Results 5,561-5,580 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Budgets (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: While the 2013 allocation for my Department takes account of difficult decisions that had to be made to meet savings targets, my priority has been to protect the most vulnerable in our education system. Of the gross current allocation of €8.51 billion, approximately €1.3 billion will be allocated in support of children with special educational needs in 2013. This includes the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The NCCA which advises me on curriculum and assessment for early childhood education and for primary and post-primary schools is aware of this development, and other similar code literacy initiatives. The Estonian initiative is a pilot project. Similar work is also taking place in a number of Irish primary schools involving "Scratch" and other programming languages. The NCCA is engaging with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The position is that there is no definitive or universally accepted research which supports the use of one intervention exclusively for all children with autism. However, research does support the use of any of a range of autism-specific interventions depending on the individual needs of the child. My Department's policy is based on the advice of international experts on autism; NEPS; the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Reform (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be probably be aware from my response to earlier questions today on this matter that I set up a capital assets test implementation group to examine the issue of broadening current means testing arrangements for student grants to include the value of capital assets. I have received a draft report from the implementation group. I am considering that report and I intend to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, in June 2011, I announced that forty new schools comprising of twenty new primary schools and twenty new post-primary schools, were to be established up to 2017 across a number of locations. The Department subsequently invited patron bodies to make applications for patronage of the new primary schools to be established in 2012 and 2013. Following the assessment process...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy is not yet available as the responses to the parental surveys are currently being validated and analysed by my Department.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Preschool Services (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As already indicated to the Deputy in response to her question on 25th February last, my Department does not have a policy of encouraging schools to set up preschool services in competition with services that have been funded through the EOCP or its successor programme. If the Deputy knows of schools where this has occurred, perhaps she could bring them to my attention.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Reform (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I have met with the Farmers' representative bodies and I am aware of their concerns. However, no decision has been taken on the treatment of productive farm or other business assets for student grant purposes. The up to date position is that I have received a draft report from the capital assets test implementation group. The report is currently under consideration and I will be consulting...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Numbers (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested is set out in the following table. Number of Two Teacher Primary Schools that have 20 Students or Less Enrolled 2011/2012 (refers to mainstream schools only) Religion Number of Schools CATHOLIC 69 CHURCH OF IRELAND 13 MULTI DENOMINATIONAL 1 PRESBYTERIAN 3 86 Source: National School Annual Census

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Numbers (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested is set out in the following table. Number of Two Teacher Primary Schools That have between 21 and 25 Students Enrolled 2011/2012 (refers to mainstream schools only) Religion Number of Schools CATHOLIC 42 CHURCH OF IRELAND 8 MULTI DENOMINATIONAL 0 PRESBYTERIAN ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Small School Provision (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The Government recognises that small schools are an important part of the social fabric of rural communities. They will continue to be a feature of our education landscape. In these extremely challenging times, all public servants are being asked to deliver our public services on a reduced level of resources and teachers in small schools cannot be immune from this requirement. How best to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Guidance Counsellors (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 47 together. The guidelines on mental health promotion and suicide prevention are based on schools taking a co-ordinated whole-school approach to preventing and, where necessary, tackling these issues. This involves building and integrating school self-evaluation processes, implementing the SPHE curriculum, developing the whole-school guidance plan,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware from our recent meeting, South Dublin County Council has identified a site, adjacent to the site where the school to which he refers is in temporary accommodation, which may be suitable to provide a permanent building for this school. As the Deputy will be aware, however, there are a number of issues with this site, including issues relating to access to the site...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Small School Provision (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 43, 91 and 92 together. There are many aspects to be considered in regard to small school provision. I assure the Deputies that I am aware of the concerns of the small rural schools and I am cognisant of the importance of schools to rural communities. Given our recent population growth, we will have a much increased enrolment at all levels of education....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Health and Safety Regulations (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the provisions of the Education Act 1998, the board of management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. In general, individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, under Safety, Health and Welfare at Work legislation for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care. It is the responsibility of individual school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Drop-out Rates (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The most recent report by the HEA entitled 'A study of Progression in Higher Education' is available on the HEA website. The following table from the report illustrates the non-presence rates of new entrants in their second year of study by sector, NFQ level and course duration. New entrants are classified as 'not present' if they do not appear in the statistical returns of that institution...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Inspection Reports (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I am satisfied that the inspection system in place for post-primary schools is effective and that it is very clearly focussed on school improvement and ensuring that schools deliver effectively for all learners. Reforms to the inspection system have ensured that a range of inspection models is now used to evaluate the work of schools, that a greater focus is placed on the quality and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Levels (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: Pupils in Northern Ireland performed very well in PIRLS and TIMSS. The report was published last December. Further study will be needed to establish the reasons for this, and I look forward to the future publication of further analyses. It is notable that Northern Ireland was developing and implementing elements of its Literacy and Numeracy Strategy for some time prior to the development...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the Deputy on students for the Leaving Certificate receiving an exemption from the study of Irish in the years 2008 to 2012 is contained in the following table. For the years 2008 to 2012, the granting of exemptions from the study of Irish at post-primary was provided for in limited circumstances as per the exemption criteria in departmental circular M10/94....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (7 Mar 2013)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand from Student Universal Support Ireland that they are up to date with processing all complete applications. The current position on processing of grants by SUSI, as at close of business on 3rd March is that 55,921 applications have been processed to completion. As part of the close out strategy for the 2012/13 academic year, SUSI is currently contacting applicants who have not...