Results 3,201-3,220 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As the Deputy is aware, the Bill now has been published and I hope to be able to introduce it. Obviously, less than two weeks of Dáil time now remain but I intend to introduce the Bill. Some funding is available to help with the process of the different regions getting to the point of applying for the status of technological university. However, I must acknowledge this again is not...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I would love to have more money to spend in education but obviously, that is a matter for the Government to decide and is a matter for decision of Estimates etc. As for demographics, for example, in respect of school building and capital programmes and in maintaining the pupil-teacher ratio - and improving it slightly this year, as was done at both primary and post-primary levels - in all...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Clearly, we have programmes for Government that are agreed. While we are straying away a little now, a programme for Government that is agreed at the outset of a Government's life presumably makes decisions on priorities. Everyone present would agree that education must be a priority.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I will try to answer all the questions. With regard to institutes of technology, they would be in constant contact with the Higher Education Authority with regard to their cashflow issues. We are not talking about the scenario the Deputy painted. They would constantly work with the Higher Education Authority in terms of ensuring they are able to continue to carry out their functions during...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Not necessarily under that subhead. It will be in the general overall base-----

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: -----for the Department of Education and Skills.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Yes, that is how it works but, as I said, that is not something that just started in the past few years.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: No. I am not saying they are not in the red, I am saying that they are in constant discussion with the Higher Education Authority, which is the body with which they would deal directly, to ensure that they can continue to operate financially.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am not saying that. I am saying this will assist them with the financial pressures in terms of how they operate.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I will try to get the Chairman a figure for that. I do not have a specific figure. To be clear, the €61 million goes to the Higher Education Authority and it then deals individually with the institutes of technology and the universities. It is not the case that a specific institute gets a specific amount of money directly from the Department; it goes through the Higher Education...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: On Deputy McConalogue's question around the projects that did not proceed in the first year, the schools would have been told that the files were being held, in other words, that they were still on file should more money become available. As he knows, certain categories were done and certain other categories were held for the next year. The schools would have been told that if they held...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: -----but they would have been made aware that funding may become available. Apparently, there are only about two cases. I do not know what specifically what happened with regard to them. We can clarify the position if there are any such cases of which the Deputy is aware and that he wishes to bring to our attention. The minor works scheme money was found in the overall provision for the...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: At the end of February or in March.

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: There was a saving of €14 million. This was around the time SOLAS and the education and training boards were established. It extends over two years rather than just one. It relates to part of the agreement between SOLAS and the education and training boards. The Exchequer funding goes from SOLAS to the education and training boards and it is proposed to recoup the surpluses by...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Yes. According to my note, the main areas in which surpluses were identified were participant and training allowances under the vocational training opportunities scheme, VTOS, and Youthreach. The cohort of participants varies from year to year and it is difficult to estimate the cost of allowances, particularly for VTOS participants where they receive a training allowance in lieu of their...

Committee on Education and Social Protection: Select Sub-Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2015
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: We are very conscious that people have to attend courses. The purpose in some cases is to reach those who most need to be given opportunities to find employment. This relates to the Youth Guarantee which is used in some cases and so on. We really want to reach the people in question to ensure they are attending and benefiting from courses From the Department's perspective, we put pressure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The position in relation to the funding of higher education institutions, such as Dublin City University, is that my Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates the funding to Universities via a Recurrent Grant Allocation Model on the basis of student numbers in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Exemptions (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: 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. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (8 Dec 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can confirm that the legal issues which arose as part of the conveyancing process have now been resolved and the acquisition of the site is currently being finalised.