Results 11,181-11,200 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport Provision (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy again for bringing some additional information to the table in regard to this matter. I had a meeting this morning with the Deputy's party colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, and two senior civil servants dealing with this issue. We have agreed to wait until after the mid-term break, which is in a couple of weeks time, to review and get as much information in...

Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Allowances (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Yesterday the Government approved a number of measures relating to public service allowances for new beneficiaries. This follows a public service review of allowances and premium payments conducted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The main measure impacting teachers is the withdrawal of qualification allowances for new entrant teachers. The Government has decided that...

Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Allowances (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputies for their supplementary comments. I have to find €77 million in savings, as Deputy McConalogue will be aware since we discussed this matter earlier today in the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection, to meet the targets set for us in the memorandum of understanding to which this Republic was committed by the previous Administration. There are no...

Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Allowances (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 will be commenced later this year and will probably apply with full effect in the new year. A condition of that is that every teacher who gets paid from the public purse - some 76,000 and virtually all the teachers in the country - will have to be registered with the Teaching Council. To maintain their registration each year, they will have to do...

Confidence in the Minister for Health: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Hear, hear.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand the Deputy is referring to the General Allocation Model (GAM) of additional teaching supports which are allocated to all Primary schools to cater for children with high incidence special educational needs. As I previously advised the Deputy, in response to his Parliamentary Questions of 25th January, 2012 and 19th July, 2012, differing pupil teacher ratios are applied under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision on eligibility for new student grant applications from the 2012/13 academic year is a matter for the new centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). The basis on which the income of self employed persons is determined has not changed with the introduction of the new centralised grant awarding authority. In the case where an accounting year...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision on eligibility for new student grant applications is a matter for the central grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application in relation to means, residency, nationality and previous academic attainment, it would not be possible...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Contracts (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the Schools Broadband Access Programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all primary schools that wish to avail of this service. All contracts under the Schools Broadband Access Programme were recently re-tendered. As a result of this the number of service providers has been expanded from 6 to 13 and this should lead to improvements in the quality of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Due to competing demands on my Department's capital budget, imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic requirements, it was not possible to include the project referred to by the Deputy in the five year construction programme. As the Deputy is aware, schools which have not been included...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Schemes (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a third-level admissions scheme for students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The scheme is operated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. Admissions to the institutions under this programme are regulated by the institutions themselves. Further details are available at www.accesscollege.ie.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 74 together. My Department has sought the assistance of, and is working closely with, the relevant Local Authority in relation to identifying and acquiring a suitable site for a permanent building for the school referred to by the Deputy. Due to commercial sensitivities attaching to site acquisitions generally, I am not in a position to comment...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Contractors (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The contract for the project to which the Deputy refers, is between the Board of Management and the main contractor. There is no contractual relationship between any of the sub-contractors engaged on this project and either my Department or the Board of Management. In general all sub-contractors employed on school building projects are employed directly by the main contractor or indirectly...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning. The Design Team are currently working on Stage 2a (Developed Sketch Design). Due to competing demands on the Departments capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The Design Team are currently working on the Stage 2(b) submission which includes planning permission, Fire Cert, Disability Access Cert (DAC) and the preparation of tender documents. To ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of projects to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department approved grant aid to the school to which he refers last April for the construction of one mainstream classroom. It is now a matter for the school authority to progress the project to construction and to ensure that the grant is drawn down within the period prescribed with the grant approval.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The school to which the Deputy refers has applied to my Department for capital funding for a major school project involving the provision of a General Purpose Room and ancillary accommodation. Given the current financial constraints within which my Department is operating, the position is that priority is being given to school applications for essential mainstream classroom accommodation. In...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The school, referred to by the Deputy, has applied to my Department for large scale capital funding. In view of the need to prioritise available funding for the provision of additional school accommodation, the delivery of major school projects required to meet future demographic demand will be the main focus for capital investment in the coming years. In light of current competing demands...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has no record of having received a recent application from the school referred to by the Deputy for capital funding. I wish, however, to advise the Deputy that a major building project was completed at the school in recent years and my Department provided funding amounting to €549,000 to complete the project.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (19 Sep 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that an extension/refurbishment project at the school referred to commenced on site in June 2011, the project is progressing well and it is envisaged that it will be completed by the end of this year.