Results 3,681-3,700 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Staff (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: At a Government meeting held on the 15th March, 2011, it was decided to reduce the number of staff permitted in Minister's Private Offices from 10 to 8 and Minister of State's Private Offices from 7 to 5. The number of staff permitted in Minister's Constituency Offices was reduced from 6 to 4 and Ministers of State's Constituency Offices from 5 to 3. The staffing of these offices at my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Exchequer Savings (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I refer the Deputy to my answer to her Parliamentary Question No. 344 of Tuesday 16th July 2013. The Ministers of State at my Department do not have Special Advisers.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: A request was submitted by the Principal of the school referred to by the Deputy to my Department and a reply issued on the 28th May. The Principal also spoke to officials in my Department last week. On both occasions the Principal was informed that the terms of the nationally agreed redundancy arrangements for SNAs as outlined in Circular 58/2006 must apply to redundant posts. One of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision on eligibility for a student grant or the rate of grant to be awarded is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority. I understand from Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to the Deputy is a renewal student for the 2013/14 academic year. SUSI have also confirmed that the student was issued with a grant award letter on the 2nd July...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy has not supplied details of the school in question but I can advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the terms of the scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application, it would not be possible to say if the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Delays (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the applicant referred to by the Deputy was issued with a decision letter on the 2nd May 2013 advising her that she was deemed ineligible to receive a grant. SUSI have confirmed that no appeal has been received from this applicant. If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that, in primary schools, teaching supports for pupils with special educational needs are provided in two ways. Under the terms of the General Allocation Model (GAM) of teaching supports, schools are resourced to cater for pupils whose educational psychological assessment places them in the high incidence disability category, including children with mild...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the applicant referred to by the Deputy was issued with a decision on the 24th April 2013 advising him that he was deemed ineligible to receive a grant. Following an appeal to the SUSI Appeals Officer the original decision of the awarding authority was upheld and a letter issued on 5th July,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy, a letter issued on 28th May 2013 stating that he was ineligible for a grant. The applicant appealed to the appeals officer in SUSI on 18th June, 2013. On that basis, the application is currently being reassessed and the student will be notified...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy, that following an appeal to the SUSI Appeals Officer the original decision of the awarding authority was upheld and a decision letter issued on 26th June 2013. Where an appeal is turned down in writing by SUSI and the applicant remains of the view...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: In June 2011, I announced that up to 40 new schools are to be established up to 2017 to cater for increasing demographics across a number of locations. These consist of twenty new primary schools and twenty new post-primary schools. This announcement did not include a proposal to establish any new second level school in the Dublin city area. The Forward Planning Section of my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Provision (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the National Tourism Development Authority Act, 2003 the training and education of workers in the tourism and hospitality industry fall under the remit of Fáilte Ireland. Fáilte Ireland have responsibility under the Act for encouraging, promoting and supporting the recruitment, training, and education and development, of persons for the purposes of employment in connection...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: A key focus of the Government's education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. Therefore it is my intention that the additional resources available to DEIS schools are utilised to optimum benefit to achieve identified outcomes for the most at risk pupils. As...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Grants (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to inform the Deputy that given the level of demand on the student grant budget from first time students and students that are progressing with their studies to a higher level, there are no plans at present to change the arrangements in place for postgraduate students.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Appointments to State Boards (18 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to ensure that all State Boards have at least 40% of each gender. The breakdown by gender for State Boards under the aegis of my Department for the years 2010 to 2012 is attached in tabular form. I am pleased to note the progress made in that period towards achieving an optimal gender balance, with the percentage of female membership on the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: In the early to middle of the next decade, in 2023 or 2024.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Yes. I will provide the committee with the statistics that were brought to my attention today by the Department's statistical unit. That information is now on the departmental website.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: We would hope to sanction them as quickly as possible. We do not receive many applications for amalgamations but we would welcome amalgamations, particularly in cases where the school communities come together. We will expedite and facilitate amalgamations. I ask the Deputy to inform me of any particular cases of amalgamations which seem to be moving slowly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: 2014 Pre-Budget Submission: Department of Education and Skills (17 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: We do not have that precise information to hand but I will provide it for the Deputy.