Results 10,941-10,960 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Irish Language: Irish Language (17 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: This Government is committed to supporting the overall thrust of the 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. A revised Leaving Certificate curriculum in Irish began in all schools in September...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (17 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The table below provides the relevant details of all appointments (and re-appointments) made to bodies under the aegis of my Department since my appointment as Minister on the 9th of March, 2011. In accordance with Government policy, expressions of interest have been sought through the Public Appointments Service (PAS) from suitably qualified and experienced persons for consideration for...

Written Answers — Appointments to State Boards: Appointments to State Boards (17 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The table below provides the relevant details of all appointments (and re-appointments) of Chairpersons made to bodies under the aegis of my Department since my appointment as Minister on the 9th of March, 2011. The relevant Oireachtas Joint Committee has been informed of these appointments and that the Chairpersons will make themselves available to the Joint Committee to discuss the approach...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (17 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The position in relation to staff employed by my Department is that none of those who have retired in 2012 have been re-employed. The data in my Department's databases in respect of teachers in Primary, Secondary and Community/Comprehensive schools indicated that four teachers who retired in February 2012 were re-employed in a temporary capacity in primary schools after the 1st March 2012....

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (17 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The information sought by the deputy is being compiled and will be forwarded to her.

Special Educational Needs (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank Deputy Crowe for raising this issue. I advise the Deputy that there has been no reduction in the number of teaching staff allocated in the special school sector for the forthcoming school year. The NCSE is responsible, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, to schools to support...

Special Educational Needs (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the Government has maintained funding for resources for children with special educational needs at a time when, as everybody in the House will be aware, there is a continued requirement to make expenditure savings across a range of areas. The programme for Government clearly states that education will be a priority for the Government and that we will...

School Curriculum (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. If the reply I give is not fully complete, I will come back to her in writing subsequently. Project Maths began as a pilot in 24 schools in 2008 and is being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, NCCA. It was mainstreamed from September 2010 when it became available to all schools. The first mainstream examinations were...

School Curriculum (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy once again for providing me with an opportunity to address the many concerns that have been expressed about the content of the Project Maths programme and the way in which it is being taught at present. Project Maths is designed to transform teaching and learning in maths at both junior and senior cycle. It should enable students to develop an understanding of the hows...

Written Answers — Professional Qualifications: Professional Qualifications (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The joint industry Government ICT Action Plan published earlier this year establishes a target of doubling the annual output of lecel 8 ICT graduates to 2,000 by 2018. In recognition of the fact that it will take time for recent increases in demand for STEM programmes to convert into increased graduate it also provides for a number of measures to increase the supply of domestic skills in the...

Written Answers — School Funding: School Funding (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: This Government recognises the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant or reformed church background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. With regard to the fee-charging Protestant schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is provided...

Written Answers — Technological Universities: Technological Universities (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: A clear four stage process and criteria for designation as Technological University was published in February of this year. Institutions proposing to merge and apply for designation as technological universities, including those in the South-East will need to submit a formal expression of interest within a six month period and will be advised within a further six months whether they can...

Written Answers — Ministerial Expenditure: Ministerial Expenditure (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The table below sets out the amounts spent by previous Ministers and Ministers of State within my Department on subsistence for each year from 1 January 2007 to 9 March 2011 inclusive. This table also includes unvouched expenses paid to Ministers and Ministers of State within that period. There were also some subsistence expenses that were discharged by credit card. In this regard, the total...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on my Department's website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing arrangements in schools for the 2012/2013 school year can also be...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has received an application for an extension from the school in question which has been assigned a Band 3 rating in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. The Deputy will appreciate, that in view of the financial constraints imposed by the need, as outlined in the Five Year Plan, to prioritise available funding for the provision...

Written Answers — Third Level Examinations: Third Level Examinations (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The position is that under the Universities Act, 1997, universities are academically independent and the Department of Education and Skills does not have any function in the day to day operational affairs of such colleges. It would not therefore be open to me to intervene with the authorities in UCD regarding a matter relating to examination procedures in the University. Issues concerning...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (Vote 25) has overall responsibility for Local Government funding. This includes responsibility for Dormant Accounts funding, which facilitates, inter alia, the grant aiding of schemes relating to educational and social disadvantage. The Vote of my Department (Vote 26) facilitates Dormant Accounts funding concerning the tackling...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) is a reference tool developed by the Council of Europe to assess the achievement of learners of foreign languages. While programmes of education and training provided by the universities and Institutes of Technology lead to awards which are aligned to the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), those awards have not been...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. I wish to inform the Deputy that statistics in relation to the Leaving Certificate examinations (2000 - 2011) including the number of school leavers who completed the Leaving Certificate can be downloaded from State Examinations Commission website:-...

Written Answers — Overseas Study Placements: Overseas Study Placements (18 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Government's international education strategy encourages education institutions to promote outward mobility of staff and students as part of their own institutional internationalisation strategies. Many education institutions already provide opportunities for some of their students to spend a period of time studying overseas, including in partner institutions in some of the BRIC...