to be conveyed to the Fianna Fáil Party that this country has lost its economic sovereignty. It was signed away 12 months ago by a Government of which Deputy Smith was a member. We control neither the chequebook nor the policy in relation to a range of items of public expenditure. We have to work within that constraint. We will do whatever we can to...

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand what the Deputy is saying. I also understand why he is saying it.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together. I do not propose to give any specific commitment on the overall number of teaching posts in the education sector or on any changes to the pupil-teacher ratio and the impact it could have. These are issues that I am considering with my colleagues in Cabinet in the context of the forthcoming budget discussions and meeting our obligations under...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy has been in the House for many years and she knows that asking a specific budgetary question three weeks from budget day is like trying to ask about the outcome of a football match before the game is over. It is still on. The Deputy will get all the answers to all the questions in due course but I need time to discuss them first with my Cabinet colleagues.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I share the concern of the Deputy and I am endeavouring to do the best I can in regard to these matters. However, as a former Minister, the Deputy will know that in Departments such as the Department of Health or the Department of Education and Skills, in particular, 80% of the budget is centred around salaries and related costs. Therefore, the room for manoeuvre is confined to that 20%...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Teachers will be supported in implementing junior cycle reform through the professional development service for teachers, focusing on the syllabus changes, assessment and school moderation. The assessment and consideration of the resource implications of the proposals have begun. These will, of course, fall to be considered in the normal way by Government in the context of the Estimates and...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I do not know why there is such concern in the history and geography teaching communities about a fall-off in the study of their subjects. The take-up in the junior certificate examination this year was 90.2% for history and 91.5% for geography, making them the fifth and fourth most popular subjects respectively. While in the leaving certificate the percentages differ due to a wider range...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The courses offered at the teacher training colleges will go from three to four years while the HDip offered in other education institutions will be extended from a one-year course to a two-year course. The concentration of the extra time and resources will be on pedagogic skills. As the Deputy can testify, and from all the advice I have received, a good teacher is a good deliverer of good...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I have endorsed the broad thrust of the proposals on junior cycle reform submitted to me by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA, in October 2011 following an extensive consultation process. It envisages all students will be expected to achieve 24 statements of learning over the three years of their junior cycle. These include developing an understanding of the natural...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: There are some statistics available on the number of subjects junior cycle students take. I will make them available to Deputies later to better inform them of the situation. The Deputy is correct that we have suggested that schools, on a voluntary basis, could reduce the number of subjects in which junior certificate examinations are taken to figure out the implications of the cap....

School Staffing (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Applications for part-time language support at primary level relate to schools that have less than 14 eligible pupils for language support. Decisions on these applications were deferred until the autumn, having regard to the overall level of demand for full-time language support and other upward pressures on teacher numbers in the context of operating under a fixed ceiling on teacher...

School Staffing (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Donegal school in question has 183 pupils and 13 teachers including the school principal. That works out at a pupil-teacher ratio of approximately 14 pupils per teacher, which is a good ratio by normal standards but there may be different factors involved. If there are some difficulties in the communication to which the Deputy referred he might send me a note or we can discuss it with a...

Schools Building Projects (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Enrolments at primary level are expected to grow by 45,000 pupils between now and 2018. The priority is to focus on meeting the need for additional school places. My Department has identified a requirement for new schools in the Tallaght area to cater for increasing demographics. These new schools will also serve to strengthen diversity of school provision in the area based on parental...

Schools Building Projects (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department has given me some background information the Deputy may wish to hear which I will put on the record of the House. The school in question is Scoil Chaithlín Maude. It is a gaelscoil that shares a campus with two English medium primary schools, Knockmore Junior and Knockmore Senior. The gaelscoil is housed in temporary accommodation and also has access to four surplus...

Departmental Expenditure (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department's capital allocation this year is €501 million. This allocation is assigned to eight subheads of which the schools building programme and investment in higher education are the largest. At the end of October, €367 million or almost 75% of the allocation was expended. In terms of the overall allocation 83% is assigned to the school building programme and at the end of...

Departmental Expenditure (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: It is very good management.

Departmental Expenditure (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: No. In terms of the expenditure, the entire capital programme will be spent-----