Results 16,361-16,380 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (27 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The school to which the Deputy refers is a non-designated community college under the Patronage of the local Education and Training Board. Non-designated community colleges have a multi-denominational ethos and cater for pupils of all faiths and belief systems. I understand that while the school in question historically had the services of a Catholic chaplain provided by the Archdiocese of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (27 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to clarify that the report referred to by the Deputy does not make recommendations regarding the configuration of the schools in question. The report outlines opinions expressed at a series of meetings and also identifies issues for consideration by the schools' patron body. I met with local representatives and parents' representatives from the area concerned earlier this year to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (28 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to by the Deputy was assessed as a dependent mature student and that the reckonable income, including parent(s)' income exceeded the upper limit of €31,500 for a postgraduate fee grant. Where an individual applicant considers that she has been unjustly refused a student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Haddington Road Agreement Implementation (28 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Haddington Road Agreement is being implemented in line with the general approach taken in the public service. Where only one union has members in a sector the Agreement is either applied or not applied to everyone, depending on whether or not a collective agreement is reached with that union. In ETB schools, where TUI is regarded as the representative union, the HRA applies to all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (28 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to by the Deputy applied as a mature independent student and supporting documents are still awaited to show that she was living independently. When this information is received and considered, the student will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Establishment (28 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: On 26 September 2013 I announced my decisions regarding the patronage of new primary schools due to open in 2014. That announcement advised the deferral of the establishment of the proposed new primary school for Middleton/Carrigtwohill in Cork pending further reviews of the demographics of the area by my Department. Further to my announcement today in relation to my decisions regarding the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (28 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The current Chairperson of the Teaching Council is a retired teacher and is an elected member of the Council. No fees or salary are payable by my Department or by the Teaching Council for the role of Chairperson. Council members are entitled to be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses in line with public sector rates.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaelscoileanna Issues (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: There are no catchment areas specifically for Irish-medium schools. However for planning purposes the country is divided into geographic districts each with several primary schools feeding into a post-primary centre with one or more post-primary schools. These defined districts facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. The schools in the areas...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department are aware of the situation at the school to which the Deputy refers in Dublin 16 and will be meeting with school authorities shortly to discuss same. However, my Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The primary school in question has been established to provide additional capacity in the wider Ballinteer/ Stepaside area. There is an Irish language school already located in the area. The question of location for the new Irish language school therefore was considered in the context of providing access to both Irish language schools to the greatest number of pupils across the area.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Approximately 150 officials at my Department receive recoupment of affiliation fees to professional bodies where it is essential in order for them to carry out their professional functions, or it is desirable in order that they can keep abreast of domestic and international developments in their particular field. The cost in 2012 was approximately €38,000. No officials at my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Civil Servants are encouraged to pursue second and third level education during their own time in order to build and develop workplace skills, expertise and support officials in self development and life long learning. In order to foster this in accordance with the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform's circular notice E109/82/97, Government Departments are permitted to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations and in this case for reasonable accommodation . In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Equipment (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department does not normally develop and distribute educational resources of the kind described by the Deputy directly to schools. Agencies under the remit of the Department may do so from time to time. A wide range of materials and resources, which may include posters, is produced for teachers by the professional development support services. It is general policy and practice that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Further to my announcement on 28th November, 2013 in relation to my decisions regarding the patronage of the new post-primary schools set to open in 2015 and 2016, I can confirm that two 600 pupil post-primary schools are scheduled to open in 2016 to serve the Cork City South Suburbs/Carrigaline area. One school will be under the patronage of Educate Together and the other school under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that the student referred to by the Deputy has been awarded a postgraduate fee contribution of €2,000 and is ineligible to have his fees paid up to the maximum fee limit. Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme 2013 postgraduate students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The school building project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. However, due the withdrawal of the Consultant Architect working on the project, a tender exercise to appoint a replacement Consultant Architect is required. This will commence shortly. Officials from my Department will keep the school informed of the steps involved in this process.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to by the Deputy has been awarded the full non adjacent maintenance grant. She is not eligible for a fee grant as she is studying in a college outside the state. It appears that the original grant award letter was sent in error. The Deputy will appreciate that some errors may...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations and in this case in relation to reasonable accommodation. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Quality and Qualifications Ireland Accreditation (3 Dec 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) was established through the amalgamation of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), HETAC and FETAC in November 2012. QQI assumed responsibility for the functions undertaken by those bodies including those functions, such as ACELS, which are carried out on an administrative basis. Since its establishment,...