Results 13,341-13,360 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (27 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Grant payments in respect of maintenance were made to the student in question on the 30th January and the 20th February 2013.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff Numbers (27 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 146 and 148 together. My Department has contracted one temporary Administrative Officer who has been assigned to the International Section of my Department for the duration of the European Union Presidency. In addition to this my Department has a long term contract for services with the National Council for the Blind for the provision of two telephonists. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff (27 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: No members of staff who retired in the last three years have been re-instated to their former positions or to any other positions within my Department. From time to time, my Department engages retired staff to carry out specific tasks. Such engagements are for once-off or short-duration projects where it is more cost-effective to re-engage retired staff who already have the relevant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106, 107, and 112 together. 85% of all NCSE approved resource teaching hours in the 2012/13 school year were allocated to schools that had resource base posts. There are some slight changes to the location of these base posts for the 2013/14 school year to further improve the efficiency of these arrangements. The schools that were affected by these changes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Vocational Education Committees Staff (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Following protracted negotiations, my Department consented to an ad-hoc referral to the Labour Court of a claim from TUI for a pay increase for Directors of Education Centres. The Labour Court subsequently issued a non-binding recommendation in 2009 in respect of this claim. Due to the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act, this Labour Court recommendation cannot...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that a review of the temporary accommodation at the above school took place in July 2012 as per standard practice when the rental contract was due to expire. My Department advised the school at that time that rental grant aid would continue to be approved until June 2013. Correspondence on the matter has been received recently from the school. My Department will be in direct...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: To satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course. The objective of this policy is to help as many students as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Bodies (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: For the Deputy's information, Mr Justice Esmond Smyth serves as Chairperson of the Residential Institutions Redress Board. He retired as President of the Circuit Court in February 2012 but continues as Chairperson of the Board. Mr Justice Francis D Murphy, retired judge of the Supreme Court, serves as the Chairperson of the Residential Institutions Review Committee. In addition, Judge John...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: When the moratorium on the filling of posts of responsibility was introduced the Government exempted Principal and Deputy Principal posts in all primary and post-primary schools and these posts continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium is therefore limited to the Director of Adult Education, Assistant Principal and Special Duties posts of responsibility....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Expenditure (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The total capital expenditure on the primary sector in 2012 was just over €204 million.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (28 Feb 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports. This includes the allocation of resource teaching hours to schools as well as the establishment of special classes in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Further Education and Training Programmes (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Springboard is not a general education measure. It is a specific initiative that strategically targets funding of free part-time higher education courses to enable unemployed people who have lost jobs in sectors where employment levels will not return, to upskill or reskill in areas where there are identified labour market skills shortages or employment opportunities. To be eligible for a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the approval of resource teaching hours. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of such...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that a dedicated capital assets test implementation group was established to bring forward detailed implementation proposals on new means testing arrangements for student grants, to include the value of assets. No decision has been taken on the treatment of farm or other business assets or on the setting of a limit on the value of assets that may be included in any...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Employment Rights Issues (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The review referred to by the Deputy has now been carried out. Arrears of salary were paid to the person referred to on the 28th February 2013.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: 85% of all NCSE approved resource teaching hours in the 2012/13 school year were allocated to schools that had resource base posts. There are some slight changes to the location of these base posts for the 2013/14 school year to further improve the efficiency of these arrangements. The schools that were affected by these changes were those where the posts were not fully utilised for NCSE...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that while documentation was received from the student referred to by the Deputy, it was necessary to issue a request for further documentation on the 28th February in order to determine eligibility in this case. As soon as the requested documentation is received, the student will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Physical Education (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: CAO points are a matter for the 3rd level Colleges. Currently, all primary and second-level schools provide PE as part of the curriculum and there are approved syllabuses for the subject. The new Framework for Junior Cycle which I published last October will, inter alia, aim to increase the importance of physical wellbeing in several ways: - The Framework is based on eight Principles. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Outdoor Education Centres (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Labour Court issued a non binding recommendation in respect of the claim by the Directors of Outdoor Education Centres. Due to the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Act 2009, this recommendation cannot be implemented. The matter in respect of the CEOs of VECs was referred to the Labour Court under paragraphs 1.23 and 1.24 of the Public Service (Croke Park)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (5 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Ballyfermot College of Further Education is an approved institution for student grant purposes. It appears that the Deputy is referring to the BA Media Production Management course provided by Ballyfermot College. This is an approved post leaving certificate course under the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme. However, not all students attending this course would be deemed...