Results 3,041-3,060 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through the local special educational needs organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including special needs assistants. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. In this...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers has in fact been allocated an additional mainstream class post under the staffing schedule for the coming school year, 2009-2010. The Board of Management of the school was notified in this regard earlier this year. I am committed to providing information in relation to the allocation of teachers to schools and as a new feature on my Department's...
- Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware all primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the SCPA, whereby the school can have an assessment...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The amount spent on taxis in 2007 and 2008 was â¬30,184.37 and â¬26,996.34 respectively. The total spent to date in 2009 is â¬8,453.54. Taxis used by my Department's officials are strictly for business purposes and staff are required to ensure that every effort is made to minimise the use of taxis. Expenditure on taxis by agencies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am committed to providing information in relation to the allocation of teachers to schools and as a new feature on my Department's website. The process has begun with the provision earlier this year of initial information on the allocation of mainstream classroom teachers to primary schools under the revised schedule for 2009/10. In terms of the position at individual primary school level...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy may be aware a key focus and priority of my Department is to provide for resources in schools to support pupils with special educational needs, including those with dyslexia. For mainstream primary schools, this is done through the General Allocation Model. This model was introduced in September 2005 and ensures that mainstream primary schools have the additional teaching...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: My Department provides for a scheme of grants towards the purchase of equipment for the use of students in second-level schools who have been diagnosed as having serious physical and/or communicative disabilities of a degree which makes ordinary communication through speech and/or writing impossible for them. The purpose of the grant-aid is to provide such students with equipment of direct...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations and determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations. I can inform the Deputy that the Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have the names...
- Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I wish to advise the Deputy that under Section 22 of the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002, income consisting of an award under this Act shall be disregarded for the purposes of income tax assessment under the Income Tax Acts. Any payment in respect of an award under this Act shall be treated in all respects as if it were a payment following a civil action for damages in respect of...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers commenced operation, with provisional recognition from my Department, in September 2007. It has a current enrolment of 21 pupils. When granting provisional recognition, the school was informed by my Department that the provision of accommodation was the responsibility of the school Patron. My Department grant aids the rental of such accommodation. My...
- Written Answers — Education Research Schemes: Education Research Schemes (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS), which was established in 2000, provides funding for cutting-edge research in the humanities, social sciences, including business and law. The IRCHSS operates a suite of interlinked research schemes, including the Government of Ireland Post-Graduate Scholarship Scheme. The International Assessment Board for the...
- Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware the Department has provided significant additional school accommodation in that general area, which should relieve pressure on enrolments at the school to which he refers. The Forward Planning Section of my Department is in the process of identifying the areas where significant additional accommodation will be required at primary and post-primary level for future...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Department will deliver a new 8 classroom building this year, as the first phase, to meet the needs of the school to which the Deputy refers. The Forward Planning Section of my Department is in the process of identifying the areas where significant additional accommodation will be required at primary and post-primary level for future years and the area referred to by the Deputy will...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Department of Education and Science operates a number of bank accounts with commercial banking organisations. These accounts are principally used to make payments by Electronic Funds Transfer or to receive funds which are subsequently transferred to this Department's Exchequer account in the Central Bank. Generally my Department does not have fees levied on its accounts. My...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The amount spent by my Department on bottled water for the last three years was â¬5,869.74 in 2006; â¬2,998.32 in 2007 and â¬3,259.74 in 2008. My Department's policy is to replace bottled water dispensers with filtered tap water where possible.
- Written Answers — Educational Disadvantage: Educational Disadvantage (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Millennium Partnership Fund has been in operation since 2000. It forms part of the European Social Fund-aided package for education disadvantage. Funding for the scheme in 2001-02 was â¬1m. This increased to â¬2m in 2002-03. The allocation for 2008-9 academic year was â¬2.18m. This allocation was distributed among 56 Partnerships/community groups around the country. An external...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: The correspondence to which the Deputy refers relates to the requirement for contractors to demonstrate economic capacity to carry out a project. Economic and Financial Standing is one of the criteria laid down in the EU Procurement Directives for pre-selection of contractors tendering for building contracts. Contracting Authorities have an obligation to ensure that, as part of suitability...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through the local special educational needs organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including special needs assistants. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (9 Jun 2009)
Batt O'Keeffe: I am pleased to confirm that my Department has recently provided funds to the Galway City Vocational Education Committee to enable them to close the sale on the site for the school mentioned by the Deputy. This school is included in my Department's PPP school building programme. The make up and timing of further school bundles from this programme will be determined by my Department in...