Results 3,541-3,560 of 4,869 for speaker:Seán Haughey

Higher Education Grants. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The Department contacted the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to establish if this conferred a similar right on her child. That Department confirmed that although the mother had been granted naturalisation, this did not extend to the candidate, as an individual needs to apply for and be granted naturalisation in his or her own right. I understand evidence has not been provided...

School Transport. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with an opportunity to clarify the general position on school transport for children with special educational needs. The purpose of the school transport scheme for children with special needs is to provide a reasonable level of transport service for children with a diagnosed disability and-or educational need who, because of the...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The majority of schools include among their pupils, children with disadvantaged backgrounds. In general most schools address the individual needs of these children without recourse to additional targeted resources. Evidence has shown that disadvantage associated with poverty and social exclusion assumes a multiplier effect where the levels are highly concentrated in schools. DEIS...

Written Answers — Further Education: Further Education (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The number of approved PLC places is determined in the context of the continuing requirement to plan and control numbers and to manage expenditure within the context of overall education policy and provision. From September 2009, with a view to responding to increased training needs in the present economic context, resources have been redeployed to create an additional 1,500 Post Leaving...

Written Answers — Further Education: Further Education (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: FÁS, in addition to their own delivery of courses, already contract with other education and training providers for the provision of relevant courses. It is a matter for FÁS and its parent Department to determine the contracting arrangements. It is open to Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and the Institutes of Technology to bid for the provision of appropriate courses. VECs...

Written Answers — Further Education: Further Education (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The application process for the 2009/2010 Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) Programme was completed on 1 April 2009 with the allocation of approved places to Vocational Education Committees (VECs) and other providers. As part of the process, each application is examined by my Department on its merits, taking into account current and previous allocations, current and previous demand and...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: My Department is examining the background to the case, referred to by the Deputy, in the details supplied. The Deputy will be advised of the position when this examination is complete.

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: My Department funds adult literacy services through annual grants to Vocational Education Committees (VECs) which deliver the services locally. The disbursement of funds is a matter for each VEC, which, subject to its budget, decides the nature and extent of the services to be provided in its area and the manner in which funds for these services should be spent. Annual funding for adult...

School Absenteeism. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The National Educational Welfare Board, NEWB, is the statutory body with responsibility for school attendance. A key function of the board is to compile statistics on attendance. Schools are required to submit reports on levels of attendance at the end of the school year. This data is analysed and the findings published by the board. The findings will help identify trends and measure the...

School Absenteeism. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: A vast amount of information is involved. The data for 2006-07 and 2007-08 school years are currently being prepared by the NEWB for analysis. The statistics show that figures for non-attendance are stable. Presumably that is why the Deputy wants the information.

School Absenteeism. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The NEWB does a very good job. It is a relatively new statutory organisation.

School Absenteeism. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: This involves the processing of a vast amount of information. School attendance is, first and foremost, the responsibility of parents. The school also has a role to play. The educational welfare officers provide a service, particularly to schools participating in DEIS. School attendance is a complex issue and the National Educational Welfare Board is dealing with it. In the first instance...

School Absenteeism. (14 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The custodial sentence was handed down in a very complex case which was taken to court as a last resort. There were many other interventions prior to that. However, I cannot discuss the details of a specific case or argue with a judgment handed down by the courts. The NEWB is concentrating on the DEIS areas and is dealing with school attendance. I do not accept that we have a chronic...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (13 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: From September 2009, an additional 1,500 Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) places will be made available nationwide. This will bring the total number of approved PLC places to 31,688. No decision has been made yet with regard to the allocation of these additional 1,500 places.

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (13 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: I wish to point out that, despite the escalating costs of the service from €109.8 million in 2004 to €192 million in 2009 or 75%, charges for school transport had not been increased from 1998 until the third school term in the 2007/08 school year. A further increase was put in place at the start of the 2008/09 school year and the new charges come into effect from September 2009. In the...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (12 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, a pupil is eligible for transport if s/he resides 4.8 kilometres or more from her/his local post primary education centre, that is, the centre serving the catchment area in which s/he lives. While parents may choose to send their children to a post-primary centre outside of the catchment area, the scheme is not...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (6 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: Vocational Education Committees (VECs) employ full-time and part-time staff basis to deliver various adult education courses and programmes. As the employer, it is the VECs which are responsible for the terms and conditions and other pay related issues of the staff they employ. Under Section 2 of the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 a person is liable to pay the...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (6 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: The teaching of computer literacy to those over 50 years of age is delivered through a number of current initiatives. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) courses feature prominently under the Back to Education Initiative (BTEI). Older people are specifically prioritised within BTEI, as one of a number of target groups. In 2008, 12.5% of BTEI participants were aged between 55...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (6 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: In 2006, my Department published a Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy. The Strategy recommended that Senior Traveller Training Centres (STTCs) be reviewed and their future role clarified. The Strategy also recommended that people under 18 years of age should not be enrolled in STTCs. Subsequently, my Department published a Value for Money (VFM) Review of the...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (6 May 2009)

Seán Haughey: I wish to advise the Deputy that the charge increases effective from the commencement of the 2009/10 school year apply to about 55,000 eligible post primary children and children availing of concessionary transport. Charges will continue to be waived in the case of eligible post-primary children where the family is in possession of a valid medical card. Eligible children attending primary...