Results 5,001-5,020 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2013/2014 school year is set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0013/2013) which is available on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the 30 September 2012. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Official Engagements (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am satisfied in the broadest sense that Civil Servants at my Department carry out their functions with honesty, impartiality and with respect for the citizens they serve. The Secretary General as the Accounting Officer is obliged to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on an annual basis and account for the expenditure of the Education budget as voted on by the Houses of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has requested the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to provide policy advice to my Department, in accordance with its role under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, on the appropriate nature and configuration of educational supports which should be provided to schools to support children with special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Redundancy Payments (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: An application for compensation for loss of hours from the person referred to by the Deputy was received by my Department on 6th December 2012. Applications are processed in date order of receipt and every effort is being made to process these applications as quickly as possible. A large volume of applications were received during the period June - October 2012. Payments are currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Rainwater Harvesting Systems Provision (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that rainwater harvesting systems were first introduced for major school building projects in 2008. Since then all major school building projects, where site conditions and circumstances allow and where economically viable to do so, can incorporate a rainwater harvesting system into their accommodation brief. While fitting the systems in new schools during...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Renewable Energy Generation (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the responsibility for the regulation of the electricity market rests with the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER), which is an independent statutory body and my Department has no statutory function in the matter. I am aware, however, that in Ireland's deregulated open market, electrical suppliers can source their electricity from whatever sources they...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Redundancy Payments (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: A redundancy payment will issue to the person referred to by the Deputy on the 9th May 2013.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Statistics (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The day to day management of how teaching resources are used in schools is done at local school level. It is established policy that guidance is a whole school activity and under existing arrangements each school develops a school guidance plan as a means of supporting the needs of its students. I have already acknowledged that bringing guidance within quota is challenging for schools....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I can inform the Deputy that my Department has responded to the correspondence appended in the details of the question. The Deputy will be aware, from the correspondence, that a number of issues have lead to delays in the progression of this project to tender and construction stage. Most recently, in March 2013, the previously pre-qualified Contractors were asked to confirm that nothing had...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate examinations. Applications for such accommodations are submitted by schools on behalf of their students. Full details of the scheme is available for downloading...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate examinations. Applications for such accommodations are submitted by schools on behalf of their students. Full details of the scheme is available for downloading...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The selection and enrolment of pupils in schools is the responsibility of the authorities of the individual school. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in an area. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. As schools may not have a place...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Redeployment (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: 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 ceiling on teacher numbers. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: To determine eligibility for financial support, a student may submit a fully completed online grant application to SUSI, via www.studentfinance.ie, once the application process for the 2013/14 academic year opens in May 2013. Currently maintenance support is not available for students entering postgraduate courses. Those who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Issues (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 240 and 242 together. 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...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) promotes and supports positive behaviour through the provision of a systematic continuum of support to school communities. The service assists partner post primary schools in addressing behavioural concerns in schools. The Department has been informed by the NBSS that for the academic year 2013-2014, Castlecomer Community School is no longer...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form and supporting documentation, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student should qualify for the special rate of maintenance grant. The decision on eligibility for the special rate of maintenance grant for the students referred to by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (30 Apr 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Forward Planning Section of my Department continuously analyses demographic trends to determine where additional school provision will be required into the future. Should any extra needs arise in the area referred to by the Deputy, they will be identified and met under this process.