Results 13,681-13,700 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Infrastructure works on the site will commence in April 2013 when contracts for demolition works are placed. Further enabling works (relating to piping / site and sewage works) are expected to be placed later in the summer and will continue throughout 2014. The first tranche of 1,000 students are expected to be on site by 1st September 2014 in time for the start of the 2014/2015 academic...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The principal financial support available to students from my Department is provided under the student grant scheme, which makes available means-tested financial assistance to less well off students. Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. Due to competing demands on the Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic requirements it was not possible to include this project in the 5...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria that applied in awarding patronage of the post primary school for Tyrrelstown-Mulhuddart were as announced by me on 27th June 2011. These criteria provided for a greater diversity of school patronage having regard to parental preferences in each area. One of the criteria provided that the new schools would have to accept all pupils from within the areas they are to serve. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Procurement Service (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy may be aware that the National Procurement Service (NPS) is supporting Small and Medium Business Enterprises (SMEs) to participate in public sector procurement competitions through its education and guidance strategies. All of the NPS tender documents explicitly seek to encourage the participation of SMEs in competitions, by encouraging them to explore the possibilities of forming...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, it was anticipated in the announcement of the five year construction programme in March last year that adjustments might be made in relation to the scheduling of projects included in the programme on a year to year basis within the lifetime of the Plan. Decisions on these matters are made following consideration of a number of criteria, such as the overall annual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The independent Student Grants Appeal Board is in receipt of an appeal from the student in question. The appeal is due for consideration on the 9th April next. The student will be notified directly of the outcome by the Appeals Board.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Free Education Scheme (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 274 and 275 together. The Government is committed to supporting access of minority denomination communities to schools that are of their tradition or ethos. The provision made by Kilkenny College caters for the needs of children from the Protestant community spread across several counties. Accordingly when the authorities of Kilkenny College indicated that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Free Education Scheme (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The estimated average cost per student of a teaching post allocated to a voluntary secondary school in the Free Education scheme at a ratio of 19:1 is estimated at €3,368. A student enrolled in a school in the Free Education scheme also attracts per capita and associated grants totalling €639 per annum. Accordingly, the average per student cost in respect of a voluntary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that the student referred to by the Deputy has been awarded a grant and an award letter issued on 20th March, 2013

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Agencies Staff Remuneration (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Ten CEOs in agencies under the aegis of my Department are in receipt of salaries in excess of €100,000. If these salaries were to be capped, the resultant saving to the Exchequer would be €301,602

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The establishment day will obviously be after the President has signed the Bill. We are anxious to ensure there is not a premature establishment day. We hope to have everything done by June at the latest and we will probably establish the boards on a sequential basis. Some sections will not commence until everything is in place. The establishment day is pragmatically based on whether all...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I would hope that come September when the school academic year resumes, everything would be commissioned and operational. In the event that some things may be problematic in the operation of a school we would wait until the end of June in order that it would not impact on the school day.

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 22 provides that an education and training board may, with the Minister's consent, enter into an arrangement with an education or training provider for the joint performance of any of the board's functions. This will be subject to terms and conditions agreed between the board and the provider. The Minister of the day is given a direction to direct an education and training board to...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am very open to the principle behind the amendment. I have no difficulty with it but how to get something that will practically work. I want to talk about a person who is a member of a local authority who subsequently becomes a member of the new ETB but which is currently a VEC. Under the proposed legislation if a member of a local authority subsequently loses his or her seat for...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am sure the Senator will find a way in.

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am very anxious to accommodate everybody in this Chamber, as we did in the other Chamber. In a way, this is a much better Chamber in which to express what I am about to say now because it has direct experience of it. There are panels for election to this Chamber to which I was once elected. To follow up on what the Leas-Chathaoirleach has explained, there is only one unique three county...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Responding specifically to Senator Wilson about the current elections for parents, while I support the principle behind his contribution, the reality of practice and experience on the ground is the opposite. Current procedures to identify and elect parents are cumbersome and expensive, involving communication with approximately 150,000 people. The experience to date has been that turnout is...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am trying to keep the new boards compact. The number of representatives on the boards has increased to 21 since the Bill was drafted and it will increase to 22 in one case because it takes in County Leitrim. While this is not necessarily a problem, we should not move beyond the current size. My thinking on the Bill during the debates in the other House was that a parent will, by...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I think I have said all I want to say on this issue. I am striving here for genuinely broad representation, which was not the case with the VECs in the past, when often people were given slots because they were former councillors, they knew somebody, or were closely politically aligned with the dominant faction at the time. This is a structured advance beyond that point. As Senator Bacik...