Results 15,921-15,940 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: 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 funding in education. In relation to capitation levels for future years, the recently published Programme for a Partnership Government is committed to investing an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I have consulted my colleague the Minister for Finance on this matter. The VAT rating of goods and services is subject to the requirements of the EU VAT Directive with which Irish VAT law must comply. The VAT Directive provides that all goods and services are liable to VAT at the standard rate, currently 23% in Ireland, unless there is a provision in the VAT Directive that permits a lower...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Youth Enterprise Initiatives (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 to 266, inclusive, together. The EU co-financed Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), which aims to tackle youth unemployment and implement the Youth Guarantee, is integrated into European Social Fund programming and is being delivered in Ireland as a dedicated priority axis within the ESF Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has recently conveyed grant approval to the school authority, in question, for the provision of additional classroom accommodation including universal access toilet facilities.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Autism Support Services (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that this Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to be able to inform the Deputy that the school to which he refers has been allocated funding for furniture for the new resource room approved under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme. In common with all projects carried out under this Scheme, the furniture grant will be paid at final drawdown stage for the project.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Springboard Programme (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: Springboard+ which incorporates the ICT skills conversion programme, is a targeted initiative which is used to provide funding for higher education courses aimed at meeting the need for in-demand skills in the economy and supporting jobseekers to return to employment. To be eligible for a place on a part-time Springboard course a person must have a previous history of employment, be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Sick Pay Scheme (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The current sick leave scheme provides that sick leave may be granted by an employer to a teacher who is unable to perform his/her duties because of illness or injury. The terms of the sick leave scheme are contained in my Department's Circular 0053/2015 Sick Leave Scheme for Registered Teachers in Recognised Primary and Post-Primary Schools and provides for the following: - A maximum of 3...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: It is the patron body of a school who determines the ethos or characteristic spirit of the school. The recently published Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 does not propose any changes to the existing provisions in the Education Act which relate to the ethos or characteristic spirit of a school. However, the Admissions Bill introduces a new requirement for a school to set out...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Placement (12 Jul 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, the Department of Social Protection and my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises at primary and post...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector was established in 2011 to advise on how the primary education system can provide a sufficiently diverse range of primary schools and on how all primary schools can become more inclusive. The report of the Forum Advisory Group was published in April 2012 and made a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring that the education system...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Closures (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that 15 primary schools have closed in the past 3 years between 2014 and 2016 inclusive, across various locations nationally. I have attached a list of the schools in question for the Deputies convenience. The initiative for closing a school may come from a variety of sources, such as parents, staff, Board of Management, Patron and the Department. Any proposal to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The cost of increasing the capitation grant from €296 to €316 per pupil for post Primary Schools would cost approximately €6.5m. In relation to capitation levels for future years, the recently published Programme for a Partnership Government is committed to investing an extra €500 million in education by 2021 through various staffing and grant based measures...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 277 and 279 together. The Teaching Council is, since 2006, the statutory regulator and standards body for the teaching profession. It is intended that, under the revised Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations, Regulation 3 (Montessori and Other Categories) will be accommodated under Route 4. Under this route of registration a teacher currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Panel Rights (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The supplementary panel application process for eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers for the 2016/17 school year is set out in Circular 0058/2015 which is available on my Department's website. Since 2006, the Teaching Council is the body with statutory responsibility and authority for regulation of the teaching profession, including the registration of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Panel Rights (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from supplementary panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers. The arrangements for panel access for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Panel Rights (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from supplementary panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers. The supplementary panel application...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service Data (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). My Department, over the course of recent economic difficulties, has not only maintained...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Establishment (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware the outcome of the latest demographic exercises, based on the GIS, was the announcement, in November 2015, of the establishment of four new primary schools and nine new post-primary schools to open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic needs. These schools include a new primary school which will open in 2018 to serve the Dublin South City Centre areas of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Autism Support Services (12 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: 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 needs assistants (SNA) supports. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in making recommendations for support. I recently announced that from September...