Results 7,061-7,080 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The information requested by the Deputy is provided in the following tabular statement. Crèche Facilities in 3rd Level Institutions University Sector Institution: Number of places available: University College Cork (UCC) 80 University College Dublin (UCD) 61 National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) 40 National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM) 62 University of Dublin,...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The schools referred to by the Deputy were included in the announcement of 1st February 2008 which outlined details of large-scale building projects that are authorised to proceed to construction. In early April the school authorities were instructed to proceed with the acceptance of a tender for the project and it is envisaged that construction on the project will commence shortly.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy may be aware two Mayo schools were included in my Department's announcement of 1 February 2008 which outlined details of large scale building projects that are authorised to proceed to construction in 2008. The progression of all other large scale projects in County Mayo from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered on an on-going basis in the...

Written Answers — Third Level Attendance: Third Level Attendance (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: Currently the Higher Education Authority does not collate attrition rates for the third level institutions. However with the recent introduction of a new Student Record System to collect and analyse data, retention reporting will be possible in the near future with respect to the universities. As the HEA has only commenced collecting data from the Institutes of Technology from 1 March 2008 a...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The information sought by the Deputy is being compiled and will be forwarded to him as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The National Council for Special Education is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special needs. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: An application for a new school building has been submitted by the school to which the Deputy refers. Progress on all large-scale projects, including this project, will be considered on an ongoing basis in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of current competing demands on the capital budget of the Department, it is not...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The National Council for Special Education is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special needs. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The project to which the Deputy refers is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered on an on-going basis in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of current...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As part of the Programme for Government, a Developing Areas Unit was set up recently in my Department to focus on the school accommodation needs of rapidly developing areas, including towns such as Newbridge, Celbridge, Naas, Kill, Maynooth and Athy in County Kildare. The main emphasis in 2008 is on providing sufficient school places in these developing areas, as well as delivering...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: A tender report for the school building project referred to by the Deputy has been received by my Department. As part of the Programme for Government, a Developing Areas Unit was set up recently in my Department to focus on the school accommodation needs of rapidly developing areas, including Naas. The main emphasis in 2008 is on providing sufficient school places in these developing areas,...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (17 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: I am informed by the OPW that of the total allocation of €833 million provided in the NDP for decentralisation, an amount of €773 million represents the estimated cost of providing accommodation for the departments and agencies whose accommodation will be paid for by the OPW. My Department and the agencies in the education sector that are decentralising (National Council for Curriculum &...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The headquarters of my Department will decentralise to Mullingar when the new office space is ready for occupation. I understand that an application for planning permission for the new building is with Westmeath County Council at present. The decentralisation of the headquarters of my Department to Mullingar will involve the relocation of approximately 316 posts. One hundred and twenty one...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: My Department captures data on students registered in primary schools via the primary school census. My Department captures data on students registered in post-primary schools via the Post-Primary Database returns. The post-primary data includes information on each student's "country of origin". These data are derived from the answers given by parents to the school authorities when...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As the amount of legal fees and costs can vary from year to year depending on the number of cases and other variables, my Department does not retain a fixed budgetary allocation for such fees. While indicative amounts may be set aside within particular expenditure subheads of my Department once a particular action is underway, it would not be prudent to ring-fence significant amounts as a...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: I have no plans to establish an Office of an Ombudsman for third level education. All Universities and Institutes of Technology are required by law to have procedures in place for dealing with disputes which arise within colleges which also provide for reference to an independent person. Consideration is also being given to the inclusion of Higher Education Institutions within the remit of...

Written Answers — Foreign Students: Foreign Students (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Foreign Affairs were represented on the inter-departmental working group on the Internationalisation of Irish Education Services and contributed to its report, which was approved by the Government and published in 2004. Since then, my Department has had numerous contacts with both Departments regarding the implementation of the report,...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware from my letter to him of 30 May, my Department is currently compiling a database on the schools that are using temporary rented accommodation. As the Deputy will recall, approximately 900 schools were contacted by my Department and asked to complete a questionnaire regarding the stock of temporary accommodation in their schools. As indicated in my letter, 803...

Written Answers — University Status: University Status (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Department is continuing in its efforts to press for compliance with legislation in this area in consultation with the relevant agencies. The Companies Registration Office has already put in place a procedure whereby any business name applied for which features the term "university" will not be accepted without the express approval of my Department and the Irish Domain Registry has also...

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (5 Jun 2008)

Batt O'Keeffe: My Department is aware of the document referred to by the Deputy. The report of the Action Group on Access to Third Level Education made detailed recommendations concerning the introduction of special rates of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students. The target group of "those most in need" was defined in terms of the dependants of people receiving long-term welfare payments, where the...