Results 8,101-8,120 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training Provision (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 169 and 183 together. Changes to the structure and content of the Gaeltacht Placement arose from the Teaching Council's new accreditation criteria, published in June 2011 (Initial Teacher Education: Criteria and Guidelines for Programme Providers) which provide, inter alia, for "an extended and reconceptualised Gaeltacht residency which will now form part of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Application Numbers (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am informed by SUSI that as at 30th September 2014 SUSI has received 61,907 new student grant applications for the 2014/15 academic year. Of these 19,194 applications have been processed to completion. Of those processed to completion 8,742 new applications have been awarded grants. Confirmation is currently being sought from colleges that the students awarded grants are registered and in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Application Numbers (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I am informed by SUSI that as at the 30th September, 2014 SUSI received 38,039 renewal grant applications for the 2014/15 academic year. Of these 30,519 applications have been processed to completion. Of those processed to completion 28,095 renewal applications have been awarded grants. SUSI is currently awaiting documentation from a number of students and will continue to finalise grant...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the applications of the students referred to by the Deputy are currently being assessed and the students will be notified directly by SUSI of the outcome in the coming days.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to firstly explain that the enrolment of a child to a school is a matter in the first instance for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through their network of SENOs are available to assist parents to identify...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Payments (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The student referred to by the Deputy was initially refused funding under the Student Grant Scheme for the 2013/14 academic year as she did not satisfy the Nationality requirements of the scheme. She appealed the decision to SUSI and provided evidence of Naturalisation from March 2014. A letter issued to her on 25th April 2014 advising her of her eligibility. The student was entitled to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Universities Governance (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Under the Universities Act 1997 universities such as Trinity College Dublin are autonomous statutory bodies and the management and operation of their facilities is therefore the responsibility of the college authorities. Accordingly I have no function in relation to the concerns raised by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the Department website. The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) were published on 24 January, 2014. The staffing process includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. The appeals criteria is also...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department, working in conjunction with Cork County Council, has identified suitable lands to facilitate the planned building projects for the schools referred to by the Deputy. I can confirm that the acquisition of the site is being progressed, however due to the commercially sensitive nature of acquisitions generally I am not in a position to give...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Appointments to State Boards (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Deputy should note that Board appointments, while made by me as Minister, are not in all cases made at my sole discretion. Individuals may be nominated for appointment by various organisations as specified in the relevant statute of the body concerned. The attached table provides details in relation to the numbers of appointments to State boards under the aegis of my Department since...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Bodies Abolition (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: For the Deputy's information, under the Public Service Reform Plan a number of bodies under the remit of this Department were identified for rationalisation or merger as follows: The Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology and the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences were merged in March 2012 to form the Irish Research Council (IRC), which is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Staff Remuneration (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The salaries of staff in the education sector who earn more than €100,000 have been independently established through the normal pay determination structures for the Public Sector and there are no plans to alter these arrangements. As the Deputy will be aware there have been two pay cuts for public servants since the beginning of the financial crisis and, as part of the Public...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (2 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department has been in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy and has clarified the staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects Status (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I hold Senator Byrne personally responsible.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects Status (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank the Senator for raising this matter. St. Peter's national school, Dunboyne, County Meath, is an English-medium, co­educational school under the patronage of the Church of Ireland Bishop of Meath and Kildare. The school is located in prefabricated accommodation on a temporary site. The Department has been made aware that this site has recently become restricted due to...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects Status (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I again assure Senator Byrne that we are very much aware that there is a particular issue with the current site and that we need to move on this as quickly as possible. I appreciate the fact the Senator accepts that I cannot give him details regarding the land acquisition process. I share his view that politicians should stay away from that element of it but I assure him that we recognise...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Administration (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: There was no change in Budget 2014 to any of the student grant rates including the non-adjacent or adjacent rates of grant or the higher special rate of grant for the 2014 financial year. The aim of the student maintenance grant scheme has always been to make a contribution to the cost of going to college; covering the full cost has never been a feasible option. The Student Contribution,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments Data (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The data requested by the Deputy is not readily available. I have asked my officials to compile the data and to forward it to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department is currently analysing the latest demographic data on a nationwide basis to determine where additional school accommodation might be needed from 2015 onwards. This process includes an examination of the Lucan area. When this exercise has been completed arrangements will be made to make accommodation available where it is needed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Weight of Schoolbags (1 Oct 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The report of the Working Group on the Weight of School Bags recognised that many of the solutions to this issue belong at local school level and made various recommendations in this regard, such as optimum use of storage facilities, developing pupil organisation skills and timetabling. My Department issued circulars to all primary and post-primary schools in 2005 to highlight the potential...