Results 12,921-12,940 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — School Management: School Management (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I am pleased to be able to confirm to the Deputy that the current trustees of the school to which he refers have agreed in principle to lease the existing premises to the Department. The terms of this lease are currently being discussed. A new patron has also been identified for the school and the process of appointing the new patron is under way at present. I understand that the current...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The eligibility requirements for student grants, including those relating to nationality, are set out annually in the relevant grant schemes drawn up by my Department. Under the terms of the Higher Education Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those which relate to nationality, residency, means and previous academic...

Written Answers — Departmental Equipment: Departmental Equipment (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The number of personal computers and laptops currently deployed within my Department is as follows: Personal computers : 1627 Laptops : 384 With regard to the agencies under the aegis of my Department, each agency is responsible for its own Information Technology services and the number of personal computers and laptops deployed in each agency is therefore a matter for the individual...

Written Answers — Departmental Equipment: Departmental Equipment (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The information requested by the Deputy in relation to my Department is set out in the following table. The number of photocopier, laser printers, inkjet printers and multifunctional devices currently deployed within the Department of Education & Science are set out below. Photocopiers, laser printers, inkjet printers and multifunctional devices currently deployed by the Department of...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The following is the total spend by my Department on printer related consumables for the years mentioned: 2006 €160,024.48 2007 €126,772.09 2008 €116,594.85 2009 €124,207.84 2010 €21,932.25 With regard to the agencies under the aegis of my Department, each agency is responsible for its own Information Technology services and the expenditure on printer consumables in each agency...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The number of reams of photocopying paper purchased by my Department for the years 2006 to 2009 and to date in 2010 is set out in the following table. As the Department's records do not provide for the precise breakdown of information as requested by the Deputy, the figures represent the overall totals for A4 and A3 paper and for both recycled and non-recycled paper. The number of reams of...

Written Answers — School Services Staff: School Services Staff (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENO) for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The allocation for...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: From 1 January 2010, all new building projects, including those for schools, must obtain a Disability Access Certificate from the relevant Local Authority. The Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 351 of 2009) prescribe the procedures to be followed in respect of these new certification measures. The basis for developing the Disability Access Certificate documentation is...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 915 and 916 together. While the Forward Planning Section of the Department has detailed information on projected school going population, in order to inform decisions on what accommodation will be required in future years, it is necessary to know what capacity is available in the existing school accommodation stock. In this regard, work on the development of...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The key factor for determining the level of resources provided by my Department at individual school level for any school year is the pupil enrolment at the previous 30 September. The enrolment is applied to a staffing schedule which issues annually from my Department. The information requested by the Deputy is provided in the annual census of primary schools. The census for the current...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The Government approved the scheme of the Education (Patronage) Bill 2009 on 23rd June 2009. Drafting of the legislation has now been completed and it is expected that the Bill will be published during the current session. Pending enactment of the necessary legislation to provide for VEC patronage at primary level, I as Minister for Education and Science, am acting as patron of the pilot...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The Deputy will be aware that a number of amendments to the Student Support Bill in relation to legal and policy issues which have arisen since Second Stage are being advanced by my Department in close consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. In light of the commitment to put the grants on a statutory footing, I am anxious to provide a statutory basis for all student grants,...

Written Answers — Departmental Appointments: Departmental Appointments (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Appointment of Mr. Dermot Murphy and Mr. Michael Shovlin as Special Advisers, together with Mr. Sean Perry as Press Adviser, at my Department is underway in accordance with section 11 of the Public Services Management Act 1997. Each of Mr. Murphy, Mr. Shovlin and Mr. Perry served at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment during the tenure of my appointment as Minister at that...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 922 and 936 together. When the moratorium was introduced the Government exempted Principal and Deputy Principal appointments in all primary and post-primary schools and these continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium is therefore limited to the Assistant Principal and Special Duties allowances payable to teachers on...

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The issue of patronage and governance of our primary schools is of significant national importance. Irish society will continue to change at pace over the years to come and our education system must therefore continue to adapt and change to reflect this. I have publicly indicated at the recent INTO conference that I recognise that there is a need to seek the input and views of a wide cross...

Written Answers — Languages Programme: Languages Programme (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: There are no plans at present to include Mandarin Chinese as part on the curriculum in second level schools. Overall there are a range of foreign languages available on the curriculum in schools -- French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese and Arabic. A post Primary Languages Initiative is in place since 2000 with the objective of diversifying language provision in schools, focusing...

Written Answers — Schools Recognition: Schools Recognition (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department is considering a number of broad policy issues relating to the recognition process for second level schools. It is within this context that the setting up of a framework in relation to the establishment of new second-level schools and their patronage is currently being considered. New schools where only very initial planning has taken place will be considered in the context of...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 926 to 928, inclusive, 930 and 931 together. I am aware of the recent ASTI report based on responses from 334 teachers of Junior Certificate science. This shows that 14% of schools have dropped a Leaving Certificate science subject from the curriculum this year, and indicates a teacher view that a further 20% are likely to drop a science subject next year. Of...

Written Answers — Computerisation Programme: Computerisation Programme (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: It is intended to provide further funding for ICT infrastructure for schools. €50m capital is available in 2010 for this purpose. I intend to issue a significant portion of this funding in the coming weeks to Post Primary schools which will be asked to prioritise equipment for Project Maths. Schools may spend any remaining balance on other ICT equipment including equipment for science...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (20 Apr 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation 2006 to 2013 recommended that the provision of laboratory assistance for schools for science, which had been costed in the 2002 Report of the Task Force on Physical Sciences at €18.8m per annum, should be revisited. Provision of assistants in this area would undoubtedly lead to demands for similar assistance across other areas of the...