Results 14,301-14,320 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Other Questions: School Funding (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has not carried out an assessment of the indebtedness or otherwise of primary schools. The finances of recognised primary schools are a matter for the boards of management of these schools. Boards should budget in such a way as to enable them to meet their commitments and their expenditure should not exceed their income. Overdrafts or other forms of debt or excesses of...

Other Questions: School Funding (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The funding crisis is not in confined to our schools. It affects every part of the country and its impact is a direct legacy of Governments which were dominated by Deputy McConalogue's party. The gap between what the country is spending and earning is €12 billion. No one is immune from the Government's efforts to close this gap and, sadly, these include a reduction of resources in a...

Other Questions: School Funding (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I do not have any apology to make for my role in the previous election campaign or my conduct in this House, both as an Opposition spokesperson or as a Minister in previous Governments. None of the parties, including the Labour Party, secured a majority in the previous election. We had a national crisis two and a half years ago. In functioning democracies, at least those whose survival is...

Other Questions: Third Level Admissions Entry Requirements (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 59 and 76 together. Universities and institutes of technology are autonomous statutory bodies and the recruitment of students and the establishment of admissions criteria are matters for the individual institutions concerned. The institutions have delegated to the CAO the task of processing applications for admission to first year undergraduate courses,...

Other Questions: Third Level Admissions Entry Requirements (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As I am sure the Deputy is aware, the Central Applications Office, CAO, is a private entity - a limited company - owned jointly by the seven universities, which set both the policy and the standards that apply. I understand that approaching 40 colleges and other third level institutions now avail of the CAO facility. A recently published strategy document indicates that it is hoped to...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The July education programme provides funding for an extended school year for children with autism and children with a severe or profound general learning disability. The programme is available to all special and mainstream primary schools that have special classes catering for eligible pupils. Where school-based provision is not available, ten hours per week of home-based provision may be...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I sought an additional briefing from one of my civil servants because, like the Deputy, I wanted to ensure that I understood accurately the reply that I had read. In my own words, I was told that there was never an automatic one-to-one entitlement. In many cases, an application was made on behalf of one child. The euphemism in the documentation reads, "In previous years, the application...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department will do whatever it can to facilitate families where home tuition is necessary. As I indicated in reply to a previous question, in Blanchardstown resources are being pooled to get a school environment delivery. An appeals mechanism exists. Parents with three or more children, all of whom require special home tuition for whatever reason, who are not satisfied with the current...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Of course I share the concern outlined by the Deputy. That is why every decision we make is carefully analysed as best we can given the wide diversity in circumstances. As I indicated before Deputy McGrath entered the Chamber, reconciling the situation is a challenge we face on a continual basis. It is clear Deputy McConalogue has detailed knowledge of an individual case, which I do not...

Other Questions: Official Engagements (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: To date in 2013, I have visited 21 schools throughout the country, 13 primary schools and eight post-primary schools.

Other Questions: Official Engagements (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The tradition introduced by previous Fianna Fáil Ministers of spending up to two days per week visiting schools and reporting back to look for special exemptions and favours created a sort of 18th century acceptance of patronage that did nothing for the welfare of this republic. The reforms I and the Ministers of State are introducing are better for everyone. I accept that visiting...

Other Questions: Official Engagements (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputies for their comments. Getting the balance right is necessary. I can now visit more schools than was the case a year or two ago. I accept Deputy Finian McGrath's remarks but the practice in the past had given rise to unrealisable and unfair expectations. I wanted to break that practice and change it. I accept that teachers and school communities, as I mentioned in a...

Other Questions: Student Grant Scheme Payments (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The policy basis which informs my Department's education and training provision includes the National Skills Strategy, the Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation, the Report of the Task Force on Innovation, the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030, the Action Plan for Jobs and Pathways to Work. In addition to the wide range of cross-cutting policy structures and forums for...

Other Questions: Student Grant Scheme Payments (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I beg the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's pardon. My apologies to the House. I understand from Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, that, as at close of business on 30 December 2012, some 26,419 applications had been awarded or provisionally awarded. Of these, some 19,779 students were paid maintenance or had their entitlement to fees confirmed - where they were awarded a fees-only grant. ...

Other Questions: Student Grant Scheme Payments (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: We will have a much better experience this year in the operation of the SUSI organisation. We all have learnt from the challenges that were posed during the course of last year. We have now got the assent from the Data Protection Commissioner and others to share information between different Government agencies which will speed up the process more effectively. I will keep a close...

Other Questions: Student Grant Scheme Payments (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh. SUSI is bringing forward its timetable of operations. It is intended that SUSI will open for business sooner. In fact, I understand, subject to confirmation, a website is going live tomorrow and that SUSI would hope that 1 August, rather than 31 August, will be the closing date for applications so that students will have applied and submitted their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Reform (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Following completion of the Landscape process initiated by the HEA in 2012, I recently received the formal advice from the Authority on the re-configuration of the higher education system, including proposals for inter-institutional collaboration and system governance. I have discussed the advice with my colleagues in Government this morning and I will be publishing this advice and formally...

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

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has no budgetary provision for dealing with requests from schools for additional career guidance allocations nor are such requests generally made by schools. As part of existing arrangements short-term support is provided to schools that are dealing with particularly acute incidents that arise due to tragic accidents, bereavements etc. Short term support has been allocated to 5...

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

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. I have received a draft report from the implementation group. This is currently under consideration and I will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (28 May 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I know that the Deputy is aware that I recently wrote to the Catholic Patrons in 23 areas where parental demand for change has been confirmed through parental survey outcomes. The Deputy will also be aware that the purpose of my letter was to ask the Patrons to consider options for reconfiguring their schools to allow the transfer of a school to a new patron. I requested an interim response...