Results 8,461-8,480 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Firstly I wish to clarify for the Deputy that there is no overall reduction in Special Needs Assistant (SNA) numbers for the coming school year. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports including Special Needs...

Written Answers — Third Level Grants: Third Level Grants (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Students entering postgraduates courses who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant will be eligible to have their post-graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270 under the Student Grant Scheme. A further limited number of students who would previously have qualified under the standard grant thresholds will qualify to have a €2,000 contribution...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, my priority is to ensure that there is sufficient school accommodation to meet projected pupil increases in the future. The 5 Year Plan that I announced in March last as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme outlines the major school projects that will commence construction over the duration of the Plan. These have been prioritised on the basis of...

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that I outlined my official response to the Report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism on the 20th June. I announced my intention to commence the divesting of patronage process immediately in an initial 44 identified areas. The first step in this process is to gather evidence on the scale of divestment required in the identified areas....

Written Answers — School Denominations: School Denominations (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 224 together. The information sought by the Deputies is not readily available. However, it will be compiled and forwarded directly to the Deputies as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Third Level Grants: Third Level Grants (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The review of the nationality requirements referred to by the deputy is currently being prepared by officials in my Department and is due to be submitted to me shortly.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has been in contact with the school authority regarding the accommodation needs of the school to which he refers and is awaiting a response from the school on the queries raised.

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 201 together. The temporary accommodation, referred to by the Deputy, was considered to be in good condition and well maintained when acquired by my Department. In the period since the purchase, my Department was advised by the school of issues with the accommodation. A technical assessment has been carried out recently by Department staff and the...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Fund for Students with Disabilities provides support to students with disabilities in further and higher education and is managed by the HEA on behalf of my Department. Typical supports for which funding is approved include assistive technology, academic or learning support, personal assistance and Irish Sign Language interpretation. A number of years ago, the HEA introduced an early...

Written Answers — Further Education and Training Programmes: Further Education and Training Programmes (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware the Further Education and Training sector is undergoing major structural reform. The creation of the new further education and training authority, SOLAS, to replace FAS, will facilitate a coherent integrated strategic national response across the further education and training sectors. The new SOLAS mandate will be to ensure the provision of 21st century...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. They have in place criteria for reasonable accommodation including an independent appeals system. All applications for reasonable accommodations are considered in light of a published Framework of Principles as set out by the Expert Advisory Group on examinations....

Written Answers — School Completion Programme: School Completion Programme (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The building project referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The Stage 2(b) submission (Detailed Design) was submitted to my Department in May and is currently under review. Schools which have not been included in the five year construction programme, but which were announced for initial inclusion in the building programme will continue to be...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 198, 202 and 203 together. The Public Service Agreement 2010-14 (Croke Park Agreement) provides for agreed redeployment arrangements to apply in most parts of the public service, and for these arrangements to take precedence over other methods of filling vacancies. In the Education sector new redeployment procedures for second level teachers were implemented...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: There are currently five Senior Quantity Surveyors assigned to the School Planning & Building Unit of my Department that are engaged on the Schools Capital Building Programme. There are no plans to recruit additional Quantity Surveyors at this time. In the event such a fillable vacancy arises at my Department the Public Appointments Service (PAS), which was established under the terms of the...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Processing of the person's application for pension benefits is now at an advanced stage. It is intended that payment of the pension and gratuity will issue from my Department on 5th July next.

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I assume it was the Deputy's intention to refer to the Secondary Education Committee rather than the State Examinations Commission. There are 26 distinctively Protestant schools and one Jewish school. Of these schools, the Jewish school and 20 of the Protestant schools charge fees. Many of the schools have a boarding facility, reflecting the dispersed nature of the communities across the...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 204 and 205 together. 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...

Written Answers — Third Level Grants: Third Level Grants (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials of my Department contacted the awarding authority concerned and I understand that the student referred to by the Deputy has received her grant instalments for the past 4 months March, April, May and June.

Written Answers — Teacher Training: Teacher Training (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Postgraduate Applications Centre is a private company which acts as an agent of the four National Universities of Ireland to process and assess applications to the PDE courses in those institutions. The PAC has supplied the information requested as follows Maths Physics Approximate no. of applications 355 75 Approximate no of places accepted 50 26 Teacher supply is a matter that...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (26 Jun 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports including resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support, to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates...