Results 12,101-12,120 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Estimates for Public Services 2012: Referral to Select Committee (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I move:That, subject to leave being given to introduce the following Supplementary Estimates for the service of the year ending on 31st December, 2012, the Supplementary Estimates be referred to the following Select Committees or sub-Committees, as appropriate, pursuant to Standing Orders 82A(3)(c) and (6)(a) and 159(3), and paragraph (8) of the Orders of Reference of Select Committees, which...

Credit Union Bill 2012: Financial Resolution (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I move:THAT provision be made in the Act giving effect to this Resolution for the charging in accordance with that Act of certain levies on credit unions, being levies for the purposes of financing, as nearly as may be taking one year with another, half the total expenditure incurred by a body (being a body to be established by that Act and to be known as the Credit Union Restructuring Board)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Guidance Counsellors (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 119 together. The day to day management of how teaching resources are used in schools is done at local school level. It is established policy that guidance is a whole school activity and under existing arrangements each school develops a school guidance plan as a means of supporting the needs of its students. I am confident schools will act in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The "Report on Retention Rates of Pupils in Second Level Schools" indicates that the number of students staying in school to complete their second level education is now at its highest rate ever. The percentage of students who sit the Leaving Cert overall has risen by almost 9% to 90.2% in 11 years. It is particularly encouraging to see the retention rate in DEIS schools increase...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand that dialogue has commenced between officials of the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and the European Investment Bank in relation to the potential funding of further educational PPP projects as part of the Government approved Economic Stimulus Package. The Economic Stimulus Package announced last July includes two further bundles of school projects that would be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My new Framework for Junior Cycle will allow schools to provide a programme to meet the needs of their students. Assessment will be a key component to supporting quality teaching and learning outcomes across the 3 years of Junior Cycle and will provide on-going high quality feedback to students and their parents. Assessment in the Junior Cycle is no longer high-stakes since in reality the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Future Skills Needs (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 268 together. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs, funded by my Department, plays a key role in advising on future skills needs. Its research provides a valuable input to the development of course curricula and has also informed the development of new competitive funding models of provision to address emerging skills needs. More than 10,000...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Delays (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In order to ensure that all targets are met by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) a number of measures have been put in place to speed up the process of awarding student grants. This includes the provision of additional staffing in both the assessment unit and the outsourced document management unit. Weekly maintenance payment runs are in place and a range of processing efficiencies are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Detailed planning for the implementation of the Framework for Junior Cycle is underway in my Department. Teachers will receive professional development in educational assessment, including processes of moderation, and providing feedback to students. Continuing professional development (CPD) will be provided on a phased basis in line with the roll out of curriculum changes in each subject....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, the closing date for completion of these surveys in the five pilot areas was last Friday, 9 November. In the Arklow survey there were 384 responses representing 706 children.The Castlebar survey had 465 responses representing 932 children.The Tramore survey had 276 responses representing 563 children.The Trim survey had 300 responses representing 588 children and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that a number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act have been commenced. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) made recommendations which suggested that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Reform (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that, following agreement in principle by the Government to broaden the current means testing arrangements for student grants by way of inclusion of the value of capital assets, I set up a dedicated implementation group to bring forward detailed proposals for implementation in 2013. I have received a draft report from the implementation group. This is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Working Group which I established alongside the Forum of 17 May this year, to examine issues related to tackling bullying in schools, including homophobic bullying, racist bullying and cyber bullying, is progressing with its task of producing an action plan to map the way forward. The Group has been considering the outcomes and recommendations from the Forum, along with the submissions...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 125 and 155 together. I am cognisant of the importance of schools to rural communities. Given our recent population growth we will have a much increased enrolment at all levels of education which is expected to continue in the medium term. Many pupil places are required in areas that currently have no school provision at all and we have schools in areas of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Procurement Rules (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Universities are autonomous institutions and my Department does not have any function in their operational affairs, including tendering, for which the Governing Bodies and the management staff are responsible. However, officials of my Department have made enquiries and I understand that when the university needs to obtain external legal advice it does so from a panel of law firms. The Code...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In January 2011, the Department issued an Expression of Interest invitation to the VECs, local authorities or other public bodies who might be interested in taking on administrative responsibility for the centralised student grants awarding and payments function. A total of 10 proposals were received. These proposals were examined by an independent selection panel against the evaluation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff Retirements (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Due to the unique circumstances surrounding the public service retirement package this year, it was difficult to forecast an exact cost of superannuation payments on my Vote for 2012. Higher numbers of retirements than projected will result in excess expenditure on the relevant subheads. The final amount of this excess, and any other excesses on the Vote, will not be known until year-end....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that it is not possible to anticipate future budgetary decisions. This Government, however, remains committed to the protection of frontline services for pupils with special educational needs. Approximately 15% of the entire budget of my Department – some €1.3 billion – was spent in support of children with Special Educational Needs in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Agencies (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, all new applications for the 2012/13 academic year are being processed and paid by SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority. SUSI as at the 16 November, 2012 paid student grants to some 4,420 students. SUSI is continuing to make payments on a weekly basis to ensure students can get paid their grant as expeditiously as possible, once they have been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Delays (20 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, all new applications for the 2012/13 academic year are being processed and paid by SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority. SUSI as at the 16 November, 2012 paid student grants to some 4,420 students. SUSI is continuing to make payments on a weekly basis to ensure students can get paid their grant as expeditiously as possible, once they have been...