Results 16,761-16,780 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school referred to by the Deputy applied for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) to tarmac their school carpark and access road to the special needs unit. As the scope of works is outside the terms and conditions of the scheme, the application cannot be considered. The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme is solely for unforeseen emergencies, and if not corrected...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for a Partnership Government, published in May 2016, includes a commitment to examine the adequacy of current special education access and funding provision. In addition the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Policy Advice on Educational Provision for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders was published on 15 July 2016. In developing this policy advice, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Caranua is an independent statutory body and I have no role in relation to its day to day operations. I have therefore arranged to have the Deputy's question forwarded to Caranua and requested it to examine the issues raised and to reply to her as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is currently considering an application for additional accommodation from the school to which he refers. My Department will be in contact shortly with the school in relation to its application.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The project referred to by the Deputy has recently been approved to proceed to Stage 3 which involves the tender competition for appointment of the building contractor. The school and its design team have been informed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: An additional €458 million will be made available to my Department in 2017 compared to the allocation provided in the 2016 Revised Estimates Volume. The following table provides a detailed breakdown of the 2017 Budget Allocation setting out the adjustments to the overall allocation for my Department since the announcement of Budget 2016, including school demographics and Lansdowne...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the Government's objective of strengthening parental choice and further expanding diversity in our school system. The desire of parents for diversity in education is primarily being pursued by increasing the number of non-denominational and multi-denominational schools with a view to reaching 400 by 2030. In addition to the phased transfer...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level over the lifetime of the Government. Budget 2016 provided for a 1 point improvement to the primary staffing schedule which was implemented in the current school year. Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools for the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represents the start of a major...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department provides annual funding to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland at national level which helps the organisation operate an information service for members and the public as well as assisting in meeting the costs associated with the attendance of some children from disadvantaged backgrounds at workshops and programmes organised by the association. While there are no plans to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that a major building project, to facilitate the amalgamation of the schools referred to, is included in my Department’s 6 year Construction Programme and is currently completing early architectural planning, Stage 2(a) – the Developed Design Stage. Following a successful completion of this stage, the project will proceed to Stage 2(b), Detailed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am aware of the previous representations made by, and on behalf of, the school in question. I understand that the school in question is a DEIS Urban Band 2 school. As the Deputy may be aware, a process to review DEIS which began last year is nearing completion and it is my intention to publish a new Plan for Educational Inclusion before the end of this year. The review is looking at all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Facilities (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Department of Education and Skills has been made aware of the challenges faced by the third level institution in question with respect to its current library facilities. There are many competing demands on the limited capital budget for higher education and the library development proposal will be considered within the context of competing demands. I am not in a position to commit to a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Funding (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am aware of the report referred to by the Deputy. I strongly support any measures that can be put in place to reduce costs for parents. All schools must be sensitive to the financial pressures on parents in making decisions, not just about school uniforms or books, but about any matter that has cost implications for parents. In relation to school transport I wish to inform the Deputy...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level over the lifetime of the Government. Budget 2016 provided for a 1 point improvement to the primary staffing schedule which was implemented in the current school year. Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools for the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represents the start of a major...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The project referred to by the Deputy has recently been approved to proceed to Stage 3 which involves the tender competition for appointment of the building contractor. The school and its design team have been informed. The tender stage for any major project normally takes between four and six months to complete. The school and its design team have been asked to ensure that tenders are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school to which the Deputy refers opened in September 2012 in temporary accommodation, pending delivery of the school's permanent school building. In December 2012, outline planning permission to provide a permanent school building for the school was submitted to the relevant local authority but was refused on the grounds of site access. This was appealed by my Department to An Bord...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Data (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department's means of analysing demographic trends and data have changed considerably since the report to which the Deputy refers was completed in 2005.    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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (18 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Teaching Council is the statutory body with responsibility for professional standards at all stages of the teaching career. In that context, it has established standards for post-qualification professional practice, as set out in, Droichead, the new model of induction for newly qualified primary and post-primary teachers. The model ensures that the same standards and requirements apply to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (19 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that teachers of English who are members of ASTI have been directed by their union that, while they are to teach the new Junior Cycle subject specification, they are not to undertake Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) with their students. CBAs form a key element of the new Junior Cycle.  Therefore, students who are taught by a teacher who is a member of the ASTI...