Results 5,261-5,280 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Stage 2A submission for the school building project to which the Deputy refers has been returned to the Design Team Architect. Further technical information is needed to make the submission compliant with Departmental standards.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The 2009 Budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect Education while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure could not be totally spared. The various impacts at school level were included in the...
- Written Answers — Education Schemes: Education Schemes (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The information requested by the Deputy is not readily available on a county basis and would take an inordinate amount of administrative time to compile.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The number of full-time posts allocated to primary schools and whole-time equivalent posts allocated to post-primary schools in respect of teaching English language support is 1569 and 545 respectively. Additional supports are provided for children in primary schools who do not meet the qualifying criteria for the appointment of full-time teachers in the form of grant aids for the...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The syllabus for the Leaving Certificate Technical Drawing was revised by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). The name of the subject was changed to Design and Communications Graphics and the new subject was introduced in September 2007, into a number of selected Post-Primary schools, for examination for the first time by the State Exams Commission (SEC) in June 2009....
- Written Answers — Education Schemes: Education Schemes (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: Notwithstanding the increase of â¬302 million in the Education budget for 2009, which is a real achievement in the current economic climate, a number of tough and difficult decisions had to be taken. These decisions included reductions on the aid for school books scheme which in the case of schools outside of the DEIS scheme will involve savings of approximately â¬7.5 million on current...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The 2009 Budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. These decisions were made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In this respect Education while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure could not be totally spared. The various impacts at school level were included in the...
- Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: I wish to advise the Deputy that meetings have recently taken place between my officials and officials from Dublin City Council regarding the potential availability of a permanent site for the Gaelscoil in question. My officials have written to Dublin City Council with a suggested proposal on the issue.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: I propose to take Questions Nos. 526 and 527 together. My Department's budget for next year has been prepared on the same fundamental basis as any other year by estimating the number of teachers that will be employed under the different categories given the policies in place, for example, mainstream classroom teachers, special needs and language support teachers and allowing for any change...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: An extensive project for the school referred to by the Deputy is nearing completion. As is normal, the school's consultant architect provided certification relating to satisfactory progress at various stages of the works. The architect did not require permission from my Department to issue these certificates. My Department funded the school, who were the party to the contract, on receipt...
- Written Answers — Language Programme: Language Programme (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: My Department is providing support and training for teachers of English as an additional language in the current school year. A dedicated team within the Primary Professional Development Service (PPDS) is in place for the provision of support at primary level and the first of days of training is currently ongoing. Design and provision of the second day will take place in early 2009. It is...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: An extension and refurbishment project for the school to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: A reply has issued to the candidate referred to by the Deputy in respect of her appeal from the Higher Education â Equity Of Access Unit of my Department.
- Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: There are currently 225 schools/centres offering the Junior Certificate School Programme, and the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) is currently offered in some 380 schools and centres and taken by around 6% of students each year. I have no plans for change in the implementation of these programmes at present. In framing the budget this year, a range of very difficult policy choices had to...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers, for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special needs. Applications for SNAs may be considered by the NCSE where a pupil has a significant medical need for such...
- Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Redress Board's primary function is to provide financial redress to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in Industrial Schools, Reformatories or other institutions that were subject to State regulation or inspection. The Board was established under the terms of the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 and the legislation governing its operation is contained therein....
- Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The salaries paid to teachers in fee paying schools in the past three school years are as follows: 2007/8 â â¬100,120,336; 2006/07 â â¬90,647,969; 2005/06 â â¬85,986,713. The cost of salaries is determined by the approved teaching staff allocation for each school. The full information to determine the actual cost of salaries for the 2008/09 school year is not yet available.
- Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: It was recently announced that the Early Retirement Scheme for teachers, which had operated on a pilot basis since 1996, has been suspended in all sectors until further notice. The Scheme, which consisted of 3 strands, was a voluntary scheme. Like other programmes under my Department's remit, the continuance of the pilot scheme is subject to available resources and to changes in Government...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, all applications for capital funding are prioritised and advanced incrementally by my Department. This applies to the progression of all preparatory work leading up to the construction phase. The priority attaching to individual projects is determined by published prioritisation criteria, which were formulated following consultation with the Education Partners....
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (18 Nov 2008)
Batt O'Keeffe: The information requested by the Deputy is provided on a school year basis. The first school year for which full information is available on the current system for recording teacher absences is the 2007/2008 school year but does not include the VEC sector. The number of days uncertified sick leave taken by primary teachers in the 2007/2008 school year was 60,128 days. Teachers in...