Results 15,101-15,120 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pension Provisions (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Supplementary pension is a top-up pension paid by the occupational pension provider in the period between retirement and age 66 (previously age 65) to public servants who paid Class A PRSI during some or all of their employment. Supplementary pension is paid in order to ensure that these public servants are not disadvantaged between the date of retirement and state pension age. It is a rule...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school to which the Deputy refers is a recognised special school. In the case of special schools, the National Council for Special Education allocates staffing resources on an ongoing basis to provide for the number of pupils enrolling taking into account the disability categorisation of those pupils, and in accordance with the criteria set out in my Departments Circular 0042/2011. In...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school referred to by the Deputy is currently operating out of suitable start-up accommodation and will continue to operate in this accommodation for the coming 2016/17 academic year. A suitable permanent site has been identified for the school and the acquisition process is underway. Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Following a number of years of decline, registrations in the 27 existing apprenticeship trades are rising as the employment and economic situation improves. At the end of 2014, registrations were up 40% on 2013. In 2015 there were 3,153 registrations in the existing trades which represents a further 17% increase in registrations on 2014. SOLAS have informed me that registrations are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Recent years have seen an increase in the number of SNAs from 10,575 posts in 2011 to 12,040 to June 2016. In the same period the number of children accessing SNA support has grown from approximately 22,000 to some 30,000 by the end of 2015. The increase in SNA numbers has been supported by a very significant increase in the Budget for SNAs, rising from €332 million in 2011 to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Energy Efficiency (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is at the forefront of design with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings and this performance has been recognised at both National and International level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in Design and Specification. My Department's Technical Guidance Documents (TGDs) set the benchmark for sustainable design in school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. Full details of the scheme are available from their website: www.examinations.ie/candidates/reasonableaccommodations. In view of this I have forwarded...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The delivery of the new post-primary school referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (ETB) under a Service Level Agreement. A planning application was submitted to Limerick County Council by the ETB in January this year and the local authority has sought further information in relation to this application. The ETB and their Design...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 191 to 193, inclusive, together. In October 2015 my Department received a Protected Disclosure from a staff member at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). As outlined by the Deputy the disclosure makes a number of allegations in relation to wrongdoing at the University. The correspondence was referred to the Higher Education Authority (HEA)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Placement (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department, in conjunction with the Patron of one of the schools in Greystones, has recently approved the development of a second stream at the school. This approval facilitates enrolment of an additional Junior Infants class from September 2016 onwards and my Department has approved additional interim accommodation to cater for this development. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that an approval letter outlining the terms and conditions of the grant in question will issue to the school this week.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Currently the SEC operates a Scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at the Leaving and Junior Certificate examinations for candidates with special needs in the examinations. The Scheme applies to candidates who have a physical or medical disability, including visual and hearing impairments, or a specific learning difficulty (dyslexia is one such specific learning difficulty). All applications...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Provision (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. The GIS uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Department of Social Protection together with information from my Department's school databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (24 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The curriculum in second level schools meets an extensive range of needs in catering for the cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social, physical and moral development of students, and in preparing them for the demands of citizenship, lifelong learning and social and economic participation. The Social Personal and Health Education curriculum, which is currently mandatory for junior...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I do recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary and secondary schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over the recent years. In 2015 the first increase in education spending was secured in recent years and a further increase in education spending was achieved in 2016. I am determined to continue pressing the case for increased investment, including grant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Since September 2012 at post primary level guidance provision is now being organised by school management from within the staffing schedule allocation. Guidance is a whole school activity and schools have autonomy on how best to prioritise their available resources to meet the requirements in relation to guidance and the provision of an appropriate range of subjects to students. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Momentum Programme (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Momentum programme is open to all long-term unemployed jobseekers, including those with a disability. It should be noted that the programme does not have any ring-fenced places specifically for participants with a disability. To be eligible to participate in the programme, individuals must have met the following criteria -Be unemployed for 12 months or longer and -Be in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Books Grant (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department has provided approx. €16m in funding to first and second level schools to provide assistance for books in 2015. Increasing this funding by 30% in 2016 would cost approx. €4.8million.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The delivery of the new post-primary school referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (ETB) under a Service Level Agreement. A planning application was submitted to Limerick County Council by the ETB in January this year and the local authority has sought further information in relation to this application. The ETB and its Design Team...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Data (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that it is the policy of my Department that only teachers registered with the Teaching Council should be employed by recognised schools. Circulars 31/2011, 25/2013 and 52/2013 issued by my Department to the Managerial Authorities of schools state that each employer shall ensure that each person proposed for appointment to a teaching post, for which salary grant is...