Results 18,441-18,460 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Lease Agreements (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: There is a lease in place between the school and the GAA club referred to by the Deputy. My Department understands that the GAA club is also leased from Cork City Council. My Department is not a party to either lease and cannot comment on the legal basis for either lease. My Department's records show that the initial agreement between the school and the GAA club was for annual rental of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The information in question has now issued to the Deputy. I regret the delay in this regard and for any inconvenience it may have caused.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 28 of the Education Act 1998 provides for grievance and appeal procedures in schools. It expresses a desirability of determining appeals and resolving grievances in the school concerned. I am not satisfied with the current provisions of Section 28. I plan to revise it in order to provide in law for a Parent and Student Charter. I plan to consult with the Ombudsman for Children's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: International Students (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 makes provision for a new quality framework for education institutions targeting international students, centred around an International Education Mark and a related Code of Practice. Institutions applying for authorisation to use the Mark will have to both agree their overall procedures for quality assurance with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to confirm that the accommodation brief for the school, referred to by the Deputy, has been finalised and agreement in principle for this brief has been reached with the school authority. My Department will be in further contact with the school concerned in relation to the next stage of the architectural planning process shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: On the 1st January 2014 a number of former FÁS Training Centres were transferred to appropriate Education and Training Boards. As part of this process, responsibility for funding and contracting with Community Training Centres (CTCs) attached to those Training Centres was also transferred to the relevant Education and Training Board. It is expected that the remaining former FÁS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Teaching Council is responsible for procedures and criteria for the probation of teachers. In accordance with the Council's current arrangements, where a primary teacher is employed and probated in a restricted setting such as a special class, the probationary process is considered to be partially carried out and the teacher's registration will remain subject to the condition of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Planning (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The lead agencies in relation to determining the appropriate emergency response in any region where there is an extreme weather event or other critical incident are the Local Authorities and blue light services. In that context my Department has brought to the attention of all schools, via departmental circular PBU 04/04 – Contingency Planning in the context of a national emergency....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Autism Support Services (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The statutory obligations in relation to the provision of educational services for children and young adults with special educational needs including those with a clinical diagnosis of Autism and Aspergers syndrome are primarily set out under the Education Act (1998) and the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004. My Department's policy is focused on ensuring...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has provided a revised Schedule of Accommodation to the school's Patron and a response is awaited. Once received, the schedule will then issue to the Design Team who will be authorised to complete the Stage 2(a) report for submission to my Department. On the satisfactory completion of this report and subject to no issues arising, the project...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 57 and 67 together. My Department has received an application from the gaelscoil to which the Deputy refers to expand from a single to a two stream school i.e. from an 8 classroom to a 16 classroom school. As the Deputies will be aware, the over-riding objective of Education capital expenditure is to meet the demographic challenge facing the education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: In accordance with Department Circular 60/2009 and Section 24(3) of the Education Act (1998), where circumstances warrant, a teacher may be placed on Administrative Leave by the school pending an investigation, or pending the outcome of an investigation. My Department is in regular contact with the school authorities with a view to having matters finalised by the school as quickly as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The selection and enrolment of pupils in schools is the responsibility of the authorities of the individual school. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in an area. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. As schools may not have a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Eligibility (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware all school buildings that are not covered by state indemnity are required to adequately insure their school premises including insurance for storm damage. Accordingly, any damages caused during the recent bad weather would be a matter for schools' insurers. As the scope of works as outlined by the Deputy is outside the terms of the Emergency Works Scheme it cannot...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Semi-State Bodies (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: For the Deputy's information there are no commercial semi-state companies under the aegis of my Department. Details of non commercial agencies under the remit of my Department can be downloaded from the Department's website. .

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (28 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 63 to 65, inclusive, together. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the Department website. The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) were published on 24 January, 2014. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Youth on the Move is a package of policy initiatives on education and employment for young people in Europe. Launched in 2010, it is part of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Under the Europe 2020 strategy, Ireland has signed up to a national headline target to reduce early school leaving to 8%, and to increase the number of 30-34 year olds with tertiary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Since September 2012 guidance provision is now provided from within the overall staffing allocation of the school. This gives schools greater autonomy to determine how they deploy their teaching resources across the competing needs of the school. The representative organisations for School Principals and school management developed a framework that assists schools on how best to manage the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 59 and 60 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that all mainstream primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources under the General Allocation Model (GAM) to cater for children with learning support needs and high incidence special educational needs, including mild, borderline mild general learning difficulties and specific learning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Staff Sick Leave (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Following a review of sick leave arrangements, a new Public Service wide sick leave scheme has been introduced across the Public Service. The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Act 2013, provided the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with the power to make regulations that set out the specific details of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme. These...