Results 8,441-8,460 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Schools Funding: Schools Funding (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I am not aware of the particular issue raised by the Deputy. I have therefore arranged for an official from my Department to contact the Deputy directly on the matter. However, any issues in relation to the impact of the recent VAT changes are a matter for my colleague the Minister for Finance.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the purpose of the Home Tuition Scheme is to provide a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement and also to provide early educational intervention for...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Jobsharing and parental leave are currently the subject of discussions at a subcommittee of the Teachers Conciliation Council. The Teachers Conciliation Council is the recognised forum for dealing with matters relating to pay and conditions of service of teachers, including Principals. The parties to the forum include representatives of the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: An application for additional funding for a building project at the school referred to by the Deputy was received by my Department. Officials in the Planning and Building Unit have requested additional information from the school authority in order to fully assess the application. When all of this information is provided to my Department the application can be considered further.

Written Answers — Postgraduate Education: Postgraduate Education (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions NOs. 220 and 221 together. The Postgraduate Applications Centre Ltd (PAC) was established in 1998 to centrally process and assess applications to PDE courses. A common points system was devised and it has been used since. Applicants apply to PAC online and their applications are centrally assessed by a team of assessors. In 2006 a decision was taken, due to the...

Written Answers — School Supervision and Substitution Scheme: School Supervision and Substitution Scheme (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Substitution is paid where teachers are absent from teaching duties in their school on absences approved by the managerial authority of the school and as detailed in Circulars issued by my Department. Under one of the substitution arrangements currently in operation a second Level school is allocated 0.31 hours substitution cover for each pupil in the school on the 30th September of the...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that my Department established a new primary school in Navan in September 2010. In addition, other developments including extensions to existing schools together with the provision of new primary schools in the area are currently at various stages of the architectural planning process. These developments are expected to cater for the projected pupil growth in the...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I fully acknowledge that the reduction in resources to second level schools will be challenging for schools.However, the change must be seen in the context of the major challenges we have as a Government in trying to shelter public services to the greatest extent that we can in these exceptional times. The net impact on overall teacher numbers in our schools has been minimised to the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The procedure for the payment of pension entitlements is initiated by the retiree completing the appropriate pension application form. Officials in the Pension Unit of my Department have been in contact with the person to whom the Deputy refers in order to have the necessary pension application forms completed and returned at which time the entitlement will be processed.

Written Answers — Schools Amalgamation: Schools Amalgamation (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has been in contact with the Deputy's Office and I understand that the question relates to my Department's general position regarding school amalgamations. The decision making authority for any amalgamation belongs to the Patron of a school, subject to the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills. My Department's role is to facilitate any such proposal or discussions...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that accommodation brief for the school referred to by the Deputy has been completed. The appropriate method for delivery of this project is being considered and a final decision will be communicated to the school authorities in the near future.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: A redundancy application from the person referred to by the Deputy was received by my Department on 7th September 2011. Applications are processed in date order of receipt and every effort is being made to process these applications as quickly as possible. Applications received in July 2011 are currently being processed. Extra resources have been assigned to the Redundancy Unit to ensure that...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The new simplified approach to the General Allocation Model of support for schools will make it easier to automatically update it annually in line with the changes in the number of classroom teachers in each school. Schools will also have autonomy on how to deploy the resource between language support and learning support depending on their specific needs. The overall objective of the reforms...

Written Answers — Teacher Education: Teacher Education (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I will arrange for the Deputy to be contacted on this matter by the Teacher Education Section of my Department.

Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Under my Department's student grant schemes, eligible candidates may receive funding provided they are attending an approved course at an approved institution as defined in the relevant scheme. I understand that the college referred to by the Deputy is a private college and is not on the list of approved institutions for student grant purposes. However, the tuition fees payable in this case...

Written Answers — Behavioural Support Service: Behavioural Support Service (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I would like to inform the Deputy that the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) was established by the Department of Education & Skills in 2006 in response to the recommendation in School Matters: The Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools (2006). The role of the NBSS is to assist partner schools in addressing current behavioural concerns on three levels....

Written Answers — Teacher Education Centres: Teacher Education Centres (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The details the Deputy has requested are set out in the accompanying document. Budget allocations are made following consideration of proposals submitted by each Education Support Centre in January of the relevant year. Full Time 2010 2011 Centres Athlone 180743 180743 Blackrock 250834 250834 Carrick On Shannon 191391 191391 Clare 128399 128399 Cork 276669 276669 Donegal 256905...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI) received Exchequer funding in the amount of €2.438m in 2010 and €2.478m in 2011.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, an extensive programme of reform has been ongoing since this Government came to office. The recently published Public Sector Reform Plan identifies the introduction of new arrangements for managing the performance and governance of State Agencies as a deliverable action. Such arrangements will include the greater use of Service Level Agreements with Departments...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (24 Jan 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the accompanying table. In line with the requirements of the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, details of the number of Board members, including remuneration and expenses paid, are provided in the Annual Reports of the Agencies, many of which are available on the Agency websites. The Deputy may wish to note that my...