Results 3,981-4,000 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Leaders' Questions (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Well done, Mattie.

Leaders' Questions (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: And your question is what?

Leaders' Questions (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: His question is what?

Leaders' Questions (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Question.

Leaders' Questions (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Exactly.

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

Ruairi Quinn: The Terms and Conditions document for the 2011 home based July Provision scheme has been superceded by revised terms and conditions in 2012 and in 2013. The 2013 revised Terms and Conditions document makes it clear that the vast majority of July Provision applications are for 1 child. In each case an individual tutor is sanctioned by my Department. In a small number of cases however...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Statistics (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I welcome the publication of the 2013 edition of this annual publication, Education at a Glance, by the OECD. I am a strong believer in the value of good comparative international data as one source of information among many to support informed policy making in education. The report is an extensive one, covering a wide range of themes including educational completion rates, educational...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I have already signalled my intention to increase the student contribution to €2,500 for the next academic year and to increase it by €250 each year thereafter until the 2015/16 academic year when the contribution will stand at €3,000. The contribution is paid by the Exchequer in respect of students who qualify under my Department's student grant scheme. I have no...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The closing date for new student grant applications to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) for the academic year 2013/14 will be a month earlier than last year. The system opened for applications three weeks earlier also. The decision to bring forward the opening and closing dates was taken in consultation with my Department and was implemented to facilitate earlier decisions on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Graduate Statistics (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The rates of graduate unemployment reflect the higher than average overall rates of unemployment in this country. There continues to be a strong correlation between educational attainment and unemployment. The data in the OECD report referred to by the Deputy focus on the situation in 2011. In particular, the report says that the unemployment rate in 2011 was 7.1% for people with a third...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Value for Money Reviews (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I recently received the report of the Value for Money Review of Small Primary Schools and I am currently considering it. I intend to discuss the report's contents with my Government colleagues prior to its publication. The terms of reference of the Review acknowledge the important role that primary schools play in their local communities. The Government is very aware of this role and will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I have already acknowledged to the House that bringing guidance within quota is challenging for schools. However the alternative was to adjust the PTR staffing allocations. The budget decision sheltered the impact for all DEIS post-primary schools by improving their standard staffing allocations - a fact which is often overlooked in this debate. Guidance is a whole school activity and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Procurement Regulations (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Public Service Reform Plan, published in November 2011, recognises the key strategic importance of public procurement and provides for the development of a new policy framework for procurement. This work is now being led by the newly appointed Chief Procurement Officer, Paul Quinn. Under his leadership, a new national procurement office for the public sector is being established. Paul...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology Issues (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: On 30th May of this year, I responded to advice on reconfiguring the system submitted to me by the Higher Education Authority. The HEA advice and my letter to the Chair of the Authority in response and which sets out my full intentions in relation to policy in this area are published on my department's website. The reconfiguration of the system will build on existing alliances and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 25 together. The State Examinations Commission was established as an independent agency in 2003 to deal with all operational issues relating to State Examinations. The SEC acknowledges that these errors may have caused confusion and distress for some candidates and has apologised publicly. Although the SEC has in place a range of procedures to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand from Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that there are 133 cases where a decision on an application has not yet been made. A number of difficult and complex cases arise every year in the course of administering the scheme. I am assured by SUSI that communication with applicants in these cases is being afforded priority to ensure that they are brought to conclusion...

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

Ruairi Quinn: Decisions about staffing and capitation levels for schools have to be considered in the context that my Department, like all other Government Departments, is operating in the context of a budgetary programme that is designed to put the public finances on a sustainable footing. A particular challenge in the education sector is the on-going significant increases in demographics across all...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The position is that higher education institutions, including Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), are autonomous bodies and their day to day operational affairs including issues such as the provision of on-line courses are the responsibility of the management authority and governing body of the Institute. However, I understand that the HEA has been in contact with the Institute and has...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Industrial Disputes (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The revised proposals put forward by the Labour Relations Commission for the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2016 arise from an intensive and difficult set of negotiations between the Public Services Committee of ICTU and the Government that took place against a backdrop of continuing significant difficulties in the finances of the State. The INTO has accepted the terms of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Tá mo chinneadh polasaí déanta agam COGG agus an CNCM a chomhshuí. Chuir mé an Chomh-aireacht ar an eolas faoi seo agus phléigh mé go hiomlán leo é an tSamhain seo caite. Táim cinnte gur fearr a n-éascófar le feidhmiú mholtaí na straitéise 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge 2010-30, de bharr iad a bheith comhshuite, agus ina...