Results 8,601-8,620 of 17,531 for speaker:Jan O'Sullivan

Topical Issue Debate: State Examinations Reviews (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy McConalogue for his good wishes. I am sure we will have much engagement in the future. I am committed to reform of the junior certificate to ensure our young students have a programme and an assessment framework that best serves their interests. This reform is best pursued through dialogue and consultation with all stakeholders so the maximum degree of consensus on the...

Topical Issue Debate: State Examinations Reviews (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I expect to meet with the education partners in the near future and look forward to hearing their views, as well as having a constructive relationship. I will not give any commitments today in advance of these discussions. The phased approach gives everyone involved the opportunity to develop competences, capacity and to manage the reform in a measured way. This was the approach of my...

Topical Issue Debate: State Examinations Reviews (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I gave the Deputy figures for the numbers who have signed up for the coming year. There has been a considerable engagement from teachers. There are other partners involved as well and I intend to listen to them all before I make any decisions on changing the timetable set out already. When one gets to the point of having discussions, that generally resolves issues. That is the approach I...

Topical Issue Debate: Quality and Qualifications Ireland Accreditation (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I thank Deputy O'Brien for his good wishes. I look forward to working with him and other Opposition spokespersons. I thank him for raising this issue and agree with him on the value of community education. We would be very well aware of it in both of our communities. As the Deputy will be aware, Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, was established in November 2012 under the...

Topical Issue Debate: Quality and Qualifications Ireland Accreditation (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The fees have not yet been determined. QQI has already engaged with a number of representative bodies, including Aontas, the Community Education Network and the community sector committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. It will certainly continue that engagement. The Deputy said it is encouraging some co-operation among providers and I know it would hope that at least would be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 268 and 277 together. The Department provides capitation funding to all recognised primary schools. An allocation of €5 million was secured from the proceeds of the sale of the National Lottery Licence to allow primary schools to invest in book rental schemes to reduce the cost burden on parents with young children. Given the scale of our economic...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: On 30 June, my predecessor published an implementation plan for the recommendations of the recent Review of Apprenticeship Training in Ireland, which sets out how current apprenticeships will be renewed and how the apprenticeship model will be extended to new enterprise sectors. The Apprenticeship Implementation Plan is available on my Department's website.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Disadvantaged Status (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 270 and 271 together. As the Deputy will be aware, Coláiste Pobal Acla was established in 2011 following the amalgamation of Scoil Daibhnit (a non-DEIS school) and McHale College (a DEIS school). In the case of an amalgamation involving DEIS and non-DEIS schools, DEIS status does not transfer to the newly amalgamated school. However, it is the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Social Welfare Benefits (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 272, 308, 316 and 326 together. The payment of an additional training allowance of €31.80 per week for the long term unemployed was introduced during a period of high employment levels as an incentive for the long term unemployed to participate in former-FÁS training courses. The payment of this allowance was later extended to those persons in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staffing (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: 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 arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) are available on the Department website.The staffing level in the school referred to by the Deputy for the 2014/15...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Visiting Teacher Service (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The review of the Visiting Teacher Service was carried out in response to policy advice from the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in May 2013, which recommended that the service should be reviewed. Accordingly, my Department commissioned an independent review of the service in line with the NCSE recommendations. The previous Minister advised the Deputy of his commitment to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Bodies (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The number of members of the Apprenticeship Council has not been determined. However, it is planned that representation will be drawn from the following organisations and sectors: - Business and Trade Unions - SOLAS - Higher Education Authority - Department of Education and Skills - Quality and Qualifications Ireland - Further Education Sector - Higher Education Sector I will make...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The call for proposals for the development and establishment of apprenticeships in new occupational areas will be made by the Apprenticeship Council and will be supported by a dedicated fund. The level of funding will be determined through the budgetary process. The Apprenticeship Council will identify if the proposals received have the potential to be developed into viable and sustainable...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Abuse (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department has obtained legal advice on the implications of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) judgement for outstanding school child abuse cases. The State Claims Agency has been reviewing the 45 cases current at the time of the judgement to identify those that come within the parameters of the judgement and this review has been completed and submitted to my Department for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Commemorative Events (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: My Department is coordinating the contribution of the education sector to the 'decade of centenaries', which covers the period 2012-2022. This involves the development and implementation of a programme of events that encompasses all areas of the education sector. A number of measures have already been implemented as part of my Department's 'decade of centenaries' programme. These include...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: I can confirm for the Deputy that my Department has recently received from the school to which he refers an updated report in relation to its existing accommodation. My officials will be in further contact with the school concerned shortly regarding both its immediate and long term accommodation needs.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Following the publication of the Report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector in 2012, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has commenced developing a curriculum for ERB and Ethics for all primary schools. Development work by the NCCA is ongoing and contact has been initiated with the patron bodies responsible for religious...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Circular 0030/2014 is designed to clarify and restate the purpose of the SNA scheme, which is to provide schools with additional support staff to assist children with special educational care needs, including children with Down syndrome. My officials have held a number of meetings with Management Bodies and Parent representative groups to address any concerns which have arisen since the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: Responsibility for the delivery of a new 16 classroom school referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to the Office of Public Works. The project is at the early stages of architectural planning and is one of the school projects approved to proceed to construction in 2014/2015. My Department officials are currently assessing options in relation to off-site accommodation that will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (15 Jul 2014)

Jan O'Sullivan: The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) is a tool for describing levels of language competence and is based on the understanding that the language learning pedagogy, including assessment takes a communicative approach. While there are communicative aspects to the teaching and assessment of languages in post-primary schools, including oral/aural examinations, there is...