Results 15,421-15,440 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Access to Higher Education (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The responsibility for managing access to third level places rests with the Central Applications Office (CAO) and the third level institutions generally. The higher education institutions have delegated to the CAO the task of processing applications to their first year undergraduate courses. However, the participating institutions retain the function of making decisions on admissions. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Pensions Issues (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The person to whom the Deputy refers is already in receipt of pension and the current application is for a revision of pension to take account of additional service given subsequent to initial retirement. Priority in the processing of applications for retirement benefits is afforded to persons retiring for the first time. As the Deputy will appreciate teachers generally retire in August...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, which was established earlier this year, is tasked with determining the range of approved services which former residents can be assisted with from the Statutory Fund. This Fund is being financed by the cash contributions of up to €110 million pledged by the religious congregations to support the needs of some 15,000 survivors of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the establishment of a network of autism-specific special classes in schools across the country to cater for children with autism has been a key educational priority in recent years. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Advertising Expenditure (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: 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, and invitations to tender for school building projects. Every effort is made to keep advertising...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Appointments (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Details relating to the membership of non-commercial State agency boards under the aegis of the Department of Education and Skills are included in the attached table, which includes reference to the relevant statutory provision for those bodies that are constituted on a statutory footing. Details relating to the annual fees (if any) can be downloaded from my Department's website:...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Appointments (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 308 and 309 together. I understand from Student Universal Support Ireland that the student referred to by the Deputy has been contacted by phone and a letter informing the student of the outcome of his appeal is being issued. For the Deputy's information, attached is a list of the agencies under the aegis of my Department. There are currently no...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Professional Diploma in Education (PDE), previously known as a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), was placed on the framework of qualifications at Level 8 with effect from the start of the academic year 2011/12. The course is considered to be a postgraduate course for the purposes of the Student Grant Scheme. To satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Those who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme will be eligible to have their post-graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270. Currently maintenance support is not available for students entering postgraduate courses. To qualify for the special rate of grant an applicant must meet the following conditions:...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The assessment of means under my Department's student grant scheme is based on gross income from all sources. Therefore, all income is assessed from the same starting point, eliminating any distortion which might arise from different spending decisions. The means test arrangements of the student grant scheme are applied nationally. In the case of both employed and self-employed applicants,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Responsibility for the delivery of a new 16 classroom school referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to the Office of Public Works. The project is at the early stages of architectural planning and I understand that the OPW is currently liasing with the school authorities to progress the sketch scheme for the school. A site survey has been completed and a building survey on the existing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Holidays Issues (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 319 together. The scheduling of the school holiday periods during the academic year is agreed between the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher unions, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council. The current agreement covers the school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. An independent mature student is defined as a mature student who was not ordinarily resident with his or her parents or legal guardian from the October preceding entry or re-entry to further or higher education....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand from Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the SUSI website provides general guidance to students of different classes who may be considering applying for a grant and also provides specific information where it is relevant to the majority of grant applicants in any class. All applicants are advised to refer to the relevant terms of the student grants scheme and to other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy, that a letter issued on 28th August 2013 advising that she was ineligible for a grant due to incomplete documentation. This decision was appealed to SUSI by the student and the application is currently under appeal with SUSI. Where an appeal is turned...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (18 Sep 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). One aspect of this Agreement relates to supplementary assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and as both Unions that represent SNAs namely,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: For student grants purposes, a student may be assessed as an independent student if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved post leaving certificate course or an approved higher education course or of re-entry to an approved course following a break in studies of at least three years, and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (18 Sep 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). One aspect of this Agreement relates to supplementary assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and as both Unions that represent SNAs namely,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Framework for Junior Cycle which is to be implemented from 2014, acknowledges the key role of entrepreneurship. In its principles the Framework highlights the role of "creativity and innovation". There are 24 Statements of Learning which specify what students should know, understand, value and be able to do at the end of junior cycle. A number of the statements are relevant to enterprise...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (18 Sep 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 324, 337, 340, 373, 407, 409 and 411 together. The issues raised in each of these questions relate to budgetary matters. The budget for education, including the number of teaching posts that we can afford to fund in schools is a matter that I will have to consider with my colleagues in Cabinet in the context of the forthcoming budget. The decisions in...