Results 14,501-14,520 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: A new course in Irish Sign Language (ISL) has been prepared by the Post-Primary Languages Initiative (PPLI), a project of my Department. This 100 hour course is based on the Generic Short Course in Modern Languages, which was in turn developed by the PPLI using the new Framework for Junior Cycle and the Junior Cycle Short Courses Draft Handbook 'Developing Short Courses in Junior Cycle'. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The selection and enrolment of pupils in 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 school 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 not have a place...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Legal Costs (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The following were the service providers who received payments for the years 2014 and 2015: In 2014, the payments were made to Arthur Cox Solicitors and Peter Ward S.C. In 2015, payments have been made to Conor Feeney B.L. and Peter Ward S.C.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The Deputy will appreciate that, in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form and supporting...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Residential Institutions Redress Amendment Act, 2011 removed the Board's power to accept late applications received on or after the 17th September 2011. This legislation was enacted some 8 and a half years since the Board was established and 5 and half years after the initial closing date and I am satisfied that sufficient time has been given to potential applicants to apply to the Board....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Staff (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 555 and 556 together. It is the policy of my Department that only qualified personnel should be employed by schools. Unqualified personnel should not be appointed except in exceptional circumstances and then only when all avenues for recruiting qualified personnel have been exhausted and only for quite limited time periods. Circular 31 of 2011 issued...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (15 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: 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 allocating Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support, which is set out in my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Research and Development Funding (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 148 together. Under Innovation 2020 a new competitive fund to support researchers to undertake project-based frontier research, and to develop as Principal Investigators, is to be established by the Irish Research Council. Funding will be awarded on the basis of the excellence of the research proposals, assessed through a rigorous and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under the Teaching Council Act, the Teaching Council is the body with statutory authority for the registration of teachers. Teachers are registered under The Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2009. As the statutory professional standards body for teaching in Ireland, the Council is of the view that all teachers should be first and foremost qualified and registered as teachers...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Expenditure (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that commensurate with the level of funding available for the Summer Works Scheme, applications, including that from the school referred to by the Deputy, will be assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015), is available on my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Deputy will be aware that the Report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector was published in April 2012. The Report recommended a review and updating of the Rules for National Schools and in particular, Rule 68. As acknowledged in the Report, there is an overall context that many of the Rules are outdated and have been overtaken in whole or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can confirm for the Deputy that the building project for the school in question will be constructed on the school's existing site. The project is currently at an early stage of architectural planning and the stage 1 initial sketch design report was recently furnished to my Department for review. Upon completion of this review and subject to no issues arising, the project will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The stages of architectural planning referred to by the Deputy arise from my Department's design team procedures for the procurement of major capital projects. These are necessary to comply with Department of Finance guidelines which require that capital projects be fully designed prior to going to tender. They also ensure proper cost management of capital projects and facilitate compliance...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: 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 allocating Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support, which is set out in my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: When considering whether a student meets the conditions to be assessed independently of his or her parents, grant awarding authorities are obliged to satisfy themselves beyond doubt that an acceptable degree of proof of independent living in the relevant period has been submitted by the grant applicant. In exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to produce such proofs of residence...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools which have enrolled pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in order to ensure that, wherever a child is enrolled, they will have access to an appropriate education. Children with ASD may be enrolled in a mainstream school and can attend all mainstream classes. In such cases these children will receive...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The project to provide permanent accommodation for Holy Family School, Cootehill, Cavan is currently at Stage 2(a) (Developed Design stage) of the architectural planning process. My Department officials recently met with the school authority and their design team to determine what issues, including the decant requirements, remain to be addressed in the design stages and the most effective...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that commensurate with the level of funding available for the Summer Works Scheme, applications including that from the school referred to by the Deputy will be assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015), is available on my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that a suitable permanent site for the school to which he refers has been identified and the acquisition process is underway. Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the acquisition of a new site for the school is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 to 163, inclusive, together. The school building project referred to by the Deputy is included on the current 5 year construction programme announced in 2012. It is listed on the programme to proceed to tender and construction in 2015/16. The project is at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning. Stage 2(B) Detailed Design Stage which includes the...