Results 8,381-8,400 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, in November 2016, I announced the patronage of a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school to be established in 2018 to serve the Dublin South City Centre area. This new school, which will be a co-educational, multi-denominational school under the patronage of Educate Together, will serve the Dublin 8 school planning area, along with the Dublin 2, Dublin 4 and Dublin 6,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware the project in respect of the education campus in Buncrana is included on my Department's capital programme. My Department is working closely with Donegal County Council in relation to the proposed site acquisition. Unfortunately, the site acquisition process to date has been protracted due to technical challenges with identified site options and difficulties in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The results of the FÓRSA survey to which the Deputy has referred were not submitted directly to my Department and, as such, I have not had sufficient opportunity to fully examine the survey results. I acknowledge that there are many Special Needs Assistants working in our school communities holding additional, and in many cases, much higher levels of qualifications than the minimum...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware, the co-educational school in question emerged from the amalgamation of a boys' and girls' school in September 2016 following a request from the Patron. When the application to amalgamate was made to my Department, it was clarified to the schools that it was not possible to construct a new school building to facilitate the amalgamation. It was explained that my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Property (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: My colleague the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has responsibility for policy and overall funding in relation to public transport. The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for the planning and development of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) including the development of a metro scheme (MetroLink), and Transport...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools, which have enrolled students with special educational needs, including those with Autism in order to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The level of funding provided to all schools, including those in DEIS, and the drivers of costs at school level are kept under review by my Department. Initiatives in order to assist with the reduction of costs at school level and management of finances are in place such as the services provided by the Schools Procurement Unit and the Financial Services Support Unit. I also recognise...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that in the context of a rapidly increasing school population, my Department's priority is to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and in this regard, it is sometimes necessary to make use of temporary accommodation in order to meet the accommodation needs of schools. It is my Department’s intention to replace such...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: In relation to the Summer Works Scheme 2018, over €25 million will be spent on summer works projects in 2018. This expenditure will enable the remaining approved improvement works for 178 schools nationwide to be completed. These works will be carried out by the schools themselves on a devolved basis mainly over the summer months, so the disruption to students, teachers and other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Property (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware from a previous response provided on 29 March 2018, a legal case is currently being taken against the Christian Brother Congregation regarding the sale of land in question. It would be inappropriate for me as Minister to comment on cases before the Courts. The Deputy will also be aware that I have received a request from the Patron of the school concerned to approve...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: There are a total of 11 schools enrolling junior infant classes serving the Swords area, comprising 8 Catholic schools, one Gaelscoil, one Educate Together school and one Church of Ireland school. My Department is aware of the pressure on school places in recent years in the Swords school planning area. In that regard, my Department is monitoring the expected enrolment position in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: Any school building project must first complete the design stages of architectural planning before progressing to the tender and construction stages. The school referred to by the Deputy will be part of a shared campus. The building project will deliver a new Post Primary school and a new special school building. The project is in Stage 2a (Developed Design Stage) of architectural planning....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff Contracts (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, I was very pleased to announce last Friday that 800 additional Special Needs Assistants will be allocated for the beginning of the next school year, with a further 140 expected to be allocated by the end of the year. I was extremely pleased to be able to make the announcement on Friday, in keeping with the commitment made last year to inform schools of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: Gaelscoil na gCeithre Maistrí, Donegal The major building project referred to by the Deputy is currently at Stage 1 of the Architectural Planning Process. Stage 1 is the Preliminary Design Stage where the Design Team in conjunction with the school authority will analyse all the constraints of the site, develop a preferred design option and ensure that the preferred option is the best...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, in November 2016, I announced the patronage of a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school to be established in 2018 to serve the Dublin South City Centre area. This new school will serve the Dublin 8 school planning area, along with the Dublin 2, Fublin 4 and Dublin 6, Clonskeagh, school planning areas as a regional solution. More recently, in April 2018, I announced...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that I published the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 last year. The Bill aims to introduce a more parent-friendly, equitable and consistent approach to how school admissions policy operates for the almost 4,000 recognised primary and post-primary schools in the country and to ensure a fair and balanced school admission process for all pupils. The main...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: Ensuring that children with special educational needs are supported and given the opportunity to reach their full potential is a key priority for this government. In 2018, in the region of €1.75 billion will be invested in Special Education, nearly one fifth of the overall Education budget, and up 43% since 2011. This funding provides for a range of supports and services...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: TheSchools Bundle 5 PPP Project encompasses five school buildings and one further education college across four sites in Bray, Wexford, Carlow and Kells. Under the PPP arrangement, the PPP company, InspiredSpaces, had a construction works contract with Carillion Construction Ltd, which further sub-contracted to Sammon Contracting Ireland Ltd (SCIL). When Carillion Construction Ltd went into...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Internet Safety (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: One of the key objectives of the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 is to promote responsible and ethical use of the internet and related technologies and to continue to undertake awareness-raising actions and programmes that promote responsible and ethical use of the internet. My Department will shortly publish a circular which will request schools to consult with parents and students...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Skills Development (22 May 2018)

Richard Bruton: The education and training system at all levels has a number of key strategies in place to ensure we meet existing and future skills demands in the workplace and equip young people with the skills to meet these demands to enhance the level of human capital in Ireland and provide a solid basis for long-term economic sustainability and rising living standards. These strategies include, in...