Results 18,461-18,480 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

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

Ruairi Quinn: I am satisfied that my Department and its agencies have in place the necessary policies to meet the needs of employers so as to ensure that people have the necessary skills to take up jobs as they arise. The education and training system engages with employers at national, regional and local levels, as well as at institutional and programme level. National engagement with Employers: An...

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

Ruairi Quinn: As part of my Department's large scale school building programme, prefab accommodation continues to be replaced with permanent structures on an on-going basis. Details of all schools on the 5 year capital programme is available on the Department's website. Under my Department's Prefab Replacement Initiatives announced in 2012 and 2013 approval was given to 216 schools to replace 614 prefab...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats...

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

Ruairi Quinn: Through the partnership arrangements that exist for the education sector, I and senior officials in the Department regularly engage with church representatives particularly in the context of the role of the Churches as patrons of schools. The Church of Ireland representative body in many instances also represents the interest of the minority churches, most recently in relation to discussions...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The Forward Planning Section of my Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to analyse demographic data in order to determine the areas where additional school accommodation may be required. A variety of sources are used in this analysis, including census data, school enrolment data, and child benefit data obtained from the Department of Social Protection. Total pupil...

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

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that expenditure supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs was some €1.3bn in 2013, which represents approximately 15% of the entire budget of my Department. These resources have been protected, or in some areas have been increased in 2014, despite the ongoing severe financial position and a requirement to make expenditure savings across a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Broadband Services Provision (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: All post primary schools will be connected with 100Mbit/s by the end of 2014. As a result of the most recent framework that has been put in place the number of service providers to the Schools Broadband Programme for schools has been increased from 6 to 14 and this has led to a greater availability of improved services being made available for schools, most of the new providers are small...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Waiting Times (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Following a challenging first year of operation in 2012, SUSI improved its performance significantly in 2013 with all key targets met in terms of the timely processing of grant applications and the payment of awarded grants. This result is based on changes and improvements made by SUSI for 2013 following an independent review of its first year. SUSI processed over 92,000 grant applications...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Administration (29 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 71 and 72 together. The current status of all projects on the school building programme, including those for County Kildare, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie which is updated regularly throughout the year. The Deputy will be aware that the 5 Year Construction Plan, that I announced in March 2012, lists the individual school...

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

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 74 together. My Department has no record of the submissions to which the Deputy refers. However, the Deputy will be aware that a new post-primary school is opening in the north Kildare area in September 2014 and this new school will have an all-Irish Aonad. This will supplement all-Irish post primary provision in the area. My Department has...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary and post-primary schools, including redeployment arrangements, are published annually. The staffing and redeployment arrangements for the 2014/15 school year are available on the Department website. Teaching vacancies are filled in the first instance through the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers. The redeployment of all...

Topical Issue Debate: Emergency Planning (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The particular issue raised by the Deputy in the event of a status red severe weather warning code is a matter of wider application as it is equally applicable to the community in general. The Government task force on emergency planning, in which my Department participates, co-ordinates the overall response to such events. Departmental officials are currently engaging with the task force on...

Topical Issue Debate: Emergency Planning (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter because I recall very acutely the events which took place. Our information systems are out of balance with each other and the Deputy's timely raising of this matter is helpful. We have much better long-term weather forecasts and the red alert system, which is relatively new, is certainly much more advanced than anything we had in the past ten to 15...

Topical Issue Debate: School Placement (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I will respond directly to what Deputy Harris said, which might be a bit more constructive. We have a growth in population that will not peak until 2026. The problem is aggravated in many areas, including the area to which Deputy Harris referred, for all the normal reasons, but it will take time to put a response in place to my satisfaction and that will require support and confidence from...

Topical Issue Debate: School Placement (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I will not comment specifically on Deputy Harris’s area because I am not as well informed as he is, but in some areas there is close co-operation between the various primary schools in order that people know who has applied and there is a certain amount of sharing of information. However, that is not always the case. In fact, at the other end of the spectrum one has schools beating...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for window replacement under the 2014 Summer Works Scheme. The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced details of the schools that will receive Summer Works Scheme funding in 2014 in respect of applications submitted for Categories 1 to 6 i.e. Gas, Electrical, Mechanical, Toilet Facilities and Roof Works...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The review of apprenticeship in Ireland was progressed by an independent review group and has made a very comprehensive series of recommendations to my Department following its consultations with stakeholders (including employers and employer representative bodies). As noted by the Deputy, the framework involves plans to expand apprenticeship beyond the sectors in which it currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Teacher allocations to all second level schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.I recognise that teacher allocations set the parameters in relation to the number of subjects on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy submitted a category 1 application under the 2014 Summer Works Scheme. The application relates to Gas Works. The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced details of the schools that will receive Summer Works Scheme funding in 2014 in respect of applications submitted for Categories 1 to 6 i.e. Gas, Electrical, Mechanical, Toilet...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (4 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The SEC has informed me that a reply issued to PQ 19041/14 on the 28th of May 2014.