Results 7,841-7,860 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (21 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The major building project for the school to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2b - Detailed Design, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert and Disability Access Cert and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been obtained. The Design Team have informed the Department that it experienced...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (21 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and therefore the day to day operations including the transfer of students from college to college is a matter for the Governing Authority of each institution. Student services and associated activities are an integral part of the whole student experience at each higher education Institute. Each Institute provides a range of...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank Senators for their contributions and their general welcome for the Bill. I wish to deal with the issue that Senators Norris and Gavan raised. Neither Senator was present when we discussed the Bill on the previous occasion. At that time, I pointed out that in considering priority access to a Gaelscoil, we need to use grounds that are rooted in the child. We cannot use grounds that...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I have seen data from Tusla, although it is no longer in education, on absences and suspensions. It is my understanding that this data are publicly available. The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 requires that Tusla be notified within six days. Tusla has to decide on its follow up. If there are deficiencies in the agency's follow up, we should not seek early recourse to the appeals mechanism...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I would be happy to work with Senator Ruane on that. We are trying to evolve policies on completion, home-school liaison and NEPS. All the policies have the same goal.

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: Essentially these amendments tidy up definitions and make them consistent in the section dealing with admissions and in section 29. Amendment No. 2 inserts a number of additional definitions into the new section 29. The definitions that are included in Part X and have now been inserted for the purpose of section 29, from section 29A to section 29F, include the definition of the "Act 2018",...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: There may be a slight misunderstanding about what is being done. These subsections list the options that are available.They are not saying that there is an unfettered choice to take one or the other. They are saying that, if an error had occurred and a child was placed 30th on a waiting list when he or she should have been placed tenth, the decision can be made to place that child tenth....

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The way in which the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill is intended to work is that schools can have an admissions policy. We are ruling things out that they cannot have in their admissions policies, for example, religion in the case of the vast majority of schools, but they can have other things in their policies. They could prioritise siblings of current students, pupils from feeder...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I accept what Senator Ruane is saying in respect of amendment No. 11. Maybe I can come back with an alternative wording on Report Stage when we have washed it through the Attorney General's office in order that we meet her intention in a way that is consistent with the rest of the Bill. The reason I am not disposed to accept amendment No. 10 is the same as the one we discussed on amendment...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: For the benefit of the House, I am disposed to accept Senator Kelleher's amendments.

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Lower House which was keen that this should be incorporated in the Bill. I also thank Senator Kelleher for own work in this field, as well as Senator Gallagher and others in Fianna Fáil. When this Bill was introduced, during Second Stage debate in the Dáil there was broad all-party consensus on the need to address religion in the admissions policy, to require schools...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Senator comments are accurate. We sought to import into the Bill the discrimination grounds as set out in the Equal Status Act 2000. We are requiring schools to state in their admissions policies that they do not discriminate on any of the nine grounds in that Act. It was not the intention of this Bill to originate new provisions in the Equal Status Act. We have not carried out the...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: It is section 62(7)(e)(iv).

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I will have to consider that and come back to the Senator. To be honest, gender identity is fully acknowledged in schools in practice. We have not experienced any section 29 appeals where people have found themselves to be discriminated against. That is not to say that it should not be clearly stated in the Bill. If there is some easy way of acknowledging that I would be disposed to...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: First of all, I welcome the debate. Maybe I should mention the backdrop to this. As Members know, when this Bill was originally introduced to the Dáil the issue of religion was not addressed. Perhaps contrary to Senator Gavan, I believe that diversity in religion is welcome and that parents should have the right to choose the type of education that they want. It is a strength of our...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: Is amendment No. 52 in this group?

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I believe Senator Ruane tabled amendment No. 52, which we have not discussed. Is it in order-----

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: I have no objection to conducting a review. I may ask the Attorney General to look at the wording, but I have no objections to conducting a review. I believe that minority church schools are a part of the tapestry of the country, and we are right to seek to protect them. Many parents want access to such schools. The way this has been structured is important. We are not talking about the...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: The amendments are not properly drafted. This section is saying a school shall admit each student seeking admission and it lists exceptions which allows a school not to admit a student. As I read the Senator's amendment, it provides for an exception to not admit terminally-ill children. This particular section provides that a school shall admit each student save for a number of exceptions...

Seanad: Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (20 Jun 2018)

Richard Bruton: This amendment prohibits oversubscribed schools from prioritising the children of staff or board of management members in an admissions policy. It is a reasonable position that an oversubscribed school may give priority to children of staff where it wishes to do so. For example, there is the perspective of facilitating families and it appears sensible that a teacher working in a school...