Results 8,121-8,140 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

School Staffing (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Let me respond very clearly. Section 9(c) is not being changed. It stands, and the schools have an obligation to adhere to the 1998 Act, including section 9(c). Second, school guidance is not being eliminated from the schools and guidance counsellors are not being eliminated. That is scaremongering and it is simply not the case. I accept the advice and findings of the ESRI on this matter....

Written Answers — FÁS Training Programmes: FÁS Training Programmes (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand from FÁS that the budget allocation for the scheme in question, the Redundant Apprentice Placement Scheme for 2011, has been fully committed and consequently FÁS is not in a position to issue any further contracts at present. FÁS has made an application for approval for a Redundant Apprentice Placement Scheme for 2012 to assist redundant apprentices to complete the minimum...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93, 108 to 111, inclusive, and 119 together. As part of the Budget 2012 decisions that have been announced, the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative will be cease at the end of the 2011/2012 school year. The savings from this measure will go towards the cost of implementing the new National Literacy & Numeracy Strategy, which is a key commitment in...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department is currently considering the application referred to by the Deputy and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The table provides details of the Subhead Allocations for Vote 26: Education and Skills as contained in the 2011 Revised Estimates Volume. A provisional outturn for 2011 will not be available until early January 2012. At the end of November, however, gross expenditure of €7.917 billion was equivalent to approximately 89% of the allocation. 2011 allocated budget for Department of Education...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos 96 to 99, inclusive, together. While difficult choices had to be made to identify savings across my Department's budget, the Government has tried to protect front line services in 2012. The Government has protected the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level, prioritised targeted support for the most disadvantaged schools and maintained the overall number of...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The new single allocation for the General Allocation Model (GAM) and language support will be based on the number of classroom teaching posts in each school in the previous school year. This simplified approach to (GAM) will make it easier to automatically update it annually in line with the changes in the number of classroom teachers in each school. The staffing schedule is the long...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy 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 primary and post primary schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Government has prioritised targeted supports for schools with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage. These supports will continue to be targeted through the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) scheme, which is focussed on 670 primary schools and 195 post-primary schools with particularly high levels of disadvantage. This scheme is designed to ensure...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: While difficult choices had to be made to identify savings across my Department's remit, the Government has gone as far as it could to protect front line services in 2012. The recent changes announced in the Budget were made within the context of bringing our overall public expenditure back into line with what we can afford as a country. The challenge is to ensure that the resources that are...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 120 together. As part of the Budget decisions announced last week, the number of pupils required to gain and retain a teaching post in small primary schools will be gradually increased between September 2012 and September 2014. The schools concerned are those with four or less classroom teachers. It is important to emphasise that no small schools will...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105, 125, 126, 131, and 122 together. The Government has prioritised targeted supports for schools with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage. These supports will continue to be targeted through the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) scheme, which is focussed on 670 primary schools and 195 post-primary schools with...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions 106 and 107 together. As you will be aware from the budget announcements, there is no increase in the general average of 28:1 for the allocation of classroom teachers at primary level. However, the staffing arrangements in schools for the 2012/13 school year can also be affected by changes in their enrolment, the impact of other budget measures and the reforms to...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware from the recent budget announcements, there is no increase in the general average of 28:1 for the allocation of classroom teachers at primary level. However, the staffing arrangements in schools for the 2012/13 school year can also be affected by changes in their enrolment, the impact of other budget measures and the reforms to the teacher allocation process. The...

Written Answers — Departmental Statistics: Departmental Statistics (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Statistics section of my Department's website contains data at individual primary school level in county order for the 2010/2011 school year. The information includes the number of teachers and pupils in each primary school. See file called Class Size information at individual school level 2010/2011 at http://www.education.ie/home/home.jsp?pcategory=17216&ecateg ory=47122&language=EN. ...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: While difficult choices had to be made to identify savings across my Department's remit, the Government has gone as far as it could to protect front line services in 2012. As part of the Budget decisions announced last week, the number of pupils required to gain and retain a teaching post in small primary schools will be gradually increased between September 2012 and September 2014. The...

Written Answers — Departmental Statistics: Departmental Statistics (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Statistics section of my Department's website contains information at individual primary school level in county order for the 2010/2011 school year. The source of this data is the National School Annual Census. Statistical information in respect of the current school year is currently being compiled in my Department and is due for publication in September 2012.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority. The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a student grant. Ultimately, a student must apply to his her grant...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested is not currently available. My Department's officials will collate the relevant material and I will forward a final response to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (15 Dec 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: For the Deputy's information, the following advisory groups etc have been established since my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills: (1) Advisory Group to convene the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector. This Forum was officially launched on 19th April, 2011. Its terms of reference are to advise the Minister on: - how it can best be ensured that the education...