Results 12,021-12,040 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The last Budget included an increase in spending on education for the first time in recent years, amounting to additional funding of €60m during 2015. As I have mentioned in response to earlier questions, that increase has provided funding for 1,700 additional teachers and SNAs to be recruited for our schools, as well as funding important reforms. However, it was not possible to secure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: When the moratorium on the filling of posts of responsibility was introduced in 2009, the Government exempted Principal and Deputy Principal posts in all primary and post-primary schools. These posts continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium was therefore limited to the Assistant Principal and Special Duties posts of responsibility.The alleviation arrangements...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology Expenditure (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The details requested by the Deputy are set out in the following tabular statement. Governing body members of Waterford Institute of Technology were paid a total of €255,739 for the period covering 1 January 2005 to date. These payments include travel expenses associated governing body duties and fees associated with sitting on interview panels on behalf of the Institute. Year 2005...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology Expenditure (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The details requested by the Deputy are set out in the following tabular statement. It should be noted that 38% of all costs associated with outside consultants relate specifically to funded research/self-financing activities. The services associated with the amounts expended ranges from Audit, Student Supports to Architecture/Design Fees and so on. Year 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Broadband Service Provision (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under the Schools Broadband Access programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary schools. A new framework was put in place in 2012 for the provision of this service, as a result of this the number of service providers has been expanded from 6 to 13 with the aim of ensuring that satisfactory solutions would be awarded to all schools. Where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Playgrounds (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that in November 2014, I announced the allocation of more than €28 million to primary schools under the Minor Works Grant Scheme. This will allow schools to carry out improvement works to school buildings and grounds. It is open to schools to prioritise the works they wish to undertake within the terms of the scheme. The works to which the Deputy refers...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (23 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (23 Apr 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 asked 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 studies...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the 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 for the coming school year 2015/16 are set out in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate examinations. Applications for such accommodations are submitted by schools on behalf of their students. Full details of the scheme are available for downloading from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is open to the school referred to by the Deputy to submit an application for the works referred to under a future Summer Works Scheme. In that regard, it is also open to the school to utilise the Minor Works grant it received in December 2014 last for upgrading works to the heating system, in question. The school authority may also submit an application for Emergency Works funding should...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Emergency Works scheme funded by my Department addresses health and safety concerns of school authorities which pose an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment which are sudden, unforeseen and require immediate action and, in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening. Details of the scheme, together with an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website at www.education.gov.ie. The circular sets out the improvements to the staffing schedule for the 2015/16 school year for small schools. These improvements are improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website at www.education.gov.ie. Section 1 of the circular sets out the retention arrangements for Island Schools in the event that a reduction in the pupil numbers of an island school will result in the loss of the second or third...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 Apr 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: School Staffing (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The most recent information available on retired teachers employed by managerial authorities of schools relates to the 2013/2014 school year. A total of 537 retired teachers were employed during the 2013/14 school year: 302 retired Primary teachers and 235 retired Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive teachers. Thirty eight percent of those teachers worked the equivalent of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am committed to providing the supports and the back up to enable the reform of the Junior Cycle to become a reality. There have been 235 seminars for teachers of English since November 2013. 5,371 teachers of English are registered with Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) and 4,814 of these have attended at least one seminar, which represents almost 90% of teachers registered. The estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing Appeals Mechanism (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website at www.education.gov.ie. The circular sets out the improvements to the staffing schedule for the 2015/16 school year for small schools. These improvements are improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (28 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of Architectural Planning - Stage 1 - Preliminary Design which involves the initial sketch scheme for the project. A Pre Stage 1 Stakeholder Meeting was held in December 2014. Following this meeting the Board of Management and their Design Team made a submission to my Department. On completion of that...