Results 15,181-15,200 of 16,057 for speaker:Mary Coughlan

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The total capital allocation for the Department of Education and Skills in 2010 is just over €785m including a €79m carryover from 2009. Actual capital expenditure at the end of October amounted to €449.295m. Details of the capital allocation and expenditure to end October 2010 in respect of each sector are as follows: SECTORS Allocation Expenditure Administrative Budget €3.1m...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (11 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department incurs expenditure on public advertisements in connection with a wide range of educational programmes and schemes including, staff appointments in the education sector; invitations to attend local hearings; invitations to forward submissions on education-related schemes/projects; invitations to tender for school building projects. In accordance with a Government decision in...

Written Answers — Education Welfare Service: Education Welfare Service (11 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: My Department provides for a scheme of grants towards the purchase of equipment for the use of students in second-level schools who have been diagnosed as having serious physical and/or communicative disabilities which make ordinary communication through speech and/or writing impossible for them. The purpose of the grant-aid is to provide such students with equipment of direct educational...

Financial Stability Development in Ireland and Elsewhere: Statements (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Deputy Morgan will need to withdraw his comment.

Financial Stability Development in Ireland and Elsewhere: Statements (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Deputy Morgan still has not done it.

Financial Stability Development in Ireland and Elsewhere: Statements (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: It is a statement of fact.

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (16 Nov 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 on 15th April last. This proposal is in keeping with the all party Motion passed by Dáil Éireann, supporting the proposal for a Trust to be set up and managed by the State for the support of victims and for other...

Written Answers — Catchment Boundaries: Catchment Boundaries (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 to 95, inclusive, together. Catchment boundaries have their origins in the establishment of free post primary education in the late 1960s. For planning purposes, the country was divided into geographic districts, each with several primary schools feeding into a post primary education centre with one or more post primary schools. The intention was that these...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I can inform the Deputy that all primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the SCPA, whereby the school can have an...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: An application for funding under Emergency Works was submitted by the school in question. However, following an assessment of the application and in light of the nature and scale of the works involved it is not possible to provide funding at this time. It is open to the school authority to submit an application for these works under the next round of the Summer Works Scheme.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department recently authorised the Design Team to issue the Letter of Acceptance (i.e. award the contract). Assuming that no issues arise, it is expected that the project will commence construction within weeks and will take circa 12 months to complete.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has applied to my Department for large scale capital funding for an extension/refurbishment. In accordance with the published criteria for large scale building projects, the project for this school has been assigned a Band 2 rating. Information in respect of the current school building programme along with all assessed applications for...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The information requested by the Deputy on the number of special needs assistants employed in each county on the dates specified is not readily available. The number of Special Needs Assistants employed nationally in each of the past five years and on 30th September 2010 is available in the document below. The details for each of the past five years are the December figures for the year in...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: The details of the case referred to by the Deputy are being checked at present. I will arrange for the Deputy to be notified of the position.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (16 Nov 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 — School Services Staff: School Services Staff (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: In the context of the Towards 2016 Review and Transitional Agreement in 2008, it was agreed that the relevant parties would enter into discussions regarding the terms and conditions of both school secretaries and caretakers. Accordingly, a forum was set up with the aim of establishing the position in schools regarding the terms and conditions of certain school secretaries and caretakers...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Currently there are no schemes for early retirement or voluntary redundancy open to officials at my Department other than the Cost Neutral Early Retirement Scheme which was introduced in early 2005. In the event any further new schemes of early retirement, voluntary redundancy or redeployment programmes are introduced for all civil servants or for staff of a particular grade, they will be...

Written Answers — School Management: School Management (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 and 107 together. The person referred to by the Deputy is employed by the Board of Management of the school. Issues relating to the appointment and the employment of the person including the personnel issues referred to are a matter for the Board. An official of my Department received a query in December 2009 from the secretary of the board of management...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: Funding for Emergency Works are made available to those schools most in need of resources as a result of unforeseen emergencies of a capital nature that may arise during the school year. The school referred to by the Deputy has submitted an application for funding under this scheme to my Department and this application is being assessed. A decision will issue to the school as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Ministerial Travel: Ministerial Travel (16 Nov 2010)

Mary Coughlan: I have not used the Government jet in the past four weeks.