Results 14,721-14,740 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (14 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant grant awarding authority i.e. the applicant's local authority or VEC. Where a grant application is refused, the reason for the refusal is given by the grant awarding authority. An applicant may appeal the decision to the relevant local authority or VEC. Where the grant awarding authority...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (14 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: A project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The design team are currently working on completing a revised stage 2(b) submission which will be submitted to my Department for technical review. The school have recently advised my Department that the design team anticipate forwarding the submission later this month. Following...

Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (14 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department is acutely aware of the need for additional permanent school accommodation in the general Naas area and to this end, my Department is currently in the process of acquiring sites in the Naas area for educational use. Pending the acquisition of these sites, the Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position to say definitively whether the school referred to by the Deputy will...

Written Answers — Schools Recognition: Schools Recognition (14 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: 2057In July 2008 Notifications of Intention to apply for recognition for two new primary schools in the Tallaght/Firhouse and Saggart/Rathcoole/Newcastle areas were received by my Department from the patron body referred to by the Deputy. A review of the procedures for the establishment of new primary schools is currently being carried out under the Commission on School Accommodation. In the...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (14 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: 2057The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the relevant grant awarding authority i.e. the applicant's local authority or VEC. Where a grant application is refused, the reason for the refusal is given by the grant awarding authority. An applicant may appeal the decision to the relevant local authority or VEC. Where the grant awarding authority...

Order of Business (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I told the Deputy so on Thursday.

Order of Business (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: It is.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: There are currently 236 prefab units being rented in primary and post-primary schools in Cork City and County. It should be noted that a single prefab unit may consist of one or more classrooms and/or ancillary accommodation. The annual rental cost for these units is €3m. My Department approved the rental of seven prefab units in Cork City and County to date in 2010 while rental contracts...

Written Answers — Institutes of Technology: Institutes of Technology (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Proposals submitted to my Department by Institutes of Technology during the period 1st January to 31st March 2009 initially involved a total of 31 proposed voluntary early retirements, with added years, for academic staff. However, my Department was subsequently informed in March, 2009 by an Institute that one of the applicants included in its submission had withdrawn. Furthermore, following...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: On foot of a technical inspection of the building referred to by the Deputy, which my officials deemed suitable, the OPW have agreed to transfer the building to my Department subject to a lease being finalised. The drafting of the lease is a matter for the OPW in the first instance.

Written Answers — Computerisation Programme: Computerisation Programme (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: As the Deputy will be aware, my colleague Minister O'Keeffe distributed €22.3m in capital funding to primary schools last November, with a specific focus on equipping classrooms with digital projectors, teaching computers and wireless mice and keyboards. Schools are asked to prioritise the deployment of these items in each classroom, and have been given access to national purchasing...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 134 and 135 together. The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the holding of the examinations and ensuring the preparation of examination papers and other examination materials. I understand that the detailed specifications for assessment are currently being finalised by the Commission and will issue...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment has statutory responsibility for advising on curriculum and assessment issues in early childhood, primary and second level school settings. This advice is processed through the consultative structures of the NCCA, on which my Department, along with the State Examinations Commission and the partners in education are represented. The...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers recently wrote to my Department seeking capital funding to provide additional accommodation at the school. An appropriate application form was furnished to the school authority for completion. Any application received will be considered in the context of the capital budget available to my Department for school buildings generally.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department has facilitated the running of the course referred to by the Deputy in a PLC centre for the last number of years. It is accredited by Dundee University as the equivalent of a Level 8 award on the National Framework of Qualifications (Honours Bachelor Degree/Higher Diploma). The conditions of approval for the PLC programme state that the level of certification on completion must...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department has regulatory responsibility for the Superannuation Schemes of VEC staff while administrative responsibility rests with each individual VEC. Officials in my Department have been in contact with the VEC referred to by the Deputy and the VEC is contacting the person referred to by the Deputy in order to address the matter.

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I wish to advise the Deputy that a total of 14,295 applications to the Residential Institutions Redress Board have been processed up to the 18th October 2010. This has resulted in 13,400 awards being made to individual survivors with 895 being refused or resulting in no award. This figure can be broken down as follows to reflect the statistics on an annual basis as requested by the Deputy:...

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The Government announced its intention to use €110m of the offers of contributions to be made by the religious Congregations over the next few years to establish a Statutory Fund to support the needs of survivors of residential institutional child abuse on 15th April last. As the Deputy will recall the Congregations offered additional contributions, which they valued at €348.51m, in...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and 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. I have...

Written Answers — Departmental Procurement: Departmental Procurement (19 Oct 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The following companies are contracted to provide telecommunication services to my Department: Eircom, Siemens Enterprise Communications, Vodafone, 02, Complete Telecom, Soft-Ex Ireland, AA Telecom, Advanced Telephone Systems Ltd, Martin Kelly Business Telephone Systems, Phone Plus Ltd, Telephone & Alarm Systems, Spectrum Communications Ltd. The financial agreements in place with the...