Results 8,221-8,240 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The NCSE has notified all schools of their allocation for the 2012/13 school year of resource hours for low incidence special needs. The arrangements for how schools access these resource hours in teaching posts are set out in the Department Staffing Circular 0007/2012. Under these arrangements a network of over 2,500 full-time resource posts has been put in place in close to 1,700 base...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In September 2011, the school referred to by the Deputy was granted funding for the provision of 2 Mainstream Classrooms under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme. In May 2012 the school applied for additional funding for a sliding sound proof partition between both classrooms so that the school could use the rooms for assemblies, choir practice and parent meetings. This...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Some 73 small primary schools were originally due to lose a classroom teacher in September 2012 as a result of the budget measure to increase the relevant pupil thresholds. The Staffing Appeals Board provisionally upheld appeals from 41 schools subject to confirmation that their actual enrolments in September 2012 reach the required level. The breakdown of the remaining 32 schools is...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 174 and 175 together. Attention to information literacy is a feature of the NCCA's ICT Framework: A structured approach to ICT in Curriculum and Assessment (2007) which is available to all primary and post-primary schools. There are no specific initiatives underway at the moment on information literacy at primary level but information literacy is an integral...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Contracting Authorities have an obligation to ensure that, as part of suitability assessment for projects, Contractors have adequate economic and financial capacity. The Turnover requirements are 1.5 times the project value, which for small projects of limited duration is not onerous. In that regard I do not propose to make any changes to the requirements.

Written Answers — Information and Communications Technology: Information and Communications Technology (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Between November 2009 and November 2010, my Department distributed some €92m directly to schools and VECs under the national ICT Infrastructure Grant Scheme. The main priority under this scheme is the equipping of each classroom with a teaching computer and digital projector. Once the baseline is in place schools can allocate any remaining funding under the scheme to other ICT equipment and...

Written Answers — Emergency Works Scheme: Emergency Works Scheme (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The school referred to by the Deputy submitted a revised application for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to replace windows at their school. The application is currently being considered and the school authority will be advised of the decision as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Adult Education: Adult Education (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In October 2011 the General Scheme of an Education and Training Boards Bill was referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education. The General Scheme was also published at that time. Following discussions with this Department and relevant stakeholders, the Committee prepared a report which the Minister responded to at a meeting of the Committee on 25 January...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy may be aware that an Anti-Bullying Forum was held on Thursday 17th May bringing together a range of experts, support groups and representatives of the schools sector including parents and students. I was very pleased to open this important Forum and to provide an opportunity to explore with all the relevant stakeholders how best to tackle bullying in schools and to consider what...

Written Answers — Weight of Schoolbags: Weight of Schoolbags (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department issued Circular M35/05 in 2005 to highlight the potential health hazard of overweight schoolbags and to outline a range of local measures that could be put in place to help alleviate the problem. The circular referred to the recommendations of the previously published report of the Working Group on the Weight of School Bags. This report acknowledged that many of the solutions...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an early stage of architectural planning. The Design Team are currently working on the Stage 2a submission (Developed Sketch Design) of the design process. This project was not included in the Capital Programme, which I announced in March of this year. School building projects currently in architectural planning,...

Supplementary Estimates 2012: Motion (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I move: That leave be given by the Dáil to introduce the following Supplementary Estimate for the service of the year ending on the 31st day of December, 2012: Vote 32 — Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Supplementary Estimate). Question put and agreed to.

Supplementary Estimates 2012: Referral to Select Committee (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I move: That, subject to leave being given to introduce the following Supplementary Estimate for the service of the year ending on 31st December 2012, the Supplementary Estimate be referred to the Select Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, pursuant to Standing Orders 82A(3)(c) and 159(3), which shall report back to the Dáil by no later than 19 July:– Vote 32 — Jobs, Enterprise...

Schools Building Projects (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it allows me to clarify the current position of the proposed building project for Holy Rosary College, Mountbellew, County Galway, in the context of the Government's strategy for capital investment in school building projects over the next five years. To ensure every child has access to a school place, the delivery of projects to meet future...

Schools Building Projects (10 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Recent birth rate data published by the CSO shows almost 20,000 births were registered in the first quarter of 2011. This is the highest number of births registered in a quarter since the series began in 1960. It is vital the schooling system is prepared to cope with these increasing numbers. Therefore, the Government's priority over the next five years will have to be focused on major...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (5 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on my Department's website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule for the 2012-2013 school year, Circular 0007/2012, is...

Written Answers — School Management: School Management (5 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In accordance with the provisions of Section 14(1) of the Education Act 1998, it is "the duty of the school patron, for the purposes of ensuring that a recognised school is managed in a spirit of partnership, to appoint where practicable a board of management the composition of which is agreed between patrons of schools, national associations of parents, recognised school management...

Written Answers — Higher Education Courses: Higher Education Courses (5 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the Universities Act 1997 universities are autonomous institutions and the management of their academic affairs, including admissions criteria and processes, are matters for the individual institutions concerned. Neither I nor my Department has any function in relation to the processing of applications for entry to higher education courses.

Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I am happy to accede to the request from the Deputies. These issues are covered by sections 21 and 22 of the Bill. There are four subsections under section 21 and ten subsections under section 22, all of which take on board the statutory entitlements and pension entitlements with regard to superannuation, which are quite complex. We do not need a belt, braces and bicycle clips approach....

Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (5 Jul 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I move amendment No. 2: In page 31, line 44, to delete "subsection (6)" and substitute "subsection (5)". As a result of the proofing of the Bill on Committee Stage, a number of minor technical issues have come to light that require amendment. I informed the House on Committee Stage that a number of amendments of this nature would be required. In total, eight amendments fall into this...