Results 13,601-13,620 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Details of schools where rented prefabs have been purchased including information on the number of prefabs purchased in each case is attached for the Deputy's information. As negotiations are on-going on the buy-out of other contracts the individual amounts spent are not being provided because this information is commercially sensitive. County Roll No School No of Prefab Units 2009 ...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: At the end of each year this Department prepares a set of Annual Accounts known as the Appropriation Accounts, comparing the sums voted by Dáil Éireann under the Appropriation Act for that year (including the amount that could be used as appropriations-in-aid of expenditure) with the actual expenditure outturn for each subhead in Vote 26: Education & Science (Education & Skills with effect...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) provides behaviour improvement support and advice to 62 schools nationally and special behaviour support classrooms/programmes have been established in 30 of these schools. Behaviour support classrooms/programmes provide an individualised intensive intervention for students who are unable to abide by a schools code of behaviour. This intervention...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The principal financial support available to students in higher education is the student maintenance grant. Students who are entering approved courses are eligible for financial assistance where they satisfy the relevant conditions including those relating to residency, means, age, nationality and previous academic attainment. When the Minister announced details of the student maintenance...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: There is no requirement for local school authorities to report incidents or allegations of bullying to my Department, nor do I believe that this should be the case. Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed, on behalf of the school Patron or Trustees, by school Boards of Management who employ the teachers at the school. Whereas as I, as Minister for Education and Skills...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Responsibility for tackling bullying falls to the level of the individual school as it is at local level that an effective anti-bullying climate must be established. Section 23 of the Education Welfare Act 2000 requires all schools to have in place a Code of Behaviour. Such a code, developed through consultation with the whole school community and properly implemented, can be the most...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The question of enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. This may result, however, in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. It is the responsibility of the managerial...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The public sector number for 31 March 2009 for full-time primary teachers was 31,134. The corresponding figure for 31 March 2010 was 31,390. Part-time primary teachers were set up on the Department's payroll with effect from 1 September 2009. Previously, these part-time teachers were paid under a grant based system at individual school level. The public sector numbers for 31 March 2010 for...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: As I informed the Deputy, a system to deal with the reconciliation of PRD payments is being developed at present. Once this development is completed and implemented on the payrolls arrangements will be made to issue refunds, where appropriate, to teachers and special needs assistants. My Department is not in a position to give an exact date at present, but I will inform the deputy when the...

Written Answers — School Placement: School Placement (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The selection and enrolment of pupils in second-level schools is the responsibility of the authorities of the individual school. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking second level places in an area. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. As schools may...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I wish to advise the Deputy that I am the title holder of the complex in question. I have no plans to alter the existing arrangements that are in place.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The provision of a new building for the school to which the Deputy refers necessitates the acquisition of a site. The Patron has decided to make this acquisition. When a site is available, consideration can be given to the inclusion of a building project for the school in the School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of the current level of demand on the Department's...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: There is no requirement for local school authorities to report incidents or allegations of bullying or of verbal or physical abuse of school staff to my Department, nor do I believe that this should be the case. Under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed, on behalf of the school Patron or Trustees, by school Boards of Management who employ the teachers at the school....

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant assessing authority, i.e. the applicant's local authority or VEC. An applicant may appeal the decision to the relevant local authority or VEC. Where the assessing authority decides to reject the appeal, the applicant may appeal this decision to my Department by submitting an appeal form...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The school referred to by the Deputy had an enrolment of 9 pupils at 30 September, 2009. This entitles the school to 1 teaching post under the primary staffing schedule for the coming school year. It is open to any Board of Management to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeal Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the staffing schedule,...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The information requested by the Deputy on the number of special needs assistants employed in schools in the Dublin area is not readily available in the requested format. 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...

Written Answers — Departmental Offices: Departmental Offices (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Due to staffing constraints the Department has decided to cease its regional office service and re-allocate staff to priority work in the Department. This decision has been taken based on a combination of factors the outcome of a review of the Regional Offices in 2009 following a Government budget decision to scale back their activity; the impact on the Department of various measures to...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The review of mainstreamed projects in local drugs task force areas, funded by my Department, is not as yet finalised. A key aspect of the review is to determine whether my Department is the appropriate location for these projects or whether funding should more appropriately be channelled through another Department or agency. In this regard, officials of the Department have held discussions...

Written Answers — Literacy Levels: Literacy Levels (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Under the terms of the DEIS Action Plan, a commitment was made to extend the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP) Demonstration Library Project to the 50 School Support Programme (SSP) schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage over the five years to 2010, with extension to further SSP schools to be considered subsequently. To date, the Project has been extended to 20 of...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (26 May 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department is committed to reducing staff numbers in order to facilitate the Government's core objective of restoring the public finances to a sustainable position while at the same time ensuring to the greatest extend possible that the Department can deliver on its key services. In relation to the Government's moratorium on Civil Service recruitment/promotions the Personnel Section at my...