Results 5,541-5,560 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Other Questions: School Enrolments (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The ethos of a school is one thing but on the question of sexual orientation specifically, the equality legislation provides that one cannot be discriminated against on that basis. If there is any doubt in this regard I will be very clear that schools cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. In reply to Deputy McConalogue, I have expressed a personal view but there is a...

Other Questions: School Enrolments (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have expressed my view. I said I thought that 25% was too much and I felt that I needed to go a bit further and give a personal view.

Other Questions: School Enrolments (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As Deputy O'Brien said, there is a right for siblings to go to the same school and in my view that is fair and it should be retained. In some cases there are rights to attend a local school and there are other kinds of rights of entry depending on the specific school. I want to be fair and I want to ensure that children are not kept out of schools for any particular reason. That is why I...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I have recently held a number of meetings with Down Syndrome Ireland and with parents of children with Down's syndrome. Following these discussions, I agreed to review the educational provision for children with Down's syndrome. I have now provided for NCSE to make additional allocations of 2.5 resource teaching hours per week to schools in respect of any child with Down's syndrome...

Other Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I do not have a definite time frame nor do I know if it will be in time for the next school year 2016. Apparently the work is ongoing. I probably will not be the Minister for Education and Skills at the time but I do not believe that it should be introduced until the identification process is completed by the HSE and it should be based on the needs of children in the early years. The HSE...

Other Questions: School Enrolments (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy Wallace. I recently published the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill. The Bill will clarify the power of the Minister to make regulations. A key objective of the Bill and its associated regulations is to see improved access to school for all pupils. The draft regulations which were published with the general scheme in September 2013 provided for an over-subscribed school...

Other Questions: School Enrolments (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to reiterate that there is no final decision on this. I have just put forward my own view and have said from the very start that I do not believe I have heard a good argument for reserving 25% of places for the children of past pupils. That is why I expressed my own view on it. If a school has room - if it is not over-subscribed - it cannot refuse a student, no matter who he or she...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The figures in respect of maths and literacy are encouraging. It is a tribute to the work being done in this area that all schools have improved. However, while DEIS schools have also improved, their improvement was not proportionate with the rest of the population. In other words, they are the same distance behind other schools. I agree with the Deputy that our focus should be urban band...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I welcome the publication of the ESRI report, Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS, which was commissioned by my Department. The report consolidates the evaluations of DEIS that have taken place to date and I regard it as the starting point for a new discussion on the future of the programme. I have commenced a consultation process with education partners to inform the development of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: While I cannot pre-empt the findings of the technical group, it is not our intention to take resources from schools that currently have them and need them. Our intention is to target resources where they are needed and if changes are needed, particularly in the most disadvantaged areas, I want to ensure we provide the necessary resources. If any element of the programme is not delivering as...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The interdepartmental element will be very important because we need joined up thinking between Departments. The links between children and their parents and communities are an important consideration. Some schools have tried to integrate services provided under a range of Departments, including the Department of Health, with the aim of supporting the welfare of children. I hope the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I know the officials have engaged with the Deputy, the Minister of State, Deputy Simon Harris, and other public representatives for the area on this matter. I am pleased we have got to this point. Obviously, I have to wait until the new school establishment group makes the recommendation on patronage before we can clarify this. As always with the acquiring of school sites, it is sensitive...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: We have not cut funding to DEIS. We have increased the number of resource teachers. In fact, there are an extra 1,900 posts between resource teachers, class teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, in the system this year alone. We have not increased the pupil-teacher ratio. One cannot have the same number of children in every class in every school because there are small schools...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The ESRI publication, Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS, provides an opportunity to commence an assessment of the DEIS programme. The report assesses the main findings of research conducted by the Educational Research Centre and the inspectorate of my Department and provides advice to inform future policy direction in educational disadvantage. I have commenced a consultation process with...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Educational Disadvantage (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I agree a review was needed. It is quite some time since 2006 when the scheme was first introduced. Some schools did not even exist then but now have DEIS programme schools all around them and are not in the scheme themselves. The identification process has to happen within the next school year because sometimes this can take time. We can then open the process up to other areas and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: EU Court Rulings (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: With regard to the cap, that figure was arrived at by measuring the amount of money that was awarded to Louise O'Keeffe directly by the State. That is the reason for the figure, and in my view and that of the State, it is a fair offering in the context of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. People are not obliged to accept that settlement, which is a settlement on behalf...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I welcome the publication of this report by the Comptroller and Auditor General. While SUSI's first year of operation in 2012-13 was problematic, it is widely acknowledged that since then it has achieved a dramatic improvement and that the new system has bedded down successfully and is working well. SUSI is engaged in an ongoing process of continuous improvement. My Department, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I acknowledge that there were serious difficulties in SUSI's first year, but efforts have since been made to improve the situation and to speed up the process. The reason for the various appeal procedures is to be fair to students. However, I agree with the Deputy that the number of appeals is high. We have an opportunity to review the scheme each year and I have been looking at it to see...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: We are looking to address issues in the current scheme, and that review will issue in the near future. SUSI has made an effort to be as fair as possible to students, and this may be one of the reasons for the review process followed by the appeals process. This process is designed to ensure that students get their entitlement. I accept that the process can cause significant stress and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (22 Apr 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can give the Deputy one straight answer. The new primary school for the Greystones-Delgany school feeder area will open in September 2015. However, I do not have a definite answer on the other parts of his question. The patronage determination process to establish who will run the school is at an advanced stage, but is not yet completed. A site for permanent accommodation for the...