Results 9,001-9,020 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to amalgamate the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC). This was confirmed in the Public Sector Reform Plan. Legislation providing for the amalgamation was published in July 2011 and Second Stage was taken...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The main objective of the Student Grant Scheme is to provide assistance to students, who otherwise might not be able to afford to do so, to participate in further and higher education. At third level, the grant supports eligible students in obtaining one undergraduate degree and in some cases, progressing, where appropriate, to a postgraduate course of study. My priority as Minister for...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: This Government is committed to supporting the overall thrust of 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, and to the delivery of the goals and targets proposed. As part of this, a thorough reform of the Irish curriculum and the way Irish is taught at primary and second level will be undertaken. The priority is to take steps to improve the quality and effectiveness of the teaching of...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 208 and 225 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's policy is to promote the principle of inclusive education as envisaged in Section 2 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN), Act 2004. My Department, either directly or through the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), provides for a range of supports in...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: 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 resource teachers and SNAs to support children with special needs....

Written Answers — Preschool Services: Preschool Services (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: With the implementation of universal pre-school provision, 94% of children are availing of a pre-school year in the year prior to enrolling in the primary school system. As well as quality improvement in early years settings, my Department's policy is to ensure that there is a continuum of learning from pre-school through to the primary school system. With this in mind, my Department...

Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the Action Plan for Educational Disadvantage, was launched in May 2005 and remains the Department of Education & Skills policy instrument to address educational disadvantage. The action plan focuses on addressing and prioritising the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities, from preschool through...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The overall policy goal of my Department is to ensure the highest standard of permanent accommodation for all schools. In the context of a rapidly increasing school population and competing pressure on the capital budget available to my Department, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools. The policy of my Department...

Written Answers — Higher Education Sector: Higher Education Sector (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In keeping with Government policy, a salary ceiling of €200,000 will apply to future appointments to senior positions in the higher education sector. The vast majority of employees in the higher education sector who currently earn more than €200,000 per annum are Academic Medical Consultants, remuneration for whom falls in the main within the remit of the Minister for Health. Any changes...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 214, 215, 249 and 254 together. There is no increase in the staffing schedule general average of 28:1 for the allocation of classroom teachers at primary level. However, there is a phased increase in the pupil threshold for the allocation of classroom teachers in small primary schools. As part of the Budget decisions announced, the number of pupils required...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The funding to which the Deputy refers is the arrangement whereby the salaries of teachers employed within the approved annual staffing allocation for fee charging schools by my Department are paid by the State; an arrangement that pre-dates the introduction of the Free Education scheme and which exists since the foundation of the State. The estimated cost of these posts is in the order of...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In 2004 the Department invited the Council of Europe Language Policy Division to develop a Language Education Policy Profile for Ireland. The Council of Europe offers member States assistance in carrying out analyses of their language education policies with the assistance of a team of international experts. The Profile was published in 2007. It recommended that Ireland should develop a...

Written Answers — Preschool Services: Preschool Services (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department's policy on the development of preschool education is to raise the quality of provision through workforce development and through effective practice. This is in line with the 2011 EU Commission's Communication COM (2011) 66 on 'Providing all our children with the best start for the world of tomorrow'. In terms of quality improvement, my Department has funded two practice...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I issued Circular 0031/2011 in May of last year. One purpose of which is to ensure, as far as practicable, that schools prioritise unemployed teachers over retired teachers. In particular, it prohibits schools from employing retired teachers to cover short-term absences unless all efforts to employ an appropriately qualified and registered teacher have failed. This circular also requires a...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: It is the policy of my Department that only a teacher registered with the Teaching Council, and who has qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which he or she is proposed, should be employed in a school. Unregistered personnel should not be appointed except in exceptional circumstances and then only when all avenues for recruiting registered teachers have been...

Written Answers — School Books: School Books (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has undertaken a survey of schools to establish the current situation regarding school book rental and loan schemes. This survey has recently been completed. When the results of this survey have been examined in detail, I will consider how I might incentivise the introduction of book loan or rental schemes in schools that do not currently operate such schemes. I believe it is...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: 88.9% of junior cycle students sat science in the junior certificate examinations in 2011. The main challenge relates to the low proportions who take the physical sciences, physics and chemistry, in senior cycle. In the context of junior cycle reform, which will begin implementation on a phased basis from 2014 onwards, all of the existing subjects are being continued, and Irish (except where...

Written Answers — Mental Health Services: Mental Health Services (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that medical and therapy supports for children who are suffering from mental health problems are provided by the Health Service Executive. My Department provides for Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for children who have care needs relating to an assessment of Emotional Behavioural Disorder (EBD) or Severe Emotional Behavioural Disorder (SEBD). SNA support is...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that a number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act have already been commenced. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) made recommendations which suggested that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (28 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that all primary and post- primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will...