Results 2,881-2,900 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: It is one fifth, which is a large amount. All the indications are that electronic format is the way to go and that will affect all of my educational colleagues. We will take up the matter, in some shape or form, and report back to the committee.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: It really is the prerogative of each member state to set out its own priorities for the Presidency. That is done in consultation with the Commission and the three countries that form a cluster. In the case of the Irish Presidency, I shared our perspective on the future with both the Lithuanians and the Greeks. The Greeks were the third group of three countries. Ultimately, it is for each...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: It is a very good point and it has been brought to my attention previously. It was raised by both Deputy McConalogue and you, Chairman, and Deputy Jonathan O’Brien also raised it. There was a time in the mid-1980s when the then Labour-Fine Gael coalition fell out of favour with Croke Park because we could not remove VAT from hurley sticks and Ministers were effectively banned from...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: It is €700 million in third level academic institutions and it is approximately €300 million in foreign English language schools. A note I have, which is fairly up to date, states that there are 32,000 students registered in Irish higher education institutions, including international students on Irish programmes overseas. These would include the Royal College of Surgeons and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy asked a question about access to broadband. The Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, and myself have a programme, which will be completed this year, to provide a rollout of a 100 megabytes infrastructure to all post-primary schools in the country, which number approximately 730. We are considering the primary sector but we do not have the same clear picture in that respect. There is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The note I have states that in relation to primary schools, that all contracts under the schools' broadband access programme are regularly reviewed so that schools can have access to the best quality connectivity solutions affordable within the available resources. That would be from area to area. If the Deputy has a set of areas that is of interest to him in this regard, I would be happy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Deputy McConalogue has been obliged to leave but I am sure he will consult the transcript in due course to follow up on the replies I am about to provide. Three Education Council meetings are held every year. Two of these take place in the first semester, so those hosted by Ireland were held in February and May. The final one takes place in November and that is the one to which I referred...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Chairman. Members of the committee have been circulated with the information note prepared by the Department on the agenda for the next Council of Education Ministers meeting on 25 November 2013. I will represent Ireland at the Council meeting, the only one being held under the Lithuanian Presidency. The Council, which is part of the education, youth culture and sports...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Courses Accreditation (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, QQI was established in November 2012 through the amalgamation of the NQAI, HETAC and FETAC. Since its establishment QQI has been undertaking a comprehensive policy development programme, involving the publication of a number of policy papers and broad consultation with stakeholders. I am informed that representatives of the college concerned attended the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The overall capital allocation that my Department has for 2013 amounts to €432.750m. The Minor Works Grant which will issue to primary schools in the coming weeks and amounting to over €28m is part of my Department's allocation for 2013. It is expected that the full 2013 capital allocation will be expended by year-end.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The expenditure arising on Summer Works Scheme 2014 will be drawn from within the €540m capital allocation that my Department has secured for 2014.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Redeployment (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to the Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and ceiling on teacher numbers. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. In managing a school, the Boards is required to comply with the relevant provisions of the Education Act 1998 and the terms of Circulars issued by my Department. The provisions in relation to minimum school hours are set out in my Department's "Time in School"...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The position regarding the working hours of full-time SNAs is as outlined in the standard SNA contract of employment, which was agreed by this Department, the Trade Unions (IMPACT and SIPTU) representing SNAs and the Management Bodies in 2005. In that context, the standard SNA contract has been designed to be flexible to cater for the different spectrum of working hours across all the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy his application is currently awaiting review following receipt of requested documentation. SUSI will advise him directly of the outcome of the review.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information sought is being compiled at present and will be forwarded to the Deputy shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I refer the Deputy to my announcement last Thursday, 7 November, to the re-introduction of the Summer Works Scheme for 2014. Funding from the Scheme will allow eligible schools to carry out small and medium scale building works that will improve and upgrade existing school buildings. It is open therefore to the school, referred to by the Deputy, to make an application if it so wishes under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I assume the Deputy is referring to the funding of schools within the second-level system. The funding arrangements made by my Department for post primary schools reflect the sectoral division of our second-level system. At the core of all arrangements is reliance upon capitation as the principal determinant of funding. My Department provides funding to Community and Comprehensive schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The underlying criteria for participation in DEIS is a school's relative level of disadvantage against all other schools therefore those schools with the highest concentration of disadvantage were selected for participation in the DEIS programme. The identification process for DEIS was in line with international best practice and had regard to, and employed, the existing and most appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (13 Nov 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The majority of schools include among their pupils children with disadvantaged backgrounds, and in general schools address the individual needs of these children without recourse to additional targeted resources. Research carried out by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) for the Educational Disadvantage Committee found strong evidence for the proposition that the disadvantage associated...