Results 6,961-6,980 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that further supporting documentation was requested from the student referred to by the Deputy on 2nd November 2012. When the documentation is returned to SUSI the student will be notified directly of the outcome.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 108 and 122 together. I have accepted the recommendations set out in a report commissioned by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on the structures of initial teacher education. The purpose of the report, which I requested, was to identify new possible structures to improve initial teacher education in Ireland so that it is comparable with the best in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The following table details the number of students both new and renewal who received student grants from the academic year 2008/09 to 2011/12. A student grant comprises of two elements maintenance and fees with a number of students only qualifying for one of those elements. This data is compiled from information supplied to my Department by the 66 grant awarding authorities and is not...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Pupils in primary schools and at Junior Cycle in post primary schools are currently afforded opportunities to participate in water safety training and awareness raising as part of the 'Aquatics' strand of the Physical Education (P.E.) curriculum. The aquatics strand of the P.E. curriculum at Junior Cycle builds on the progress made at primary level, where there is a clear focus on promoting...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I can inform the Deputy that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Where a NEPS psychologist is not assigned to a school, authorities therein may...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that, in primary schools, teaching supports for pupils with special educational needs are provided in two ways. Under the terms of the General Allocation Model (GAM) of teaching supports, schools are resourced to cater for pupils whose educational psychological assessment places them in the high incidence, or less complex, disability category, including children...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The eligibility criteria for student grants is reviewed annually and set out in the student grant scheme and the student support regulations each year. The eligibility of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Redeployment (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to the Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and ceiling on teacher numbers.Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The most significant adjustment to teacher pay arising from the recent Government decision on allowances is that new entrant teachers will not receive qualification allowances but will start on a new salary scale, the first point of which is equivalent to the fourth point of the existing scale. This new salary scale will apply in the case of all teachers who are new appointees to teaching on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Centre Network (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has been dependent for many years on IT systems to provide a range of services to its customers, including schools and school employees. A number of systems have been developed over the past two decades, leading to disparate data stores. In an effort to address this issue, my Department's IT Unit has already taken steps to implement a technical solution to allow designated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: At this point I do not propose to give any specific commitment on the allocation of teachers to schools for the 2013/14 school year. The number of teaching posts that we can afford to fund in schools is a matter that I will have to consider with my colleagues in Cabinet in the context of the next budget. The Government will endeavour to protect frontline education services as best as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The cost of producing and posting the fortnightly payslips to the approximate 94,000 school employees and pensioners now amounts to approximately €1.17 million per annum. The printing and packing of payslips for serving and retired school employees was transferred from my Department, to the Revenue Commissioner's Print and Mail Centre with effect from mid-February 2012. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision on eligibility for new student grant applications from the 2012/13 academic year is a matter for the new centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). Officials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI that documentation requested from the student referred to by the Deputy has been received and that his application is currently awaiting...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Consultations (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Information relevant to the Deputy's question is currently being compiled. A further reply will issue to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: 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. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice. As the Deputy will be aware, in June 2011, I announced that 20 new post-primary schools are to be established in the coming years across a number...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (15 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy a grant has been awarded and an award letter issued on 2nd November, 2012.

Seanad: Measures to Address Bullying: Motion (14 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank all the Senators for allowing me to speak on this debate in the Seanad. I will bring to the attention of the working group on anti-bullying all the comments made in this debate. I will give the working group a link to the debate in order that it can take on board all the comments that have been made and will be made after I have finished speaking. On a personal note on behalf of...

Seanad: Measures to Address Bullying: Motion (14 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: It originates in school.

Seanad: Measures to Address Bullying: Motion (14 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Where are the parents?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: Forthcoming Education, Youth and Culture Council: Discussion with Minister for Education and Skills (14 Nov 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The points would be much less because they have spare spaces.