Results 4,401-4,420 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: Changes to the duration and content of all initial teacher education programmes were made in response to recommendations in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020 and were incorporated into the Teaching Council’s Policy Paper on the Continuum of Teacher Education and Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers. Both were...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Counselling Services Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding, including the funding of student services, is a matter for the individual institution. Details of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Facilities (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: The Deputy will be aware that under the National Development Plan (NDP), increased funding has been provided for the school sector capital investment programme. This funding allows for a continued focus on the provision of new permanent school places to keep pace with demographic demand and also provides for an additional focus on the refurbishment of existing school buildings to include the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: Further to Parliamentary Question No. 122 of 7 February 2019, my Department still awaits the additional information requested from the Patron body.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: I recognise the very important work done by school secretaries, and indeed by other support staff, in the running of our schools and I am grateful to them for the contribution they make to our education system. I have spoken to a number of school secretaries about their employment conditions and understand the issues they have raised. I have recently relaxed the moratorium for those...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: I wish to advise the Deputy that within the context of a rapidly increasing school population, my Department's priority is to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place. In this regard, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools. Furthermore, it may also be necessary to make use of temporary...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy may be aware, the school to which he refers was granted approval under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2018 for the provision of pre-fabricated accommodation which will include 5 mainstream classrooms, en-suite toilets, shower area & staff toilets, multi-sensory room, 3 small safe places, storage, staff room & office/administration room. The Department is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: I wish to advise the Deputy that a number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 have been commenced. The commenced provisions include those establishing the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those providing for an inclusive approach to the education of children with special educational needs. The following sections of the EPSEN Act were...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Brexit Preparations (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: Should the UK Leave on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement, including a transition period, the current EU Directives will continue to apply to the UK during that time. The EU and the UK indicated in the Political Declaration setting out the framework of the Future Relationship between the EU and the UK that during negotiations on the Future Relations they will seek to develop appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: As the Deputy is aware, the provision of new accommodation for the schools in question is included in my Department’s capital programme. The project to provide this school accommodation requires the acquisition of a suitable site and this has proved to be extremely challenging to date, despite the best efforts of my Department and of officials in Donegal County Council who are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: The Deputy will be aware that this project has been devolved to Donegal Education and Training Board (DETB) for delivery. I am pleased to inform the Deputy that DETB has appointed a new architect to complete the delivery of the extension project. It will now work with the existing design team to finalise the Stage 2A process prior to lodging planning permission, which is still expected to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: I wish to advise the Deputy that in accordance with the methodology used in the published institutional profiles, the current academic staff: student ratio in Universities is recorded at 20:1. This is calculated based on the 2017/18 enrolment figures for full time equivalent (FTE) students (full and part time) to all academic staff as at 31 Dec 2017. A one point reduction would require an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Ministerial Meetings (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: I have not met with the Secretary of State for Education since the beginning of 2019. However, I took the opportunity to meet with Nick Gibbs, Minister of State at the Department for Education in the UK, when I attended the Education Council meeting in Brussels in May 2018. We had the opportunity to discuss the issue of Brexit and its potential education impact specifically in Northern...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Applications (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: The school to which the Deputy refers submitted an application for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to carry out works to the school's floors. The application was refused as the works were deemed to be outside the scope of the scheme. My Department is currently considering an appeal which has recently been received from the school authority in this respect. A final...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school. The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school. The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Insurance Costs (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: Securing and maintaining adequate and appropriate insurance cover is a matter for the managerial authority of each school. My Department is aware of issues relating to very significant increases in insurance costs in some special schools, through correspondence received from some special schools, through discussions with the National Association of Boards of Management in Special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Data (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: I propose to take Questions Nos. 228 to 230, inclusive, 232, 235, 237 to 240, inclusive, 242 and 247 to 249, inclusive, together. Under Project Ireland 2040, the Department continues to make progress to increase the infrastructural capacity in the schools sector nationally, in order to meet demographic and other demands. In 2019, capital allocation for the school sector amounts to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: In relation to the planned new Gaelcholáiste to which the Deputy refers, my Department has recently received correspondence from the school patron, Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board, which sets out that for operational reasons the ETB has decided it is in the best interest of the school communities in the Maynooth and surrounding areas to defer the opening of this new...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (25 Jun 2019)

Joe McHugh: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs, in consultation with the relevant education partners and the Health Service Executive (HSE). This includes the establishment of special class and special school placements in various geographical areas...