Results 9,201-9,220 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: With regard to the school to which the Deputy refers the local authority refused planning permission on 21stJune, 2019. My Department has been in constant contact with the relevant stakeholders including the Patron Body, An Foras Pátrúnachta, considering a number of interim arrangements to ensure the school opens for September 2019. An Foras Pátrúnachta have made interim...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The project referred to by the Deputy is currently nearing completion and subject to no issues arising the new school building will be ready for occupation for September 2019.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Services Staff (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: I recognise the very important work done by school secretaries, and indeed by other support staff, in the running of our schools and I am grateful to them for the contribution they make to our education system. I have spoken to a number of school secretaries about their employment conditions and understand the issues they have raised. I have recently relaxed the moratorium for those...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter in the first instance for the grant awarding authority, Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). For student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student’s status for grant purposes is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school. The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department has no record of receiving an application for additional accommodation from the school referred to by the Deputy. Any application received will be considered and a response will issue to the Patron directly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Shareholdings (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: As Minister, neither I nor my Department hold shares in the entities under the Department's aegis, namely the non-commercial state agencies. While most of these agencies have a legislative underpinning, two (Skillnet Ireland and Léargas - The Exchange Bureau) are companies limited by guarantee, with no shareholders.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Establishment (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy will be aware, in April 2018, the Government announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022), including a new 800 pupil post-primary school (to be established in 2020) to serve the Blanchardstown_West_Dublin15 and BlanchardstownVge_Dublin15 school planning areas as a regional solution. This announcement follows nationwide...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Multidenominational Schools (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy will be aware, the Cabra_Phibsboro_Dublin 7 school planning area is currently served by eight post-primary schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy which is currently under the patronage of City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB). This school, which has a current enrolment of some 120 pupils in the 2018/19 school year, is co-educational and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts Data (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The information sought by the Deputy in regard to the security services contracts entered into by my Department is set out in the following table. Further information regarding contracts entered into by my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service will be forwarded by the relevant officials to the Deputy. In addition, details of security service contracts entered into...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Budgets (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: My aim for Budget 2020 is to progressively deliver on the commitments set out in the Programme for Government, the Confidence and Supply Arrangement and my Department's Statement of Strategy and Action Plan, and to meet demographic and demand pressures. Over the past number of years, the Government has invested significant additional resources in education and training, which has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Assistance Fund (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: Each year, the provision for access measures is allocated under the umbrella of the ‘Disadvantaged’ initiatives. This includes the Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH), the Student Assistance Fund (SAF), the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD), the HEA Access Office costs for Evaluation, Research and Development and Special Disadvantaged Initiatives. The Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland Data (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The Deputy will be aware that there are various income thresholds used depending on the type of grant, family size etc. While SUSI has statistics on those students who have applied for grant support and can estimate with some degree of certainty, what impact changes to the thresholds might have for those students on lower income levels, the accuracy of its estimates become less reliable at...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: Budget 2019 marks the third year of a major reinvestment in the education. In 2019, the budget for the Department of Education and Skills will increase by €674 million, a 6.7% increase on last year. In total, the Education budget will have increased by €1.7 billion compared to 2016. Budget 2019 will see numbers employed in our schools reach the highest ever level. Over 1,300...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The estimated full year cost of increasing the capitation grant by 50% to DEIS schools at primary and post-primary level is €22.9 million. I am pleased to have been able to provide for a 5% increase in capitation funding for primary and post primary schools that will apply from the start of the 2019/20 school year. Over the course of the school year 2019/20, an additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: I wish to advise the Deputy that the criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually on my Department’s website. In the 2018/19 school year there are 3,106 mainstream primary schools of which 698 (22.47%) are participating in the DEIS Programme. Each one point adjustment to the primary staffing schedule is estimated to cost in the region of €13.5m per...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The estimated full year cost of increasing the capitation grant rate at primary and post-primary level by €10 per pupil is €9.4 million. The first and full year costs of increasing the capitation grant at primary and secondary level by 5% is €4 million and €10 million respectively. I am pleased to have been able to provide for this 5% increase in capitation funding...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: Since my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills I have met with a number of Teaching Principals, including at this year’s IPPN conference, and I appreciate the pressures they face. In Budget 2019, school leadership is again supported with an additional release day for teaching principals in primary schools and a further four additional release days for teaching principals in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: The Programme for Government contains a commitment to increase financial supports for postgraduate students with a particular focus on those from low income households. As the Deputy will be aware, additional funding of €7m was secured in Budgets 2017 and 2018 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants from September 2017, for the most disadvantaged postgraduate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Services Staff (10 Jul 2019)

Joe McHugh: A Scheme was initiated in 1978/79 for the employment of Clerical Officers in primary and post primary schools under which the school secretaries and caretakers are paid directly through the payroll operated by my Department. The 1978/79 scheme is being phased out as posts become vacant and no new posts are being created. There are currently a total of 189 primary schools with either a...