Results 3,801-3,820 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that there has been unprecedented investment in providing supports for pupils with special needs in recent years. As well as the significant increase in the numbers of additional teachers and SNAs directly providing appropriate education and care supports for children with special educational needs, much investment has taken place in the provision of transport,...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221, 223, 224, 226 and 228 together. There has been ongoing engagement and discussion with the relevant education partners involving me and/or my senior officials concerning general education matters and specific budgetary matters, since the budget announcements last October. To be clear there is no doubt that the budget measures concerning staffing will have...

Written Answers — Psychological Service: Psychological Service (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I can inform the Deputy that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through psychologists employed by my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through a panel of private practitioners under the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) which is administered by NEPS. As the Deputy will be aware I...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 225 and 227 together. The Deputy will be aware of my commitment to ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs preferably in school settings through the primary and post-primary school network. The Deputy will also be aware that there has been unprecedented investment in...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly over the last number of years, with the appointment of 6,000 extra teachers in the primary sector alone since 2002. In considering the need to provide extra resource and other teachers to schools in recent years, the Government could have decided to make children wait until permanent accommodation could be provided....

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: My Department received an application for large scale capital funding from the school to which the Deputy refers in October 1999. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a new 16 classroom school building for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently under construction. It is envisaged that it will be ready for occupation in September 2009.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that the school to which he refers was included in my announcement on 12 February of forty three major school building projects which are to progress to tender and construction this year. The project involves the construction of a new 16 classroom school. Representatives from the board of management and the schools design team have been invited to attend a briefing...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The project to which the Deputy refers is a new 32 classroom primary school plus ancillary accommodation. Following an initial pre-qualification process, ten contractors were invited to tender and seven valid tenders were returned by the closing date of 9 March 2009. The valid tenders are currently being examined and, while this process is ongoing, it is not appropriate to provide any further...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: My Department's involvement in supporting the service referred to by the Deputy extends to the supports it provides in facilitating the operation of the special school for pupils with a moderate general learning disability that is located at the facility in question. As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The school's application for Major Capital Grant Aid has been assessed in accordance with the prioritisation criteria agreed by the education partners, and has been assigned a Band rating of 2.5. The Department received correspondence from the school in early March 2009 in relation to their proposal to partially fund the proposed extension (50% of the costs estimated by the architect which...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The project to which the Deputy refers is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. I am pleased to be able to inform the Deputy that my Department recently gave approval for this project to proceed to seek planning permission. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, in recent years the Department has introduced a number of devolved grant schemes. A key principle behind the devolution of these schemes is that responsibility for the management of the project is devolved to the school authority. The school authority can then make use of its local knowledge and presence on the ground to manage the project more effectively and...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I can confirm that the school authority, to which the Deputy refers, has submitted a proposal to my Department to move from the current premises to an alternative premises. The proposal is currently being considered by officials in my Department who will be in direct contact with the school authority on this matter in due course.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers is one of 10 projects announced in January to be re-tendered with a view to going on site as soon as possible. For this project to go to construction it needs to be re-tendered under the new form of contracts for public capital projects. My Department has been in contact with the school authority in this regard.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The school to which the Deputy refers is one of 10 projects announced in January to be re-tendered with a view to going on site as soon as possible. For this project to go to construction it needs to be re-tendered under the new form of contracts for public capital projects. The prequalification advertisement has recently been published inviting expressions of interest. My Department has...

Written Answers — Drug and Alcohol Education: Drug and Alcohol Education (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Government announced in 1995 measures to combat the use of drugs in response to a notable change that had emerged in the pattern of substance abuse in Ireland with evidence that some children at primary school age were misusing substances. To counteract this a number of initiatives were taken. These included a decision to develop a Substance Misuse Prevention Programme (SMPP) aimed at...

Written Answers — Drug and Alcohol Education: Drug and Alcohol Education (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: Prior to September 2000 'On My Own Two Feet' was a stand alone Substance Abuse Prevention Programme, since then it has been subsumed as one of 10 modules in Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE). It is not possible to separate how much funding has been spent on this module of the SPHE curriculum but I can inform the Deputy that since 2006 my Department has provided funding of almost...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The arrangements for the payment of maintenance grants and the student service charge under the Higher Education Grants Scheme are a matter for the local authorities, which are statutorily entrusted with the administration of the Scheme under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Act, 1968.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (25 Mar 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Deputy will be aware that the school to which he refers was included in my announcement on 12th February of forty three major school building projects which are to progress to tender and construction this year. The project involves the construction of a new 16 classroom school. I am pleased be able to inform the Deputy that planning permission was granted for the project by Kildare...