Results 9,421-9,440 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Application Numbers (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am informed by SUSI that as at the 30th September, 2014 SUSI received 38,039 renewal grant applications for the 2014/15 academic year. Of these 30,519 applications have been processed to completion. Of those processed to completion 28,095 renewal applications have been awarded grants. SUSI is currently awaiting documentation from a number of students and will continue to finalise grant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the applications of the students referred to by the Deputy are currently being assessed and the students will be notified directly by SUSI of the outcome in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to firstly explain that the enrolment of a child to a school is a matter in the first instance for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through their network of SENOs are available to assist parents to identify...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The student referred to by the Deputy was initially refused funding under the Student Grant Scheme for the 2013/14 academic year as she did not satisfy the Nationality requirements of the scheme. She appealed the decision to SUSI and provided evidence of Naturalisation from March 2014. A letter issued to her on 25th April 2014 advising her of her eligibility. The student was entitled to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Universities Governance (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under the Universities Act 1997 universities such as Trinity College Dublin are autonomous statutory bodies and the management and operation of their facilities is therefore the responsibility of the college authorities. Accordingly I have no function in relation to the concerns raised by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the Department website. The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) were published on 24 January, 2014. The staffing process includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The appeals criteria is also...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department, working in conjunction with Cork County Council, has identified suitable lands to facilitate the planned building projects for the schools referred to by the Deputy. I can confirm that the acquisition of the site is being progressed, however due to the commercially sensitive nature of acquisitions generally I am not in a position to give...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Appointments to State Boards (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Deputy should note that Board appointments, while made by me as Minister, are not in all cases made at my sole discretion. Individuals may be nominated for appointment by various organisations as specified in the relevant statute of the body concerned. The attached table provides details in relation to the numbers of appointments to State boards under the aegis of my Department since...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Bodies Abolition (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: For the Deputy's information, under the Public Service Reform Plan a number of bodies under the remit of this Department were identified for rationalisation or merger as follows: The Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology and the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences were merged in March 2012 to form the Irish Research Council (IRC), which is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The salaries of staff in the education sector who earn more than €100,000 have been independently established through the normal pay determination structures for the Public Sector and there are no plans to alter these arrangements. As the Deputy will be aware there have been two pay cuts for public servants since the beginning of the financial crisis and, as part of the Public...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department has been in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy and has clarified the staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year.

Topical Issues: School Funding (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputies Creighton and Mathews for the opportunity to address this issue and to outline for the House the position on post-primary education. The Deputies will be aware of the challenging economic environment that forms the backdrop to all decisions relating to the public finances. While the Government has tried to protect front-line services, difficult choices had to be made to...

Topical Issues: School Funding (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The schools that have come into the free scheme have made the decision themselves. There are a relatively small number of fee-paying schools. It is not the case that choice is being entirely taken away. I hope all schools would have access to sport and music for students. We want to provide equality of opportunity for all children. That is why we have delivering equality of opportunity...

Topical Issues: Radio Broadcasting Issues (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy White, who unfortunately cannot be here. I am taking the debate for him and I will convey to him the points raised by Deputy Penrose, particularly with regard to the research done by Johnny Duhan, whom I have met and who, I know, has great passion for this area. I will also convey the Deputy's suggestion that the French have been able to find...

Topical Issues: Radio Broadcasting Issues (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I will certainly convey the Deputy's views. I know he will have an opportunity to discuss this with the Minister, Deputy White. According to the information I have, the cultural criterion in the case of France is a much narrower and more identifiable criterion than would be the case with what the Deputy proposes. I know the Deputy has a considerable amount of data on the matter,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Action Plan on Bullying (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: As the Deputy will be aware, the Action Plan on Bullying was launched in January 2013. Funding has been made available to support the implementation of actions recommended in the Plan. The information sought by the Deputy in relation to grants provided is set out in the attached table. Organisation Grant in 2013 Grant in 2014 National Parents Council (primary and post primary)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to inform the Deputy that I have been in discussions with all the education partners, which included Pre-Budget matters. I met with the Joint Managerial Body which represents all voluntary secondary schools, including fee charging schools. I received their Pre-Budget 2015 submissions, which covered the matters raised by the Deputy. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot at this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Proposed Legislation (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I intend to amend the Teaching Council Act to strengthen the legislative architecture for the Council's fitness to teach function and Garda vetting. Once the relevant sections are commenced, the Council will investigate complaints against teachers through a number of phases, up to and including holding a hearing. The staged process ensures that the investigation is robust and that the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: There is no requirement on schools to report bullying incidents to my Department. The School Principal under the anti-bullying procedures for all schools is required to report regularly to the Board of Management on the overall number of bullying cases and provide confirmation that these are being dealt with in accordance with the procedures. The Board is required to undertake an annual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (7 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: In order to qualify as a craftsperson, an apprentice must be employed by a SOLAS approved employer and complete all seven alternating on-the-job and off-the-job training phases of their apprenticeship as well as achieving the qualifying standard throughout their apprenticeship. The minimum duration of four years (208 weeks) is from the date of registration and must include a minimum of 12...