Results 8,821-8,840 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 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 arrangements in schools for the 2012/2013 school year can also be...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I assume the Deputy is referring to post-primary level.I acknowledge that the various budget measures that have taken place in recent years can limit the employment opportunities for newly qualified teachers. However, there are limits to the number of teaching posts that we can afford to fund as a country. The redeployment of surplus permanent teachers is the first mechanism to fill...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The school referred to by the Deputy is a small school in the Gaeltacht. As part of the new staffing arrangements my Department has expanded the existing appeals process so that it is accessible to the small primary schools that are losing a classroom post as a result of the budget measure. Such schools will not lose their classroom post if they are projecting increased enrolments in...

Written Answers — Bullying in Schools: Bullying in Schools (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67, 92 and 95 together. Tackling the issue of bullying in schools is a key objective of this Government. It was for this reason that, on 9 April last, I announced details of an Anti-bullying Forum to explore ways to tackle the serious problem of bullying in schools. As the Deputy is aware, this Anti-Bullying Forum bringing together a range of experts, support...

Written Answers — FÁS Training Programmes: FÁS Training Programmes (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: This is a day to day operational matter for FAS who have responsibility for the delivery of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. While the future management, delivery and development of the SafePass/CSCS and QSCS schemes are currently the subject of a FAS strategic review, I can confirm that funding for this scheme has not been withdrawn and funding and service provision will...

Written Answers — Disadvantaged Status: Disadvantaged Status (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion remains my Department's policy instrument to address educational disadvantage. DEIS focuses on addressing and prioritising the educational needs of children and young people from disadvantaged communities, from pre-school through second-level education (3 to 18 years). A total of 864 schools...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: On the original list of 73 small schools that were facing the loss of a classroom teacher as a result of the budget measure 8 were Church of Ireland schools. The Staffing Appeals Board considered appeals from any of the 73 schools that could show that their projected enrolments for September 2012 were sufficient to allow them retain their classroom teacher over the longer term. A total of...

Written Answers — Vocational Educational Committees: Vocational Educational Committees (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I would like to apologise to the Deputy for the delay in issuing a final reply to him in relation to the parliamentary question he asked on 15th February 2012. I am now able to provide the relevant information for the years 2000-2010 inclusive, which is outlined in the table. The information has been obtained from the accounts of County Cork VEC for each year. The Deputy should note that...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The allocation available in 2012 for the capital programme in the school sector amounts to €357m of which just over €120m has been expended to date. In excess of €300m will be spent in 2012 on the acquisition of sites, building new schools and large scale extensions, providing additional accommodation and on the replacement of rented prefabs. The balance of the allocation will be...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: This Government has protected education as much as it can. Far greater reductions in expenditure and in the number of public servants are being made in other sectors relative to those in schools. But there are limits to the level of expenditure on education and the number of teaching posts we can afford. The Budget 2012 measures in relation to the post-primary sector are set out in the...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Circular 31/2011 details a cascade of measures for recruitment of teachers, prioritising unemployed registered teachers over retired registered teachers and registered teachers over unregistered persons. Each principal must report to his or her board of management on a regular basis on the fact that a list of unemployed registered teachers is being maintained, and the circumstances in which...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 May 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 2(a) Submission (Developed Sketch Design). To ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of projects to meet the increasing demographic demands will be the main focus for capital investment over the...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The school, referred to by the Deputy, applied to my Department for funding towards classroom accommodation and refurbishment works. My Department approved funding for classroom accommodation to meet the school's immediate demands. However further correspondence in the matter has been received from the school earlier this week. My Department will be in direct contact with the school when...

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Prior to September 2011 there were three primary schools in the area referred to by the Deputy, all of which were under Catholic patronage. During 2010 and 2011 the Department had been examining the question of increasing the number of primary school places in area to cater for the expected increase in enrolments. As part of that consideration the Department consulted with the patron of the...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department issued Circular 0012/2012 in March, 2012 which is available on the website, setting out the arrangements for access to the redeployment panels for the 2012/13 school year for eligible registered primary teachers in fixed term, substitute and part-time positions. The closing date for receipt of applications for access to the redeployment panels was 20 April, 2012. The...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that in relation to special needs education it should be noted that there has been no reduction to the number of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) available for schools this year, with 10,575 posts available for allocation. There has also been no reduction in the overall number of resource teaching posts available for allocation to mainstream schools, either through...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 and 88 together. The Government has prioritised, as best as possible, the filling of front-line posts in the Education sector within the constraints of the Employment Control Framework. This is all the more challenging to achieve at a time of rapidly increasing enrolments in our schools. Teacher allocations are approved annually in accordance with...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Information in respect of the current status of all assessed applications for major capital works including projects in architectural planning is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie which is updated regularly throughout the year. On 19th December 2011, I announced details of 56 major school building projects as part of €430m education infrastructure plan for 2012. The...

Written Answers — Psychological Services in Schools: Psychological Services in Schools (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90 and 91 together. As the Deputy will be aware all primary and post-primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (24 May 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As outlined in the Five Year Plan, the delivery of major school projects required to meet demographic demand will be the main focus for capital investment in the coming years. Due to the financial constraints imposed by the need to prioritise available funding to meet future demographic demands, it has not been possible to advance all applications for capital funding concurrently. The Deputy...