Results 15,341-15,360 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school building project for the project to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. All statutory approvals have been obtained and the Stage 2b submission has been approved by my Department. However, on 1st January 2016 there were 66 major projects under construction. Since the start of this year 14 more major projects have been progressed to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Access to Higher Education (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department provides supports to facilitate greater levels of participation by students from lower socio-economic groups, mature students and students with disabilities. The principal support is provided for under the statutory based student grant scheme, which makes available means-tested financial assistance to students in further and higher education by Student Universal Support Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Expenditure (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that, Section 2 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, providing for the inclusive education of children with special educational needs and the sections of the Act which placed the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) on a statutory footing, were commenced in 2005. The remaining sections of the EPSEN Act have yet...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Institutions (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: Details of the Institutes of Technology that are showing a deficit in their draft financial statements for 2014/15 are set out in the attached table. All of the institutes listed with the exception of two - Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) and Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) - have reserves which can be used to meet their deficit. DKIT and WIT have submitted financial plans to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Services Staff (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: The table attached contains the breakdown of ancillary services grant to primary and voluntary secondary schools from 2007 to 2016. The rate of grants in 2016 are at or above the rate of grants in 2008. The rate of grant reached its highest level in 2010 and were subsequently reduced in line with budgetary measures. Table of grants paid to Voluntary Secondary and Primary Schools 2007- 2016...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff Recruitment (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: In the 2014/15 academic year, there were just over 18,000 core staff across the higher education system (whole-time equivalents). This figure encompasses some 9,800 academic staff and 8,300 non-academic staff. These figures do not include contract research staff. There were just over 190,000 students (whole-time equivalents) enrolled in 2014/15 giving an average academic staff:student ratio...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff Remuneration (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: Details of estimate 2016 pay and non-pay budgets for Higher Education Institutions funded by the HEA are detailed in the table that follows. These figures are based on budget submissions received from the institutions to the HEA earlier this year. These costs are funded from public and private funding streams. 2016 Pay and Non-Pay Budgets of Higher Education Institutions HEI Pay...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: The information requested by the Deputy is not immediately available in the required format. Officials of my Department have requested the Higher Education Authority to collate this information and it will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: A process to review DEIS, the Action Plan for Social Inclusion, is ongoing. The majority of the review work programme is scheduled for completion by the end of the current school year. The overall scope of the review is to assess the existing DEIS Programme in the context of evaluations to date and any relevant policy and other developments in order to inform future policy on educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Expenditure (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 250 and 253 together. It is estimated that continuing growth in the Higher Education Sector will generate a demand for new accommodation of at least €1 billion over the next fifteen years. The cost of rendering facilities in the Higher Education Sector suitable for modern educational delivery, including but not limited to those identified in the HEA...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Private Partnerships (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: The selection process for potential third level PPP projects referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of formulation. The Department, in consultation with the Higher Education Authority, is carrying out a thorough examination of the most appropriate and suitable method for selecting the projects for inclusion in this programme. The views of the National Development Finance Agency are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: The upward trend of previous years in numbers of learners at all levels of the education system will continue for the period 2015 to 2017 and beyond. Pupil numbers in primary schools are projected to increase by 25,000 between 2014/15 and 2017/18 to 569,000, eventually peaking in 2018/2019 at 574,000, while projections for second level are for an increase of 12,000 pupils over the same three...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Reviews (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I have responded to the letter received from the General Secretary of the ASTI on 9 May. This letter indicated that the ASTI looked forward to engaging with me to resolve the many issues that are of concern to their members, including junior cycle reform. My officials have been in touch with the ASTI and arrangements are being made for me to meet with ASTI officials very shortly,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Correspondence (8 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department received approximately 8,000 representations in the period 1 January 2015 – 30 April 2016. As the Deputy will appreciate, the Department receives representations from many different groups and individuals including Oireachtas members, members of the public, educational representative groups, associations and other interested parties. In 2015 the Department received...

Leaders' Questions (9 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: How much time do I have?

Leaders' Questions (9 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank Deputy Michael Moynihan for raising this issue. Members of the House will appreciate the importance of community-based care. Yesterday, an announcement was made concerning additional funding for the health service which, significantly, includes additional provision for home help hours. It is also important to bear in mind, as the Deputy has recognised, that the programme for...

Leaders' Questions (9 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I do not disagree with the Deputy. Much of the effort of the Oireachtas has gone towards recognising that. As the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, reminded me, last year we restored the respite care grant to its full value and we have sought to improve home help and home care packages. In each of the winter initiatives, a substantial improvement in spending on home care occurs. I...

Leaders' Questions (9 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is no secret that the crisis in housing is the biggest issue on the Government's agenda. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, has committed to an action plan for housing within the first 100 days. He has consulted widely with all of the interests, including those referred to by the Deputy, in the preparation of that work. The Committee on Housing and...

Leaders' Questions (9 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: In respect of what has caused the housing crisis, it is important to remember that misplaced policies caused a construction boom of unprecedented levels where we built 90,000 houses and had a massive property bubble. This bubble collapsed with all the ensuing consequences, such as the damage to people's lives and the public finances. We have been living with that ever since and no system is...

Leaders' Questions (9 Jun 2016)

Richard Bruton: I do not have precise answers in respect of the timeframe but I assure the Deputy that the Taoiseach is taking this very seriously. Within the education portfolio, I am looking at areas where we could support initiatives within the north inner city and also, as the Deputy says, in the context of a wider model to examine areas of concentrated disadvantage to see how we can break that cycle....