Results 16,681-16,700 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: In recognition of funding pressures in the higher education sector, an Expert Group chaired by Peter Cassells was established in summer 2014 to examine funding arrangements for higher education. The Report of the Expert Group, published in July, clearly outlines the funding challenges in the higher education sector and offers a number of approaches and recommendations for consideration. As...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Within the further education and training sector there is a range of flexible high quality education and training on offer to meet the skill needs of individuals who are unemployed.  To provide for the skill needs of those who are in employment a number of initiatives are also in place to provide in-work training and sustain and support existing employment. Funded from the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: A number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 have been commenced, including those establishing the National Council for Special Education and those promoting an inclusive approach to the education of children. The following sections of EPSEN were commenced in 2005: Section 1 – Interpretation Section 2 - providing for the inclusive...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Broadband Service Provision (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Through the Schools Broadband Access Programme, my Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary, post-primary and special schools. The overall policy of my Department is to offer the best quality connectivity to all schools in line with technical solutions available in the market and within required financial parameters. My Department continually...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Contractors (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: A building project is a complex arrangement of contractual relationships between the client, the main contractor, specialist sub-contractors, domestic sub-contractors, suppliers of materials, suppliers of plant etc. In general all sub-contractors employed on education sector building projects are employed directly by the Main Contractor or indirectly by the Main Contractor through other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: European Globalisation Fund (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) assists Member States to provide active labour market supports for workers who are made redundant due to globalisation or a global economic and financial crisis. Eligible redundancy situations are those involving at least 500 redundancies in a specific company (including suppliers/downstream producers) in a 4 month period, or at least 500...

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

Richard Bruton: For school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 geographic areas known as school planning areas. These defined areas facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. In identifying the requirement for additional school places in a school planning area, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaeltacht Policy (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: In the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019, which was published in September, I committed to publishing a Gaeltacht Education Strategy before the end of the year.  To this end I am currently finalising the Policy for Gaeltacht Education, which will outline the measures that will be taken to successfully implement the commitment, outlined in Action 33 of the Action Plan, to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: For school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 geographic areas known as school planning areas. These defined areas facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs. A number of these school planning areas cover Dublin City.  In Dublin City, as elsewhere, my Department is using a Geographical Information System to identify the areas...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: There is no financial assistance available from my Department to cover the cost of completion of the Experienced Operator Programme. Support may be available from the Training Support Grant which is administered by the Department of Social Protection and is designed to fund quick access to short term training or related interventions for individual jobseekers who have identified work...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 19 together. Work is currently underway on the development of an Entrepreneurial Education Policy Statement.  It is the intention that the Policy Statement will cover the whole of the education and training system including primary and post primary schools. The new Entrepreneurship Education Guidelines for Schools will be be informed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (12 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 and 21 together. As the Deputy may be aware, a review of the DEIS programme is currently underway and, as I have recently announced, a New Action Plan Educational Inclusion will be published before the end of this year. The review is looking at all aspects of DEIS, including the range and impact of different elements of the School Support Programme,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (12 Oct 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...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I welcome the budget housing initiative. There is to be a 49% increase in the capital allocation for housing next year, a significant investment that underpins the detailed action plan for housing issued by the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney. Action is to be taken under the plan across a range of areas. As admitted by the Deputy, it provides for the provision of 47,000 social homes. There...

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The measure has been designed directly to help the very people to which Deputy Darragh O'Brien refers, namely, young people seeking to get on the home ownership ladder. They are living in expensive rental accommodation and find it difficult to put a deposit together. This is a measure which has been designed directly to assist them.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Of course, an independent analysis has been done by the Department responsible for developing these programmes.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The problem we are addressing is that many builders cannot afford to provide the top-up funding needed to get starter homes. Large estates of 100 houses or more are not being built.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Minister has taken direct action to help the starter home market, which is a very important part of the market.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: For example, he is making provision for an affordable housing scheme under which developers, many of whom are not back in the market, can get access to cash on a guarantee that they will make homes available at affordable prices.

Leaders' Questions (13 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: They are also getting upfront payment in respect of social homes. We continue to have a problem which the Deputy seems to ignore, namely, that young people are paying expensive rents and cannot put together the deposit the Central Bank, for proper reasons, has set. We do not want a repeat of the banking bubble, which is the reason the Central Bank has set down requirements. The Government...