Results 4,441-4,460 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Examinations Issues (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Senators for raising the matter. At the start of these exams I stated that while 116,000 young students sit them at least 500,000 relatives, parents, brothers, sisters and everybody else do the exams alongside them, so this is a much bigger issue. It is not unique to this country, but it certainly generates far more coverage than would normally be the case. I will ensure the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that a site for the school to which he refers was acquired by my Department in November 2012.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Value for Money Reviews (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information is being compiled and will be sent to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to set out the clear position of the Department and the employers regarding June working for Special Needs Assistants employed in the post-primary sector. The contract for Special Needs Assistants in the post primary sector (DES Circular SNA12/05) specifically requires that SNAs are required to work the month of June on examinations and work appropriate to the grade including training....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the school projects announced as part of the Government's "Investing in Infrastructure & Jobs" Package last week are school projects that have completed extensive architectural planning already and which my Department has identified can progress to tender and construction before end year. In relation to the school, referred to the Deputy, I am aware...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Administration (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: In common with the rest of the Public Sector, capital works projects in schools are tendered under the standard Public Works Contracts as required by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Government Contracts Committee for Construction (GCCC). The Guidelines require a competitive process carried out in an open, objective and transparent manner to achieve best value for money...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Residential Institutions Redress Board was established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002 to provide fair and reasonable financial awards to victims of childhood abuse in scheduled institutions. The Board operates independently and the application process is confidential in accordance with the terms of the 2002 Act. Therefore, I am not in a position to comment on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I will not be seeking a moratorium on media coverage during the State examinations. It is important that the examinations are seen to be open and transparent and that is why, for example, the papers are available to everyone on the SEC website www.examinations.ie the evening of the examination. Apart from the difficulty in trying to secure a moratoirum on coverage in the newspapers, radio and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Students commencing a new course in the academic year 2013/14 are required to submit their grant application to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) via www.susi.ie. to have their eligibility for grant assistance assessed. To satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course having...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (12 Jun 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, his student grant application was appealed on the 29th May 2013 to the appeals officer in SUSI. On that basis, the application is currently being reassessed and the student will be notified directly by SUSI of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Redundancy Payments (12 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: A redundancy application from the person referred to by the Deputy was received by my Department on 8th November 2012. Applications are processed in date order of receipt and every effort is being made to process these applications as quickly as possible. The application from the person referred to is currently being processed and it is expected that they will receive payment in July 2013.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to by the Deputy appealed a decision. SUSI reviewed his application and the student was issued with a decision on 5 June 2013. Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Student grant applications are means tested on gross income from all sources earned inside and outside the State within a specified reference period. The assessment of income from the same starting point is deemed to be fair and reasonable because this approach eliminates any distortion which might arise from different spending arrangements in different households. In the interest of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland, that on 5 June 2013, a request for supporting documentation was issued to the student referred to by the Deputy. When this is returned, the student will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 305 together. I wish to advise the Deputies that my Department is aware of the accommodation needs of the school in question. Professional and Technical staff from South Dublin County Council and my Department have discussed possibilities in relation to using lands adjacent to the existing school for a new school building. However, given the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Vocational Education Committees Expenditure (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: In Budget 2013, it was decided to reduce the non-pay grant to Vocational Education Committees (VECs) by some €13.2 million. This decision took account of the capacity of VECs to utilise cash balances on a once-off basis. VECs have been informed that they are required to provide the same level of service in 2013 as in 2012 and that, in this regard, they may incur expenditure up to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Applications (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The management authorities of the school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to carry out various improvement works at their school. As the scope of works for which funding is sought is outside the terms of the scheme, they cannot be considered for funding. The management authority of the school has been informed of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the school building project referred to was included in the €50 million investment in new school building projects recently announced as part of the Government's "Investing in Infrastructure & Jobs" Package. The project is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. A stage 2(b) submission from the design team was recently received...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Two new post-primary schools are planned for Stepaside. The first is a Gaelcholáiste to serve the general Ballinteer and Stepaside area. This will commence operation in 2014 under the patronage of An Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán Ghaeilge. The second is an English medium post-primary school which is due to open in 2016. The application process for patronage of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (11 Jun 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Oireachtas enacted the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act in 2012. Section 42 of this Act, which sets out provisions relating to the charitable status of contributions by congregations, was commenced in March 2013. Section 42 empowers the Commissioners for Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland to authorise property transfers and sales related to the making of...