Results 19,661-19,680 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: No payment has been made by my Department to Bord na gCon at this point. The current status is that a formal offer of €23million has been made, and accepted by Bord na gCon. The matter is subject to contract and the acquisition will be subject to the satisfactory completion of the conveyancing process. The sale is subject to the standard approvals required...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware, a project to provide permanent accommodation for the school in question is included on my Department's Capital Programme. Officials in my Department are liaising with officials in the relevant local authority in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable site for this school. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department recently received correspondence from the Patron of the schools in question relating to a proposal to amalgamate both schools. My Department subsequently sought additional information from the Patron relating to the proposal and this has now been received. My Department will be in further contact with the Patron when the additional information...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Retirements (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: The person to whom the Deputy refers made an application for retirement on grounds of ill-health in 2015 and subsequently availed of the appeals process in accordance with the procedures outlined in documentation provided to applicants and also available on my Departments website: www.education.ie. The person’s application was unsuccessful. The statutory basis for ill health...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for determining the appropriate staffing levels in relation to the support of pupils with special educational needs in special schools. Enhanced pupil teacher ratios are provided to special schools to support them in dealing with pupil’s educational needs. In accordance with Circular 0042/2011, Special schools are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Professional Development (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Programmes of initial teacher education (ITE) were reconfigured and extended in line with the Teaching Council’s Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers and changes to ITE proposed in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020.  Under the reconfigured model, inclusive education, including...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including applications for assistive technology. Special Needs Organisers (SENOs) make recommendations to my Department where assistive technology is required. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Under the statutory based Student Grants Scheme, decisions regarding late applications are matters to be determined by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). My officials have made further enquiries with SUSI in respect of this applicant and have been advised that the position as set out in PQ response number 206 of 5 April 2017 remains unchanged i.e. the applicant did not renew her...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Properties (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Department of Planning, Housing, Community and Local Government established a Housing Delivery Office to focus on land and site supply aspects of “Rebuilding Ireland”. As part of that exercise the Department of Education and Skills was asked to identify lands which could potentially be used for housing. A site in Ashbourne, currently in the ownership of the Minister was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Mental Health Strategies (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Wellbeing and mental health are major priorities for my Department and are set out in the Action Plan for Education.  I believe that we must improve supports for students in this area, in the context of increasing concern around issues like suicide and online bullying.  That is why we have engaged in new activities in this area, including a series of consultations on the issue,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Officials from my Department are working to progress the acquisition of a site which is zoned for school provision to accommodate the school to which the Deputy refers. Agreement in principle, including agreement on price, has been reached with the landowner and the conveyancing process for this site is at an advanced stage.  My Department is not aware of any impediments...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Tionscadail Tógála Scoileanna (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Is féidir liom a dheimhniú go bhfuil iarratas ar chóiríocht bhreise faighte ag mo Roinn ón scoil a bhfuil an Teachta ag tagairt di. Tá an t-iarratas á bhreithniú agus beidh mo Roinn i dteagmháil go luath le húdarás na scoile faoin ábhar.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, a building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in the 6 Year Construction Programme.  In that regard, my Department is in receipt of an application from the school for temporary accommodation to address its interim accommodation needs.  The application is currently under consideration and a decision will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware the delivery of a new primary school in Kanturk has been devolved to the Office of Public Works (OPW). The Department is currently progressing the necessary legal arrangements in respect of off-site works in order to facilitate the progression of the project. In tandem with this the OPW is currently preparing tender documentation. As soon as this work is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. Full details of the scheme are available from their website: www.examinations.ie/candidates/reasonableaccommodations In view of this I have forwarded...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm that my Department has received a proposal directly from the schools referred to in the details supplied by the Deputy relating to a proposed reorganisation. My Department was recently in contact with the principal of one of the schools, who is acting on behalf of the three schools and advised her that a further demographic review is being undertaken by my Department where...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Resumed)
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: The delivery of the Regional Skills Fora is through the mainstream providers, so it is still the education and training boards, the institutes of technology or the colleges which provide. The Regional Skills Fora is a move to establish more clearly what needs there are, to create a greater connection and to develop programmes through partnerships with local enterprise. There are some very...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Resumed)
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Each year the allocation from the National Training Fund goes predominantly into the SOLAS budget, as well as funding other activities such as Springboard. We are currently discussing increasing the contribution to the training fund from 0.7% to 1%, which would provide additional money that would, in turn, be deployed to contribute to higher education and to apprenticeships. While the fund...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Resumed)
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: There are a number of questions there. This year, for the first year in about ten years, we have increased the funding to higher education. We have recognised that a funding deficit had built up over a number of years. There had been virtually no new funding for a decade, along with a declining amount of Exchequer funding which was partly compensated by rising student grants over an...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2017 (Resumed)
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Revised) (16 May 2017)

Richard Bruton: Yes, there are 12,000. Obviously, the hope and expectation is to protect the common travel area which would leave their studies uninterrupted. It is also the ambition of the British colleges to leave them uninterrupted, but the Chairman is right, and this is a contingency we have been looking at.