Results 3,301-3,320 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Fee Paying Schools (8 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 260 and 262 together. I recently met with the Joint Managerial Body and representatives of fee charging schools. The meeting afforded them an opportunity to articulate their views on a range of issues concerning their schools. A number of fee charging schools have made contact with the Department and the level of engagement to date varies from school to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Completion Rates (8 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: At second level there were 55,253 first time enrolments to the first year of the junior cycle programme in second level schools in 2005. Of this initial cohort, 95.89% sat the Junior Certificate Exams in 2008 or 2009 and 89.49% sat the Leaving Certificate Exams in 2010 or 2011. This is based on the sixth published report, by the Department of Education and Skills, on school retention in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (8 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that I recently published new anti-bullying procedures for all primary and post primary schools. These new procedures have been developed following consultation with the relevant education partners and replace guidelines that were issued to schools in 1993. The procedures are designed to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (8 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Teachers in primary secondary and community/comprehensive schools are employed by the managerial authorities of the schools and paid salary by my Department on their behalf. The absences of teachers are recorded by the managerial authorities of the schools using the on line claim system. The information recorded is retained on my Departments database and is used to ensure the correct payment...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (8 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The average rate of absenteeism on my Department's payroll due to sickness in the 2011/2012 school year was 3.4% among primary teachers and 3.8% among post primary teachers. The Department of Expenditure and Reform monitor trends in sick leave absenteeism across the public sector. The reported absenteeism rates for 2012 in the other sectors range from 2.7% in the Defence sector to 4.8% in...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: There will be scope for Deputy Donnelly to write lots of articles.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Contracts (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Changes to academic contracts were discussed and agreed in the context of negotiations on the Public Service Agreement 2010 – 2014 (Croke Park Agreement) and more recently the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 – 2016 (Haddington Road Agreement). These changes have resulted in the delivery of additional hours by academic staff to facilitate educational activities, which...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Weight of Schoolbags (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department issued Circular M35/05 in 2005 to highlight the potential health hazard of overweight schoolbags and to outline a range of local measures that could be put in place to help alleviate the problem. The circular referred to the recommendations of the previously published report of the Working Group on the Weight of School Bags. This report acknowledged that many of the solutions...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, a new set of proposals for a public service agreement were put forward by the Labour Relations Commission which now form the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2016 (the Haddington Road Agreement). One aspect of this Agreement relates to supplementary assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and as both Unions that represent SNAs namely,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I presume that the Deputy is referring specifically to the early intervention classes for children with autism in mainstream and special schools. Children with autism can enrol in these early intervention classes from the age of three. There are now some 76 early intervention classes in recognised primary and special schools and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: There is no scheme administered by my Department offering internships for Special Needs Assistants. Job Bridge is a scheme operated and funded by the Department of Social Protection. Recognised schools and Education and Training Boards may choose to participate in the scheme if they wish. Circular 46/2011 (National Internship scheme) sets out the scheme as it applies in schools. An...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the acquisition of a site for a new building for the school referred to by the Deputy is being progressed by my Department. Negotiations with the owners of suitable sites are ongoing. However, due to the commercially sensitive nature of these negotiations, I am not in a position to give further details at this time. However, once the acquisition of a site is finalised, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Emergency Funding (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department's Planning and Building Unit has no record of receiving an application for emergency funding from the school in question to replace their windows. Should an application be received it will be assessed and the school authorities will be notified of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, the school, referred to, has an application with my Department for capital funding for a replacement school building. Whilst the school, in question, has experienced some growth in pupil numbers in recent years, the school is aware that it is not located in an area which has been identified as an area of significant population growth. In view of the need to ensure...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The school to which the Deputy refers is among a range of schools earmarked for delivery through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) process. The PPP process forms a central part of the Government's overall economic stimulus package. This specific school was identified for inclusion in Schools Bundle 4 of the PPP process in July 2012. The procurement process for this bundle of schools has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Levels (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Over the period since the launch of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy in July 2011, there has been significant progress under many of the 41 actions and almost 180 sub-actions. I have increased the time spent on literacy and numeracy at primary level and the revision of the English and Irish curricula is being prioritised in Junior Cycle Reform. Major changes are being made to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As part of the Budget 2012 decisions, the number of pupils required to gain and retain a classroom teaching post in small primary schools is being gradually increased between September 2012 and September 2014. The target savings from this budget measure is 250 posts over the 3 year period. The Government recognises that small schools are an important part of the social fabric of rural...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I have no plans to reverse my decision on the withdrawal of posts from 16 rural DEIS schools as implemented under Budget 2012. Of the 328 DEIS Rural primary schools in 2012, these 16 schools lost one legacy post each. DEIS Rural Primary schools are not included for preferential pupil teacher ratios under DEIS, as generally, their rural location tends to ensure they have lower class sizes....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The estimated savings, at the time, from each of the Budget measures introduced in 2012 and 2013 were as follows: - The changes to postgraduate funding would yield some €6 million savings in 2012 and a full year saving (in 2015) of some €54.2 million. - The reduction of 3% in grant rates for all grant holders from January 2012 would yield a full year saving in 2012 of some...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Guidance Counsellors (3 Oct 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department, like all other Government Departments, is operating within a budgetary programme that is designed to return the Government finances to a sustainable basis. It is not possible to reverse the budget measure in relation to guidance counselling. There are no easy solutions to this challenge. This Government has protected education as much as it can. Far greater reductions in the...