Results 3,241-3,260 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Staff (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: The figures for the collective teaching staff across primary and secondary stand at 71,000. As of September next year, we will have 17,000 SNAs. I have met with the Ulster branch of the SNA groups up in the north west over the last year and I get the sense of insecurity around future prospects. That is why I am taking the recommendations to have a proper national training authority...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Deputy who I appreciate has been in direct contact with me, as have colleagues in the constituency, Senator James Reilly and Deputy Alan Farrell, regarding the pressures and demographics in the area. As the Deputy will be aware, in 2018 the Government announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the four years from 2019 to 2022, including two new primary...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department was awaiting final grant of planning permission for the site of the temporary school at 85-87 Main Street Swords and it issued on 27 August 2019. A commencement notice was submitted to Fingal County Council on Friday, 11 October, and it is envisaged that works will commence on site at the end of October. Once works are complete and the building control regulations...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: I understand the sense of urgency and the frustration on the part of the parents who want clarification on the timeframe. The commencement notice was submitted to Fingal County Council on Friday, 11 October and it is envisaged that works will commence on the site at the end of October. Through regular contact with my officials, I will ensure that we prioritise this project and make it...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: As Minister for Education and Skills, I believe that every child should have an education provided for him or her that best supports the child and meets his or her individual needs. The provision of education for children with special needs is an ongoing priority for the Government. Currently, we spend almost 20% of the total education Vote of €1.9 billion on supporting children with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department monitors the cost of school building projects on an ongoing basis. School building costs, as reflected in the Department’s published basic building cost limit, fell significantly during the period of the economic downturn and took a number of years to return to a standard level. The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland tender index also tracks tender levels in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Let us be clear about the exact mathematics. In 2016, capital expenditure on the school buildings programme was €530 million. In 2017, it was €532 million. In 2018, it was €547 million. In 2019, it was €622 million, a 14% increase on 2018. Next year, it will be €620 million, some €2 million less. I have publicly stated what my first line of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: This is important, so I will make it my last point. The Kevin Street property sold for €140 million, approximately €60 million above the guide price.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: This has reduced the pressure on the 2020 capital budget.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Since 2016, we have invested €3 billion in the school building programme. We will continue with that. Prior to this budget, I sat down with a dedicated team of my officials in Tullamore. They wanted to continue delivering on the programme. We agreed on rolling out 60 new schools in 2020. That was before the budget. The budget has passed. After the budget, we will still be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Budget 2020 has provided for a budget of more than €11 billion for the Department of Education and Skills in 2020. This is the highest ever allocation to the sector and an increase of nearly €2 billion since 2016.  In relation to staffing in our schools we have, since May 2016: - provided for an additional 3,000 SNAs and over 7,300 new teaching posts, with a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: As Minister for Education and Skills and a T.D. for Donegal I am conscious of  this project and the efforts of the local community to help process this project.   As the Deputy is aware, the provision of a standalone extension project for the school to which he refers has been devolved for delivery to Donegal Education and Training Board...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Under Budget 2020, the allocation for my Department's School Buildings programme is broadly in line with the allocation for 2019.  In 2019 the allocation was €622m. The allocation envisaged for 2020 is €620m. The allocation for schools will support circa 60 new school building projects going to construction in 2020 delivering in excess of 30,000 school places...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Contracts (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Since my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills I have met with a number of Teaching Principals and I appreciate the pressures they face. Earlier in the year, I hosted a symposium on Small Schools which gave me an opportunity to restate the Government’s commitment to small schools and to open a dialogue with all the key stakeholders. The purpose of this work by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Expenditure Programme (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: The Department’s capital budget for 2020 should be considered in the context of an increase of over 26% between 2018 and 2019 (€745m in 2018 rising to €941m in 2019). Also, the value achieved from the disposal by TU Dublin of its Kevin Street property, the sale of which closed in August, means that the Department no longer needs to set aside a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy is aware the recommendation to amalgamate the schools in question has been accepted following detailed consideration of the proposal from Cavan Monaghan Education and Training Board, patron of both schools and the submissions received from the groups referred to by the Deputy. The recommendation from the patron to amalgamate the existing schools into a new...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Budget 2020 provides the fourth successive year of major reinvestment in our education and training system as we continue to implement the Action Plan for Education, our plan to make Ireland’s education and training service the best in Europe by 2026.  In 2020, the budget for the Department of Education and Skills will increase by €360 million, a 3.4% increase on last...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Oideachas Tríú Leibhéal (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Rinneadh an cinneadh le deontais do shocrúcháin Ghaeltachta a stopadh le linn na géarchéime eacnamaíochta nuair a bhí gá, ar an drochuair, le cinntí an-deacair a dhéanamh chun airgead an náisiúin a chobhsú. Mar sin féin, thuig mé go maith an dúshlán atá ann do mhic léinn i dtaca le costas an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: Earlier this year, I asked the State Examinations Commission to review the supports provided to Leaving Certificate and Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) students who suffer trauma or adversity around the time of the state examinations. The Commission operates the scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at the Certificate Examinations, known as the RACE scheme, to accommodate candidates who...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Mental Health Strategies (17 Oct 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department’s Wellbeing Policy and Framework for practice has given recognition to the importance of promoting wellbeing in education.  It outlines a comprehensive, whole-school approach to the promotion of wellbeing and positive mental health. It focuses on the whole school community, as well as groups and individual young people with identified needs.  Schools promote...