Results 10,701-10,720 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: When considering whether a student meets the conditions to be assessed independently of his or her parents, grant awarding authorities are obliged to satisfy themselves beyond doubt that an acceptable degree of proof of independent living in the relevant period has been submitted by the grant applicant. In exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to produce such proofs of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: For student grants 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 may be assessed as an independent mature student if he or she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department's Planning and Building Unit has no record of receiving an application for funding from the school referred to by the Deputy for security measures at the school. If the school in question considers that there are works of an emergency nature requiring attention it is open to the school authority to submit an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme. The main...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The State Examinations Commission which has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations has recently responded to the Deputy on this matter on 12th January.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2(b). Planning permission and all other statutory approvals have been secured. Full tender documents and drawings have been completed by the design team. The project includes the construction of an access road to the permanent site along with the full...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Programmes Eligibility (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: This is an operational matter for the Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board. I understand that the ETB in question wrote to you in December 2014 in response to your most recent Parlimentary Question on this matter. You should continue to liaise with the ETB, who are best placed to clarify the position for you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The approximate sum of €6.5m is being made available from the Department of Education and Skills for the purchase of desktop and notebook PCs to over 400 post primary schools for Design and Communications Graphics (DCG). The Department of Education and Skills is procuring separately CAD software (currently anticipated that the relevant software will be Solidworks 2014 version). ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has been working in conjunction with Cork County Council to secure a site to provide permanent accommodation for the school to which the Deputy refers. Options have been identified and are under consideration but due to the commercial sensitivities around land acquisitions it would not be appropriate to provide any further information at this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Teacher allocations to all second level schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. In accordance with these rules each school management authority is required to organise its subject options within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (22 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: In 2012 a public service-wide review of allowances was carried out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. As a result of the review, qualification allowances were abolished with effect from 1st February 2012. Department of Education and Skills Circular 0008/2013 outlines the effect of this decision on teachers. In Paragraph 12 of Circular 0008/2013 an exception is made in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Staffing (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have no plans at the moment to re-introduce a separate allocation of resources hours to schools for guidance counselling. If economic recovery continues, I hope the Government will be in a position to improve the standard staffing allocation to schools. However, I believe that it is desirable to give schools some discretion on how to use these increased resources. Guidance and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Staffing (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The decisions made in recent years were not easy. Sometimes it was a case of deciding whether to reduce the overall allocation to schools or take specific measures. Schools are required under the Education Act to use available resources to ensure students have access to appropriate guidance to assist them in their educational and career choices. We have not removed the obligation on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Staffing (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: We constantly engage with schools on their obligations and the support and services they provide for students, and this will be ongoing. A range of supports exist through the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, and other areas. We engage on a regular basis with representatives of management bodies on these issues. It is under ongoing monitoring. I certainly agree it is my...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, working group recommended the development of a new model for delivering teaching resources to schools to support students with special needs. It recommended that a school's special needs teaching allocation should be determined by a baseline component according to pupil numbers and a school's educational profile. This profile is to take...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue because it is of great interest to parents, in particular, of children with special needs, as well as schools in general. As is the case with anything of this nature, we have to be very careful with the introduction of a new model. At the same time, it has been clearly identified by the National Council for Special Education that the current system,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Government has not yet taken a decision on whether it can be implemented for next September. I want to ensure we get it right so I have not yet made a decision on the timing. With regard to profiling, there is a certain amount of factual information relating to numbers of pupils with complex needs and the percentage of pupils performing below average in standardised tests. The area...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My focus in budget 2015 was on obtaining the additional funding that was necessary to provide for demographic growth, as the Minister of State, Deputy English, said earlier. The last budget included an increase in spending on education for the first time in recent years, amounting to additional funding of €60 million during 2015. This funding will be used to provide 1,700...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: They are for the purposes the Deputy outlined. We have not made any changes for the current year in terms of what was done in previous years. That has been factored into the allocation of teachers. However, I am looking to the future in terms of what we might be able to do, including in regard to small schools and the pupil-teacher ratio. In the context of what was decided in the last...

Other Questions: Technological Universities (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As the Deputy knows, Mr. Michael Kelly is leading a process of consultation with regional stakeholders, the governing bodies, staff and students in Waterford Institute of Technology and Carlow Institute of Technology in order to develop a shared vision for a technological university in the south east. I am pleased to report that Mr. Michael Kelly has met with the governing bodies of both...

Other Questions: Technological Universities (27 Jan 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The terms of reference are not designed to limit what he might believe would be helpful. They are primarily designed to guide him in terms of what we want him to do. For example, we gave him a timescale in which to report back and we indicated that he should consult widely, not just within the institutions but within the region as well. It has not come back to me that there are problems...