Results 6,541-6,560 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As the Deputy is aware, my Department is working closely with the relevant Local Authority in relation to acquiring a suitable site for the school to which he refers. A suitable site has been identified and negotiations are ongoing. However, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, there are commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally and I am not in a position to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Programmes (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Reading Recovery is a literacy initiative that was initially made available for DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 schools only as part of Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS), the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, which was launched in May 2005. Each of these schools was given an opportunity to have a teacher trained as a Reading Recovery teacher. In some areas where training took...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's 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 previous 30 September. The staffing process also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My focus in Budget 2015 was on obtaining the additional funding that was necessary to provide for demographic growth. The last Budget included an increase in spending on education for the first time in recent years, amounting to additional funding of €60m during 2015. This funding will be used to provide 1,700 additional teachers and SNAs for our schools, as well as to fund...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 524 to 527, inclusive, together. The capital funding issued to Dublin schools (primary and post-primary) in the years 2011 to date is as follows:New schools - €168.3m Additional Accommodation - €31m Emergency Works - €14.2m Prefabricated Replacement Scheme - €7mIt is not possible to provide data in respect of an area or region...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Tuition Scheme (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to inform the Deputy that it is, in my view, reasonable to conclude that the Department has maintained a consistent position in relation to the development of group arrangements and direct payment arrangements for home tuition and that the scheme is operated in a consistent and equitable manner. The rates agreed between my Department and a number of providers in 2013/2014 represents...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: Budget 2015 included an increase in spending on education for the first time in recent years, amounting to additional funding of €60m during 2015. This funding will be used to provide 1,700 additional teachers and SNAs for our schools, as well as to fund prioritised reforms, such as implementation of the literacy and numeracy strategy, reform of junior cycle, and the introduction of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student may be assessed as an independent mature student if he or she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that their application for a student grant is submitted before the deadline. The national student grant awarding body, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), opened its online application system for the 2014/2015 academic year on 8 May, 2014 with the closing date further extended to 06 November 2014. Late applications may be accepted...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Designation (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that, to date, my Department has not received an application from the Patron to change the status of the schools concerned. Consequently, approval to change the schools' status has not been given by my Department. I understand that the Patron's office wrote to the Boards of Management of the four schools concerned last December indicating that the proposal to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Designation (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department has recently received the correspondence referred to by the Deputy and a response will issue when the matter has been considered.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Abuse (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: In its response to the ECHR judgment, the Government agreed that out of court settlements be offered to those bringing cases of school child sexual abuse against the State where the cases come within the terms of the ECHR Decision and satisfy the Statute of Limitations. In pursuing settlements, the State Claims Agency will be considering cases of school child sexual abuse where there was a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Abuse (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: When announcing details of the Government decision to seek to settle certain claims of school child sexual abuse that came within the parameters of the European Court of Human Rights judgment, I noted that there was also a group of school child sexual abuse cases which had not been progressed for a number of reasons, including those which might have been discontinued after receiving letters...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: An application in relation to the proposed amalgamation of schools referred to by the Deputy has recently being received by my Department. This proposal is currently under consideration and officials from my Department will be in contact with the Management Authority of the schools concerned shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Records (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Department of Education and Skills has consulted with the Data Protection Commissioner in relation to the collection of information on pupil ethnic or cultural background on the Primary Online Database. Some categories of ethnic or cultural background are required for international reporting purposes and in mainstream schools for enhanced capitation payments. The Data Protection...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The information requested is provided in the National School Annual Census Return. Results from the Census for the current school year (2014/2015) are not yet available. The data requested is available on my Department's website for the 2013/14 school year at the link below under the heading class Size Information at Individual Primary School Level.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Physical Education Facilities (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The specific information sought by the Deputy is not readily available. However, I wish to assure the Deputy that my Department fully recognises the key role of physical exercise within the school environment and continues to respond to the need to improve Physical Education facilities for all pupils attending schools within the constraints of the available funding. I also wish to advise...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: The major building project to provide permanent accommodation for the school referred to by the Deputy is in architectural planning. The Design Team are currently finalising the Stage 2A report for presentation to my Department at the Stage 2A stakeholders meeting. A date for this meeting is being agreed between my Department, the Boards of Management and their Design Team. Following...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments Data (10 Feb 2015)

Jan O'Sullivan: A recent nationwide demographic review carried out in my Department concluded that, with the addition of both planned and recently delivered infrastructural provision in the area referred to by the Deputy, the existing schools between them are expected to be able to cater for the overall level of demand for places in the area. I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's main...