Results 7,661-7,680 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Minor Works Scheme Expenditure (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Circular Letter 0062/2013, which was published as the minor works grant for the school year 2013/2014 issued last November, stated that the grant will only be paid in future years as funding permits. Under my Department's Infrastructure and Capital Investment Programme 2012-2016 the primary focus is on meeting demands for additional school places. My Department's capital allocation for 2015...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Apprenticeship in Ireland is driven by employer demand and SOLAS has no role in the recruitment/advertisement of apprentice positions. All employers wishing to recruit apprentices must first be approved by SOLAS. When a SOLAS approved employer submits an application to the local Education and Training Board 'Services to Business' office to register their employee as an apprentice, and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Reading Recovery Programme (4 Nov 2014)

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: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Educational Welfare Services (EWS) of the Child and Family Agency is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS may be able to offer assistance and advice on securing a school placement within the pupil's area. The contact details for the EWS Child and Family Agency Head Office, 16-22 Green Street,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Statistics (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Circular Letter 10/2011 issued by my Department outlines the procedures regarding the career break scheme for registered teachers in recognised primary and post primary schools. The main objectives of this scheme is for managerial authorities of schools,wherever possible to facilitate applicants in the areas of personal development, voluntary service overseas, accompany spouse/partner on...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Section 24 of the Education Act 1998, as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012, provides that the appointment, suspension and dismissal of teachers are the responsibility of Boards of Management of recognised schools. Under Circulars 71/2014 and 60/2009 (Revised Procedures for Suspension and Dismissal of Teachers) procedures are set out in regard to professional competence issues. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 895 and 896 together. My Department's over-riding objective is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing numbers. In that regard, the highest priority has been assigned to school building projects serving rapidly developing areas where there is no existing school or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Data (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: It is the function of the Department's Forward Planning Section to determine where additional school infrastructure might be needed. In this regard, it uses a Geographical Information System to analyse demographic data in order to determine the locations where additional school accommodation might be required. A variety of data sources are used in this analysis, including census data,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 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. Over 4,200 Learning Support/Resource Teachers have been allocated to schools for this purpose. The GAM is updated annually, based on the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (4 Nov 2014)

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 engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The NCCA is developing a new specification for Irish at Junior Cycle. It is proposed to introduce the new specification for implementation from September 2016. In addition, the NCCA will be developing a short course that will allow students in Irish-medium schools, including Gaeltacht schools, to study and gain credit for an enriched engagement with aspects of the language. At Senior...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Department provides capitation funding to all recognised national schools. There is no specific funding provided for field trips or excursions. I have no scope to introduce new or additional funding measures to assist primary schools, such as those referred to by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The decision to increase the Student Contribution, which stands at €2,750 for the current academic year, to €3,000 by 2015/16 has already been signalled by the previous Minister. It should be noted that some 50% of students who qualify for free fees have the Student Contribution paid on their behalf by the Exchequer under my Department's Student Grant Scheme. An Expert Working...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Expenditure (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 903 and 935 together. The Deputies will be aware that my Department's over-riding objective is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil numbers. To ensure that this is achieved, the delivery of major school projects to meet significant demographic demand...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Four new primary schools opened this September under the patronage divestment process. The schools are: Tramore Educate Together NS; Trim Educate Together NS; Malahide/Portmarnock Educate Together NS; Newtownwhite Educate Together NS, Ballina (this school resulted from the transfer of a Church of Ireland school to Educate Together patronage). In addition, a former Edmund Rice Schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is currently analysing the latest demographic data on a nationwide basis to determine where further school accommodation might be needed from 2015 onwards. When this exercise has been completed, I will announce details of any new schools that are being provided. When it has been determined that new schools are needed and these have been announced, a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Student Grant Scheme 2014 states that where a dependent student's parents are divorced or legally separated, or it is established to the satisfaction of the relevant authority that they are separated, the income to be assessed is that of the student and the parent with whom she/he resides. Where the student cannot establish to the satisfaction of the awarding authority that her/his...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions Entry Requirements (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I would like to inform the Deputy that in the case of mature applicants for Medicine at UCD, points achieved in the Leaving Certificate form only part of the requirements for admission, which include mandatory completion of the Health Professions Admission Test (HPAT), work experience, personal statement and references. The number of applicants for the years in question is very small, and the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has produced a suite of technical guidance documents, which are available on my Department's website, www.education.ie, to assist design teams in best practice in the design and development of schools in green field site situations. The current practice is to use a guideline of 15 sq. metres as the standard size for a special education tuition...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 Nov 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department considers that the school in question has sufficient accommodation to meet its current needs. My Department explained the position directly to the school recently in response to its application for grant aid. It is open to the school to submit any additional information that was not provided with the original application and this can be...