Results 7,381-7,400 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Springboard Programme (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Springboard 2014 incorporates part-time Springboard courses and full-time ICT skills conversion programmes. The course referred to by the Deputy, Waterford Institute of Technology (WD_KCOSC_G), is an ICT Skills Higher Diploma in Computer Science. The ICT skills conversion programme is open to job seekers, regardless of their social protection status, who have the capacity and underlying...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: As part of the Budget 2012 decisions, the number of pupils required to gain and retain a classroom teaching post in small primary schools was gradually increased between September 2012 and September 2014. An appeals process is available to affected schools in the event that they can show that their projected enrolments are sufficient to allow them to retain their classroom teacher in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department's 5 year plan to go to construction in 2015/16. The conveyancing process in relation to the site concerned is currently underway, and due diligence must be performed in this regard. Once the acquisition of the site is finalised, the project will be progressed into the architectural planning process with a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can confirm to the Deputy that following a recent site visit to the schools in question, my Department is currently finalising the project briefs for the schools concerned. When the briefs concerned are finalised, the projects in question will be progressed into the architectural planning process. My Department will be in further contact with the schools at that stage.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Applications (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department's Planning and Building Unit has no record of receiving an application for funding from the school referred to by the Deputy for yard works to address health and safety issues. If the school in question considers that there are works of an emergency nature requiring attention it is open to the school authority to submit an application for funding under the Emergency Works...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Data (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 123 and 124 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that the data which schools were requested to return as part of the social context survey was non-personal, anonymised data. Schools were not asked to return data in relation to the social circumstances of individual pupils. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has confirmed that collecting data...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Education and Training Boards are statutory bodies with their own corporate status established under the Education and Training Boards Act 2013. Where a teacher in an Education and Training board school is an elected member of a local authority, paid absence of up to ten school days in a school year may be availed of in order to attend council meetings where such meetings are held during...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 126 and 127 together. Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act became operational on 28th January 2014. From then all persons employed as teachers in recognised schools must be registered with the Teaching Council, the professional standards body for teachers, in order to be paid by the State. More than 90,000 teachers are now registered with the Teaching...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Asbestos is a hazardous material which requires risk assessment, safe controlled removal including air monitoring, packaging, transport & disposal, in order to comply with Asbestos Health, Safety & Environmental Regulations. Accordingly, my Department does not consider that the asbestos removal works at the school in question can be carried out in a safe manner while there are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that I announced yesterday the payment of the Minor Works Grant 2014/2015. The grant will issue to all primary schools with permanent recognition next week.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Meetings (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department has a Management Advisory Committee (MAC). The MAC, which meets on a weekly basis, is chaired by the Secretary General and is attended by the Department's Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, Chief Inspector and Director. Senior officials also attend as required. When I meet the MAC as a collective, I chair the meeting and such meetings are generally attended by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that all primary schools currently receive an allocation for learning support/resource teaching under the General Allocation Model (GAM) to support children who have mild general learning difficulties or learning support needs. My Departments Circular 02/05 provides guidance to schools on the utilisation of resources allocated to them under the GAM. The Circular...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The school to which the Deputy refers is to be delivered as part of the Schools Bundle 5 PPP project. This bundle comprises one primary school, four post primary schools and one Institute of Further Education. The site acquisition process for the school in question is underway, however, due to commercial sensitivities associated with property acquisitions generally, I am unable to provide...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The project to which the Deputy refers is currently at Stage 2a (Developed Design) of the architectural planning process. Upon completion of this stage, the project will be authorised to progress to Stage 2b (Detailed Design) which includes application for planning permission and the preparation of tender documents. On completion of Stage 2b (Detailed Design), officials from my Department...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: International Education (26 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: On 2nd September last, my colleague the Minister for Justice and Equality and I announced robust regulatory reforms to the International education sector. These reforms have three main pillars. The first pillar is a new list of eligible programmes. The current Internationalisation Register will be replaced by an 'Interim List of Eligible Programmes for Student Immigration Permission' from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions (25 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 to oversee the use of the cash contributions of up to €110 million, pledged by the religious congregations, to support the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse. The processing of individual applications is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (25 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Emergency Works Scheme Applications (25 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department's Planning and Building Unit has no record of receiving an application for funding from the school referred to by the Deputy for repair works. If the school in question considers that there are works of an emergency nature requiring attention it is open to the school authority to submit an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme. The main purpose of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (25 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Extension Refurbishment Project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2b - Detailed Design. All statutory approvals have been obtained and the Stage 2b Detailed Design Submission is currently under review by my Department. Due to competing demands on the Department's capital budget imposed by the need to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Industrial Disputes (25 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am aware of an issue at the school site referred to by the Deputy and I would encourage all parties involved to use the appropriate industrial relations channels to resolve this current matter. As the Deputy is aware school building projects which are funded from public monies, including the school project in question, are required to use the forms of contract provided under the Capital...