Results 16,281-16,300 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department received an application from the school for significant funding for major reconfiguration works. The school's application must be considered in the context of the very significant challenge facing my Department in meeting demand for extra school places to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place. All applications...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The major building project for the school to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning – Stage 2b, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert, Disability Access Cert and the preparation of Tender Documents. All relevant statutory approvals have been obtained. The Stage 2b Tender documentation was recently submitted to my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (16 Sep 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 (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 526 to 528, inclusive, together. Officials in my Department have currently identified five potential locations for new school accommodation in the South Dublin City area, including for the school referred to by the Deputy. A decision in relation to which school will be located on a specific site will ultimately be made in the context of the overall...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: Approved undergraduate courses for the Student Grant Scheme 2016 are prescribed in the Student Support Regulations 2016 and in the Student Support Act 2011. The Regulations prescribe that an approved undergraduate course is a full-time course leading to a major higher education and training award which takes a minimum of two years to complete in an approved institution. Courses that are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The major building project to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2(b),which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Certificate and Disability Access Certificate and the preparation of Tender Documents. All statutory approvals have been secured. The Design team are currently completing the Stage 2(b) submission. Arising from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: Officials from my Department have worked closely with officials from Wicklow County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of a school site for the provision of the school referred to by the Deputy. The conveyancing process for this site is under way. Details in respect of the site acquisition are commercially sensitive. Once the site acquisition has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, the project for the school referred to, is included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme. In that regard, officials in my Department are working with officials from Donegal County Council under the MOU in relation to the acquisition process for a suitable permanent site for the schools to which the Deputy refers. The acquisition of such a site is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, there was a fire in the vacant former school building on 12 July last. A member of the Department's technical team visited the site on 12 August last to review the extent of structural damage in respect of the buildings on the site. In the case of a school building not in the ownership of the Department, the owners of the property should, in the first instance,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (16 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The information requested in respect of the total spend on apprenticeship for the years 2010 to 2016 has already been supplied to the Deputy in answer to Question 101 of 6 July 2016. I have forwarded the request for the male/female breakdown of apprentices to SOLAS and asked them to respond directly to the Deputy with the information.

Order of Business (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: First, I am glad to tell the Deputy that as and from 1 September this year, the pupil-teacher ratio has been reduced in our primary schools. That measure was included in last year's budget and will, of course, have a carry-over cost into 2017 when the bulk of the year will be funded by the 2017 budget. There is also a review of the position of small schools under way. Like others, I cannot...

Order of Business (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: To add to what the Taoiseach has said, we have a provision each year for the next six years. Deputy Burton is right that there is pressure on schools and that we have a growing number of pupils at both primary and secondary level. The Department has always practised a policy of having projects ready to go in order that any available money is fully utilised in any year. That is the current...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: Universities and institutes of technology, under the Universities Act 1997 and the Institutes of Technology Acts, are autonomous bodies and, as such, have responsibility for their own academic affairs, including issues relating to the admission of students. Therefore it is a matter for the institutes themselves to set admissions requirements for individual programmes of education and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 224, 278, 279 and 282 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department provides for an extensive range of supports to assist pupils who are deaf or hard of hearing.   The policy of my Department is that children with special educational needs, including deaf and hard of hearing pupils, should be included in mainstream placements with additional...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Government publically announced its decision of 14thJune 2016 to increase the number of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts available for allocation in schools by 860 posts. In keeping with the recommendation of the Focused Policy Assessment of the SNA scheme the Government also agreed and announced that the SNA scheme would be comprehensively assessed by the National Council...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Garda Vetting of Personnel (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: Since the introduction in 2006 of the non-statutory Garda vetting arrangements, the Teaching Council has played a central role in the vetting of registered teachers both for the purposes of registration with the Council and as a conduit for school employers for the purposes of the vetting of registered teachers for employment.   Under the non-statutory vetting arrangements,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The college to which the Deputy refers is an approved Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) centre which is managed and funded by City of Dublin Educational and Training Board (CDETB) from funding provided by my Department. Post Leaving Certificate Centres provide further education courses up to Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). My Department has facilitated the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of locally based Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) allocates Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools for children with special educational needs (SEN) arising from a disability. SNA support is provided to a school to provide for the significant additional care needs of children with an identified SEN who...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: A site acquisition process for the school referred to by the Deputy is underway. A site option has been identified and it is being actively progressed. When a site has been secured, the project for the school in question will be progressed into the architectural planning process.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (27 Sep 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that a project for the school to which he refers is included in my Department's 6 Year Capital Programme. The project for the school in question will be progressed with a view to proceeding to tender and construction stages in the period 2019 - 2021, as outlined in the Programme. My Department is currently finalising the school project brief and once this process...