Results 17,481-17,500 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Skills Shortages (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The work of the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs and the Skills and Labour Market Research Unit in SOLAS provides Government with forecasts for existing and future skills needs of different sectors of industry. These forecasts are used in the creation of strategies and initiatives aimed at responding to the skills needs of industry. The work of the EGFSN and the SLMRU has fed...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school in question is included in my Department’s 6-Year Construction Plan. My Department has identified a suitable permanent site for the location of the school. Conveyancing is at an advanced stage and should be completed shortly. When the site has been acquired, my Department will be in contact with the school Patron in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The information sought by the Deputy is not readily available in the format requested.  There were over 120 primary schools completed from 2011 to date in 2016 and it would not be possible to calculate the average completion times by stage for that number of projects in the time available to answer this question. The timeline for delivery of a primary school project is dependent on the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including S support.  The NCSE allocates S support to schools in accordance with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Services (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides an educational psychological service to schools through the direct assignment of a NEPS psychologist and in some cases through by providing schools access to the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) where schools can have an assessment carried out by a member...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: 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 of appropriate educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The project to which the Deputy refers was tendered recently and my Department is currently awaiting the tender report. Subject to no issues arising it is envisaged construction will commence in the first quarter of 2017 and take approximately 28 months to complete.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The building project for the school to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. All statutory approvals have been secured and the Stage 2b submission has been approved by my Department. However, following the appointment of a replacement Mechanical & Electrical Engineer the Design Team, in association with the newly appointed Engineer are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware, a building project for the new post primary school to serve Carpenterstown/Castleknock was included in the 6 year construction programme that was announced last November. Officials in my Department  are liaising with officials in Fingal County Council in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers Conciliation Council (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The criteria for the award of incremental credit to recognised primary teachers under Circular 10/2001 was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council. This Council is comprised of representatives of teachers, school management, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Education and Skills and is chaired by an official of the Workplace...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that building projects for the schools in question are included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme (2019/21). My Department is aware of the schools accommodation needs and will be liaising with both schools in the context of progressing the projects into the architectural planning process. A suitable site has been identified for the first named...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Properties (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: This building referred to by the Deputy is not in my ownership, and in common with other buildings of its kind, where significant grant aid is provided by the Department for the development of school premises, investment is secured by way of a long-term legal agreement known as a charging lease. In circumstances where a property has ceased to be used as a school, and a request is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Bodies Data (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The information requested by the Deputy concerning the number of State agencies under the remit of my Department, in conjunction with the details of the overall numbers of board members, is provided in the table. Comprehensive information in relation to the composition of the non commercial bodies under the aegis of my Department is publically available on the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The development of proposals for a School Excellence Fund (SEF), to promote excellence and innovation in the context of available resources, is a key action under the draft Action Plan for Education 2016-2020, currently being finalised within my Department.  Work on the development of proposals for a SEF is underway.  The primary aim of the SEF will be to encourage schools to work...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Schemes (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Action Plan for Education contains an action to prepare guidelines on Entrepreneurial Education. These guidelines will examine linkages that can promote enterprise engagement and innovation with schools. The guidelines will be available by end of Quarter 2 in 2017.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Staff (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The table contains details of the ministerial appointees at my Department, their grade and salary as provided for in accordance with the Guidelines for Ministerial Appointments as published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. In addition to this I have included staff that are employed by the Houses of the Oireachtas and are assigned to the Minister of State and I. As my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Staff (8 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: There are no public or civil service officials engaged by the Minister of State or I on a secondment basis to assist with constituency matters.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (13 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Junior Certificate Religious Education syllabus was published in 2000. It is offered by schools as an optional subject at Junior Certificate level. In 2016, in excess of 27,000 students sat the examination in Religious Education (from a total cohort of approximately 60,000). The aim of the syllabus is to provide students with a framework for encountering and engaging with the variety of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (13 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: In relation to the teaching of religion in schools, under the Constitution and in accordance with Section 30 of the Education Act 1998, parents have a right to have their children opt out of religion classes if they so wish. The manner in which any school ensures that the right to opt out of religion classes is upheld is a matter for the school concerned. Each individual school must...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (13 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: There is an existing Junior Certificate syllabus for Religious Education, the aim of which is to provide students with a framework for encountering and engaging with the variety of religious traditions in Ireland and elsewhere. In accordance with the schedule set out in the Framework for Junior Cycle (2015) a new syllabus specification for junior cycle will be introduced in 2019....