Results 4,061-4,080 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Fee-Paying Schools (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 to 124, inclusive, together. I met in recent days 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 contacted with the Department and the level of engagement to date...

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

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together. The Deputy will be aware that under the Prefab Replacement Initiative 2012, approval was given to 170 schools nationally to replace 458 prefab units with permanent accommodation. In excess of €42 million was allocated for this initiative. Some thirty projects have been completed with approximately 100 others on site. In June...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the school closed for the summer holidays last week. The project is close to completion and it is envisaged that the building will be handed over to the school authorities shortly.

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

Ruairi Quinn: The development of appropriate skills for the workplace has implications for curricula, programme design and teaching methodologies at all levels of the education system. As enterprise sectors develop and expand, demand for employees with core technical and specialist expertise across a range of disciplines continues to grow. Employers also equally value more generic skills such as...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The Accenture Report, which reviewed the operations of SUSI, contained a series of recommendations, many of which are already being implemented by SUSI. In line with these recommendations and in preparation for the 2013/14 academic year, both the online application system and the application assessment process have been further developed to enhance their effectiveness and to deal with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (3 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department as individual school management authorities are not required to report incidents of bullying to my Department. As the Deputy is probably aware, on 29th of January last, Minister Fitzgerald and I published the Action Plan on Bullying which sets out twelve actions to help prevent and tackle bullying in primary and...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The most recent report by the HEA entitled 'A study of Progression in Higher Education' is available on the HEA website. The following table from the report illustrates the non-presence rates of new entrants in their second year of study by sector, NFQ level and course duration. New entrants are classified as 'not present' if they do not appear in the statistical returns of that institution...

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

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to 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 Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) is a third-level admissions scheme for students with a disability. The scheme is operated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. Admissions to the institutions are regulated by the institutions themselves. The Deputy may wish to contact the Irish Universities Association in this instance. Further details in...

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

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware of this Government's ongoing commitment to ensuring that all children with special educational needs, including children with Down syndrome, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. The policy of my Department is to secure the maximum possible level of inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream primary and post-primary...

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

Ruairi Quinn: Responsibility for the recruitment and selection of school personnel (including volunteers) rests with the Board of Management. If the Board of Management of a school decides to engage a person (whether on a voluntary or paid basis) to assist or supplement the classroom teacher, the Board must ensure that appropriate selection procedures have been followed and that the person is suitably...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Suicide Prevention (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am also aware of the serious problem of youth suicide and of the role that schools can play in the area of prevention and ensuring the education system is more responsive to those with emotional or mental health difficulties. I can inform the Deputy that last January I launched the Well-Being in Post-Primary Schools: Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention, which...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, two new post-primary schools (in Doughiska and Claregalway) will be opening in September 2013, both of which will be multi-denominational. These new schools are being established in order to provide sufficient places for the increased numbers of post-primary pupils within the general area. The Forward Planning Section of my Department will continue to analyse...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Teaching vacancies are filled in the first instance through the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers. The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to the Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, I announced at this year's Teacher Union Conferences that I will shortly bring to Government draft heads of a bill – the Education (Admission to School) Bill 2013. I will seek to publish the Bill in draft form to allow a full public discussion, including inputs from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection and the education partners. I...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The current stage 2(b) includes applications for Planning Permission, Fire Safety Certificate, Disability Access Certificate and the preparation of tender documents. The project is listed on the five year school building programme to go to construction in 2014/2015. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to 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 Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff Rehiring (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The number of Temporary Clerical Officers employed in my Department for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 were 9, 6 and 8 respectively. Temporary Clerical Officers for the Department are recruited through the Public Appointments Service selection process which is in compliance with the Commission for Public Service Appointment's Code of Practice for Appointment to positions in the Civil Service...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: European Council Meetings (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Mr Sahlberg and Ms Blower both made oral interventions at the Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Ministerial Council meeting on 16 May 2013. A summary record of the discussion, which includes a brief outline of these interventions, has been prepared by the Council General Secretariat and is available on the Council's website at the following address: .

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (2 Jul 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is available on my Department's website at www.education.gov.ie by clicking on 'Schools and Colleges', then 'Building Works' and then on 'Devolved Schemes'.