Results 601-620 of 14,576 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 28 of the Education Act 1998 provides for grievance and appeal procedures in schools. It expresses a desirability of determining appeals and resolving grievances in the school concerned. I am not satisfied with the current provisions of Section 28. I plan to revise it in order to provide in law for a Parent and Student Charter. I plan to consult with the Ombudsman for Children's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: International Students (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012 makes provision for a new quality framework for education institutions targeting international students, centred around an International Education Mark and a related Code of Practice. Institutions applying for authorisation to use the Mark will have to both agree their overall procedures for quality assurance with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to confirm that the accommodation brief for the school, referred to by the Deputy, has been finalised and agreement in principle for this brief has been reached with the school authority. My Department will be in further contact with the school concerned in relation to the next stage of the architectural planning process shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: On the 1st January 2014 a number of former FÁS Training Centres were transferred to appropriate Education and Training Boards. As part of this process, responsibility for funding and contracting with Community Training Centres (CTCs) attached to those Training Centres was also transferred to the relevant Education and Training Board. It is expected that the remaining former FÁS...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Teaching Council is responsible for procedures and criteria for the probation of teachers. In accordance with the Council's current arrangements, where a primary teacher is employed and probated in a restricted setting such as a special class, the probationary process is considered to be partially carried out and the teacher's registration will remain subject to the condition of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Planning (27 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The lead agencies in relation to determining the appropriate emergency response in any region where there is an extreme weather event or other critical incident are the Local Authorities and blue light services. In that context my Department has brought to the attention of all schools, via departmental circular PBU 04/04 – Contingency Planning in the context of a national emergency....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Expenditure (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I acknowledge the challenges faced by schools in managing the overall impact of budgetary measures in recent years. However the change must be seen in the context of the major challenges we have as a Government in trying to shelter public services to the greatest extent that we can in these exceptional times. The net impact on overall teacher numbers in our schools has been minimised to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaelscoileanna Issues (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: There is currently one Gaelscoil in County Sligo. Enrolments in the school are relatively stable. This is reflective of the overall demographic situation in County Sligo where enrolments are expected to remain stable up until 2019 at least. As the Deputy will be aware, the over-riding objective of Education capital expenditure is to meet the demographic challenge facing the education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Placement (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, 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. It is important that school size is monitored and that a balance is preserved among all the schools in catchment areas. My Department is not in a position to develop one school where this may negatively impact on other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Eligibility (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that commensurate with the level of funding set aside for the 2014 Summer Works Scheme, applications were assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the Circular accompanying the scheme. Given the level of funding available, it was not possible to grant aid all applications. At a time of limited resources, it was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy submitted a category 8 application under the 2014 Summer Works Scheme. The application relates to external works and disabled access. The Deputy will be aware that I recently announced details of the schools that will receive Summer Works Scheme funding in 2014 in respect of applications submitted for Categories 1 to 6 i.e. Gas,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: A Certificate of Religious Education is not a requirement for entry to primary initial teacher education programmes. Some of the Colleges of Education offer an optional Certificate in Religion programme which is separate to the Bachelor of Education. The Certificate is required as a condition of employment in catholic schools and as an employment matter is not within my Department's remit....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: In the context of the necessary but difficult expenditure reduction measures announced in Budget 2012, new students entering postgraduate courses from the 2012/13 academic year onwards are not entitled to maintenance payments under the Student Grant Scheme. Those who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible to have their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Cóiríocht Scoile (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Is féidir liom a dheimhniú go bhfuair mo Roinnse iarratas ón scoil dá dtagraíonn an Teachta ar chead leathnú ó scoil aonsrutha go scoil dhá shruth i.e. ó scoil 8 rangsheomra go scoil 16 rangsheomra. Mar is eol gan dabht don Teachta, is é an cuspóir atá leis an gcaiteachas caipitil ar an oideachas, thar ní ar bith eile, ná...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2014/2015 school year is set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0007/2014) 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 2013. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Medical Aids and Appliances Provision (15 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department has four Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the three main offices, Dublin, Athlone and Tullamore. The total cost for the provision of these AEDs (including VAT) was approximately €12,000. Staff in each area have undergone training in the operation of the AEDs. It would not be feasible to allow access to the AEDs outside of office hours.The provision of AEDs in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Textbooks (14 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department does not collate statistics on the use of ebooks by schools. The use of ebooks is an operational matter for each Board of Management and my Department is not involved. The Professional Development Service for Teachers (Technology in Education) which promotes and supports the integration of ICT in teaching and learning in schools, is available to advise schools on the adoption...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions Assistance (14 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: There are currently no plans to establish a phone helpline. However, resources for assisting students with applying for university and other third level courses will be kept under review. Currently, up to date comprehensive information for learners wishing to access information and make informed choices on further and higher education programmes is available on Qualifax.ie, Ireland's...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staffing (14 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are recruited specifically to assist in the care of pupils with disabilities, in an educational context. They may be appointed to a special school or a mainstream national school to assist school authorities in making suitable provision for a pupil or pupils with special care needs arising from a disability. The first priority is that the care needs of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Guidance Counsellors (14 May 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Since September 2012 guidance provision is now provided from within the overall staffing allocation of the school. This gives schools greater autonomy to determine how they deploy their teaching resources across the competing needs of the school. The surveys quoted by the Deputy focused on guidance counsellors and in particular on the time spent by them, in a one to one setting, giving career...