Results 11,381-11,400 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Teacher Training (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: It is neither possible nor appropriate to attempt to separate measures such as those impacting on the pay of new entrants from their context. These measures have to be viewed against the backdrop of a very serious financial and budgetary situation. They reflect a position where this country has lost its economic sovereignty and simply no longer has full control over its economic affairs. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Teacher Training (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand the Deputy's concerns about a two-tiered salary system for the same occupation and activity, but it is not confined to the teaching sector or the public service. In response to the economic crisis, recruitment grades in the private sector have dropped considerably. One has the phenomenon of young or recently recruited people coming into a place of work to do a job at a rate...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Teacher Training (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The public sector pay agreement, namely, the Croke Park agreement, which was negotiated by the previous Government, which we undertook to honour, has delivered many savings already but it is due to expire. I hope a new agreement will be negotiated in its place. That is the time to examine these types of anomalies and differences and no doubt that will be the case.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware the student contribution increased to €2,250 for the current academic year. The full contribution is paid by the Exchequer in respect of students who qualify under the Department's student grant scheme. In addition, conscious of financial pressures on families, tax relief provisions have been put in place which provide for tax relief at the standard rate of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy is right. I signed the pledge on behalf of the Labour Party as the party's spokesperson on education during the campaign for the last general election. That pledge and that commitment did not make it into the programme for Government that was negotiated between my party and Fine Gael. As Minister for Education and Skills, I have a responsibility to implement the programme for...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Labour Party spokesperson.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Third Level Fees (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for his advice. I intend to proceed as Minister for Education and Skills and implement the course of policy for which I have a mandate from the Cabinet through the programme for Government.

Other Questions: School Funding (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department provides specific teaching resources and additional grant aid to schools that offer the transition year programme. An additional teacher allocation is given to each school offering the programme, based on a pupil-teacher ratio of 18.5:1 for DEIS schools, 19:1 for schools in the free education scheme and 21:1 for fee-charging schools. Schools in the free education scheme also...

Other Questions: School Funding (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The real question is whether young people are obtaining a valuable education experience in transition year. In its original conception, transition year was designed to be an antidote or a contrast to the experience of swotting for the junior certificate examination. I have already made an announcement on the future of that examination. I have asked the Irish Second-Level Students Union,...

Other Questions: School Funding (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I had a similar experience with my son who is now in sixth year. A great deal depends on the motivation of the young people involved, the individual co-ordinators of transition year programmes and the level of general engagement. On the one hand, the dilemma for me, as Minister for Education and Skills, is that people are stating we are being too prescriptive with the curriculum, that we...

Other Questions: Mental Health Guidelines (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 61 together. The Department plans to launch the guidelines on mental health for post-primary schools this year. The guidelines will provide practical support for post-primary schools in addressing mental health promotion and suicide prevention. They are intended to build on the existing good practice in many schools. They highlight the need for all...

Other Questions: Mental Health Guidelines (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for his comments and broad support for the adoption of a whole-school approach. In fact, much of the thinking behind this approach is embedded in the core values of the proposals for the junior cycle curriculum. I hope the House will have an opportunity within a few weeks to debate the document launched last week. The key in what we are trying to do is vesting...

Other Questions: Mental Health Guidelines (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The sub-committee which worked on the guidelines comprised representatives from the Departments of Health, Children and Youth Affairs and Education and Skills, as well as the Health Service Executive. Funding was provided by the National Office for Suicide Prevention which fully supports this work. The programme will be examined in the light of its application to the current school...

Other Questions: Universities Global Ranking (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The position of Irish universities in The Times higher education rankings has remained relatively stable this year, showing that Ireland still has two universities in the top 200; two universities in the top 350 and another in the top 400. Two of these universities, Trinity College Dublin and the National University of Ireland, Galway, NUIG, have improved their relative ranking positions in...

Other Questions: Universities Global Ranking (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The seven Irish universities are ranked in the top 2% among the 15,000 universities in the world. That is an extraordinary statistic by any measure. However, the rankings are somewhat self-seeking in that it is possible to construct any matrix of measurement in order to obtain a certain skewed result. For example, one of the strongest countries in Europe for research, including applied...

Other Questions: Universities Global Ranking (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I will reply first to Deputy Wallace before addressing the questions asked by Deputy McConalogue. The Deputy confirms my comment on the distortion that certain types of indices can give to the overall outcome of a ranking. Investment in research, the level of peer review of papers and reputation are all used as indices. However, the assessment may be carried out by people who have never...

Other Questions: Bullying in Schools (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department is strongly supportive of the integration of information and communication technology, ICT, tools and techniques into teaching practice. However, I am conscious that the use of modern technology can also create opportunities for cyberbullying to occur. In this regard, following the recent anti-bullying forum held in May, I have established a working group to address the issue...

Other Questions: Bullying in Schools (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for his comments and his interest in this area. Cyberbullying has become an enormous problem compared to what it used to be. First, it is no longer confined to the school because the electronic devices every young person has enables cyberbullying to continue 24-7. The consequence, accordingly, is that the young person who is bullied cannot escape from it at home. It is...

Other Questions: Bullying in Schools (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: First, I will address the broader question raised by Deputy Daly and remarked on by others. We are in the middle of a technological revolution in information technology. Any decision we might make in respect of one particular platform or type of technology could quickly become out of date. We have done some work at an infrastructural level and Deputy Keating has referred to this. In two...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (9 Oct 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, recently published its policy advice on the education of students with severe emotional disturbance or behavioural disorders. I welcome the publication of the report, which makes recommendations on how education can best be provided for such children in future, while ensuring minimal disruption for other pupils. The Department will consider...