Results 7,701-7,720 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Eligibility (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, following the publication of DEIS Plan 2017 in February of last year, DEIS was extended to a further 79 schools.  Schools included in the DEIS programme have access to a wide range of supports including additional capitation in the form of the DEIS grant, reduced class size for Band 1 schools, access to HSCL scheme, priority access to a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. I, together with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, negotiated a 15-22% pay increase for new teachers. The agreements to date have restored an estimated 75% of the difference in pay for more recently recruited teachers and deliver convergence of the pay scales...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question submitted an application for additional accommodation. The application will be considered and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together. From September 2018, class sizes in primary schools will be at their lowest ever level following the government decision to reduce the pupil teacher ratio in Budget 2016 and Budget 2018. The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: Budget 2017 allowed for the commencement of restoration of middle management posts as part of an agreed distributed leadership model and meant lifting the rigidity of the longstanding moratorium on these posts at primary and post-primary levels. This recognises the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable. €2.75m...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: In the last two years we have hired 5,000 additional new teachers. It is the case that many teachers who would have been available to carry out substitution work are now gaining permanent and long term contracts. I am aware of reports that some schools are experiencing difficulties in finding substitute teachers.  In order to ease the situation, in the last school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I recognise the need to improve capitation funding for schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years. Restoring capitation funding as resources permit is one of the actions included in the Action Plan for Education. Budget 2018 marked the second year of major reinvestment in the education sector, as we continue to implement the Action Plan for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants to start. I, together with my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, negotiated a 15-22% pay increase for new teachers. The agreements to date have restored an estimated 75% of the difference in pay for more recently recruited teachers and deliver convergence of the pay scales...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question submitted an application for additional accommodation. The application is being considered and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as the assessment process has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has no record of receiving a recent application from the school in question. The latest interaction that my Department had with the school was in 2017 and this related to the school’s application to replace a number of prefabricated units. My Department advised the school that due to the Department’s need to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The major building project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning Stage 2b (Detailed Design), which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured. The Design Team has confirmed that it is working on finalising the Stage 2b report which will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Applications (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The identification of schools for receipt of additional resources under the DEIS programme is informed by a scientific data based model which assesses levels of disadvantage in individual schools based on the pupil cohort of the school.   The key data sources used in the DEIS identification process are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with Special Educational Needs, including the establishment of special classes in mainstream primary and post primary schools. Special classes offer a supportive learning environment to students with ASD who are unable to access the curriculum in a mainstream class, even with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an application for major capital funding from the patron of the school in question. It is my Department's intention to liaise with the patron in the context of the application.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disabilities Assessments (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can advise the Deputy that the Assessment of Need process to which she refers in her question falls under the Disability Act 2005 and within the responsibilities of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and therefore the matter should be addressed to my colleague the Minister for Health.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Multidenominational Schools (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, I have announced new plans aimed at accelerating the provision of multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of parents, families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment to reach 400 such schools by 2030.  I would point out that the previous model of divestment...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Status (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The identification of schools for receipt of additional resources under the DEIS programme is informed by a scientific data based model which assesses levels of disadvantage in individual schools based on the pupil cohort of the school.   The key data sources used in the DEIS identification process are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD)...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of a current application from the school referred to for major capital works comprising of a new school building. The application is currently being considered and my Department expects to be in further contact with the school authority on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I recognise the need to improve capitation funding for schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years. Restoring capitation funding as resources permit is one of the actions included in the Action Plan for Education. Budget 2018 marked the second year of major reinvestment in the education sector, as we...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Therapy Services (28 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I recently announced that a demonstration project to provide in-school and pre-school therapy services will be introduced for the 2018/19 school year. The project will be managed and co-ordinated by the National Council for Special Education. The demonstration project is being developed by a Working Group which includes representatives from the Departments of Education, Children and...