Results 5,341-5,360 of 11,114 for speaker:Damien English

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (7 Jul 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme a minimum of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits. Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (2 Jul 2015)

Damien English: I thank Senator Burke for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the position on the staffing of small schools. I am pleased to inform him that the Minister has introduced a retention rate of 53 pupils for a three-teacher school for the coming school year. The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts are published annually on the Department website. The key factor for...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Special Education Needs Service Provision (2 Jul 2015)

Damien English: I thank the Senator for raising this matter today. I wish to assure the House that the education of children with special educational needs remains a key priority for this Government. We have been resolutely committed to protecting and, in some instances, increasing the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Appeals (2 Jul 2015)

Damien English: The case referred to by the Deputy in the details supplied is the subject of an appeal to the School Transport Appeals Board. This Board is independent of my Department and I understand the case is due to be considered at their next meeting which is scheduled for 16th July 2015. The Board will inform the family directly of their determination on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Applications (2 Jul 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 km from and are attending their nearest national school. The Remote Area Grant is payable to eligible families who have applied for school transport within prescribed time limits and for whom no service is available. Full details of the Remote Area Grant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (2 Jul 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme a minimum of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits. While the closing date for school transport applications...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (1 Jul 2015)

Damien English: As previously advised, the information requested by the Deputy is regarded as commercially sensitive and cannot be released.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Provision (1 Jul 2015)

Damien English: The information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following table. County School Roll No. Longford Mostrim C of I 13313S Westmeath Rathowen C of I 18591C Westmeath Kilpatrick NS 19607T Westmeath Gaelscoil Mullingar 20002P Longford Gaelscoil Longford 20083S

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Eligibility (1 Jul 2015)

Damien English: Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Schemes a minimum of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the establishment or retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits. Families of eligible children, for whom there is no...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: On a point of clarification, Deputy McConalogue and many other Members from all parties raised this issue a number of months ago. At that time the Deputy made it clear the issue was one of concern about going over that gap. The Deputy sent me a video which I watched. The officials in the Department have checked it out and this application has been appealed independently of the Department...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: Furthermore, it has been the precedent that when an error occurs, the pupils in question can continue with the arrangement for the remainder of that year, but they are informed immediately that it will revert in the next school year to be fair to everyone else. This is what happened in this case. The pupils were informed in 2015 and the arrangement will change back in December. The scheme...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: We made it clear a few months ago that we are not going to use that route.

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: The scheme has to be implemented fairly across the board. The situation referred to by the Deputy is not unique. We hear similar stories regularly from throughout the country. I remind the Deputy that we are using taxpayers' money and there has to be a national scheme that is implemented fairly across the board. I cannot operate any other scheme. We have always accepted that we would...

Other Questions: School Transport Eligibility (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: During the 2014-15 school year Bus Éireann discovered that a number of children had been incorrectly assessed as being eligible for school transport, a matter that was discussed previously with the Deputy, and were availing of free transport because they held valid medical cards. The families were informed of this error. They were also advised by Bus Éireann that from the 2015-16...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Intellectual Property Management (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: The question which the Deputy has put down, supported by accompanying documentation, relates to the ability to enforce Intellectual Property Rights in Ireland. This issue has been brought to the Minister’s direct attention and, given that the matter raised involves legal considerations, has also been the subject of advice from the office of the Attorney General. The documentation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Administration (30 Jun 2015)

Damien English: Changes to school transport services were announced in the 2011 Budget and derived from recommendations made in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. These changes included the requirement that a minimum of 10 eligible children, residing in a distinct locality, would be required to retain or establish a school transport service from the commencement of the 2011/12 school year. For...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Data (25 Jun 2015)

Damien English: The payment of an additional training allowance for the long term unemployed was reduced from €31.80 per week to €20 per week as part of Budget 2011 and as part of Budget 2014 it was decided to cease this payment for all SOLAS participants commencing courses after 1st January 2014. The cost of reinstating this long term bonus payment is estimated at €6.7 million in a...

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation (24 Jun 2015)

Damien English: I thank Deputy McEntee for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline the current position regarding the application for a new building for Dunboyne College of Further Education, which is currently based at the business park in the town. As the Deputy is aware, Dunboyne College of Further Education was awarded stand-alone status by the Department in February 2015. It has...

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation (24 Jun 2015)

Damien English: I can confirm that I will certainly be working on it. I am happy to work with the Deputy and all our colleagues on this important issue. I want to recognise the great work that is being done at the college, which is demonstrated by the progression rate of the students who go through the post-leaving certificate courses and into further and higher education or into jobs. I understand that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport Expenditure (24 Jun 2015)

Damien English: The information requested by the Deputy is regarded as commercially sensitive and cannot be released.