Results 15,081-15,100 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Fee-Paying Schools (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 to 124, inclusive, together. I met in recent days with the Joint Managerial Body and representatives of fee charging schools. The meeting afforded them an opportunity to articulate their views on a range of issues concerning their schools. A number of fee charging schools have made contacted with the Department and the level of engagement to date...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together. The Deputy will be aware that under the Prefab Replacement Initiative 2012, approval was given to 170 schools nationally to replace 458 prefab units with permanent accommodation. In excess of €42 million was allocated for this initiative. Some thirty projects have been completed with approximately 100 others on site. In June...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the school closed for the summer holidays last week. The project is close to completion and it is envisaged that the building will be handed over to the school authorities shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The development of appropriate skills for the workplace has implications for curricula, programme design and teaching methodologies at all levels of the education system. As enterprise sectors develop and expand, demand for employees with core technical and specialist expertise across a range of disciplines continues to grow. Employers also equally value more generic skills such as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Accenture Report, which reviewed the operations of SUSI, contained a series of recommendations, many of which are already being implemented by SUSI. In line with these recommendations and in preparation for the 2013/14 academic year, both the online application system and the application assessment process have been further developed to enhance their effectiveness and to deal with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department as individual school management authorities are not required to report incidents of bullying to my Department. As the Deputy is probably aware, on 29th of January last, Minister Fitzgerald and I published the Action Plan on Bullying which sets out twelve actions to help prevent and tackle bullying in primary and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Participation (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The most recent report by the HEA entitled 'A study of Progression in Higher Education' is available on the HEA website. The following table from the report illustrates the non-presence rates of new entrants in their second year of study by sector, NFQ level and course duration. New entrants are classified as 'not present' if they do not appear in the statistical returns of that institution...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Participation (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) is a third-level admissions scheme for students with a disability. The scheme is operated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. Admissions to the institutions are regulated by the institutions themselves. The Deputy may wish to contact the Irish Universities Association in this instance. Further details in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Meetings (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware of this Government's ongoing commitment to ensuring that all children with special educational needs, including children with Down syndrome, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. The policy of my Department is to secure the maximum possible level of inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream primary and post-primary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Services Staff (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Responsibility for the recruitment and selection of school personnel (including volunteers) rests with the Board of Management. If the Board of Management of a school decides to engage a person (whether on a voluntary or paid basis) to assist or supplement the classroom teacher, the Board must ensure that appropriate selection procedures have been followed and that the person is suitably...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying of Children (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department as individual school management authorities are not required to report incidents of bullying to my Department. As the Deputy is probably aware, on 29th of January last, Minister Fitzgerald and I published the Action Plan on Bullying which sets out twelve actions to help prevent and tackle bullying in primary and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has no record of receiving an application from the school in question for capital funding towards the project as outlined in the details supplied. The Deputy will be aware that my Department's priority is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Courses Availability (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has received representations on behalf of students enrolled on this programme which the institution concerned included in their CAO course offerings for the first time in 2012. I have asked the HEA to engage with the institution to identify how the situation can be resolved for the students and to report to me on the matter as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, a new set of proposals for a public service agreement were put forward by the Labour Relations Commission which now form the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2016 (the Haddington Road Agreement). The Government has committed to implementing the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement for grades represented by Unions which have signed up to the Haddington...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to by the Deputy appealed their decision. SUSI reviewed her application and she was issued with a decision on the appeal on the 26th June 2013. Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that my Department have received correspondence from the school, referred to by the Deputy, in relation to their long term accommodation needs The school's proposals are currently being assessed and my Department will be in contact with the school authorities, concerned, on the matter shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available but will be forwarded directly to her when it is compiled.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Enrolment Policy (4 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: 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...