Results 9,081-9,100 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Other Questions: Public Private Partnerships (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: DIF is targeting all six buildings to be operational by the beginning of the coming school year. We will work with the schools to ensure that, if this target is not being fulfilled, contingency plans are in place. We do not control the issuing of tenders and so on but, under the contract, DIF is standing this out of its money. Other than a small sum of €4 million in respect of site...

Other Questions: Teacher Training Provision (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The situation is as the Deputy says. Postgraduates have fees of the order of €5,000, depending on the college, and it is now a two-year course, as the Deputy knows. This is one of the areas that will be examined by this group. I would point out that undergraduate access to post-primary teaching is now as large a source of supply and, with the new increase of 280 places at...

Other Questions: Teacher Training Provision (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The position is that this has been the approach to getting a masters or other postgraduate qualification for people who have done either a primary degree or who are coming from outside the sector into the teaching profession. While that decision was made before my time, I recognise this is creating obstacles, specifically for our ambition to expand teaching in the STEM area. I have actively...

Other Questions: Speech and Language Therapy (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: It is an important, interesting and valuable area which we will be piloting. The programme for Government commits that a new model of in-school speech and language therapy will be established. This year's budget provided an additional €2 million to introduce a demonstration project for in-school therapy services in 2018. It is intended that the project should commence in schools...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that a well-being policy statement is currently being drafted which provides further advice and clarity to schools and centres for education in regard to the implementation of the primary and post-primary well-being guidelines and the junior cycle well-being guidelines of 2017. The well-being policy statement will set out the Department's ambition and vision that by...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The answer is very specific things. This is part of the confidence and supply agreement. We have now restored 500 of the 600 guidance counsellors who were in our schools. We have expanded the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, recruited additional staff and focused them specifically on delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS. In September, we introduced a...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: On the issue of resource teaching and SNAs, we have increased the provision by over 40% so it is a very rapidly expanding area. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, recently undertook a study to make sure that the approach to such supports would be a whole-school approach, particularly with regard to resource teaching. That has been successful and there were extra resources to...

Other Questions: Teacher Training Provision (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Last November, I launched a STEM policy statement and implementation plan which aims to make Ireland the best in Europe in STEM by 2026. The statement focuses on the many strengths in STEM education in Ireland while providing a roadmap to address the areas for development. I recognise that the achievement of our STEM goals will rely greatly on the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I would be very happy to consider the Deputy's proposal. An implementation group on the STEM strategy was established recently and has held a number of meetings. I will ask the group to consider the possibility of having shared facilities where there is a deficit of the nature described by the Deputy and ascertain whether we can provide a scheme of modest support or encouragement to allow...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I accept the Deputy's point. I will ask the implementation group to examine the proposal and revert to him.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The major building project for St. Patrick's junior and senior national schools, Corduff, is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, namely, stage 2(b) - detailed design - which includes the application for statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. All statutory approvals have been secured. The design team is in the process of completing a revised stage 2(b)...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I am reading some of the supplementary material that could be helpful to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy's comments do not become her. This is not a question of not having an interest. The school has a difficult history. As the Deputy stated, a design team was appointed in 2011. During stage 2(a) of the architectural planning, a request was made by the board of management for a brief change from the design team regarding the system. This required a recasting of the project and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I will not involve myself in the local political issue the Deputy is raising. The problems that arose in this case were with the design team and had nothing to do with the Department. The school is back on track. The design team will submit a revised mechanical and electrical report and some important changes to the tender document by the end of May. The amendments are designed to ensure...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I wish to reassure the Deputy that there has been a substantial expansion in the capital budget. It has increased by €192 million since 2012 and that expansion continues. The Deputy is right to say that over the next three years a further €200 million - at €70 million per year - will be added to the schools capital programme. We continue to have very strong ambitions....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which is of particular concern to parents throughout the country. As advised in my response on 1 February, special class provision across the country is expanding very rapidly and I am satisfied that, based on the advice of the NCSE, we are matching the needs as they emerge. I have asked the NCSE to look at emerging needs in counties Carlow and...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I will certainly get a response for the Deputy. Over 60% of children with ASD go into mainstream classes, approximately 20% go into ADS units and a further 20% go to special schools. The decision on whether a child's needs would be best met in a mainstream class or a special class is made on a case-by-case basis. The indication when additional ASD units are needed is when the NCSE...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The reply states that the Department has approved a grant to St. Lachtain's in Freshford to construct a two-classroom ASD unit and to upgrade an existing classroom to facilitate the operation of a third ASD class. As of today, we seem to have two ASD classes in St. Lachtain's. It anticipates that five places will be available in the 2018-2019 enrolments. Obviously, there are places in...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: School Curriculum (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The prepared reply does not cover that. It deals with how the curriculum is designed to ensure that young people can participate regardless of gender. It also deals with schools going through the first phase of the new leaving certificate course in computer science and how we have ensured a gender mix in participation in those areas. It further deals with the ambitions to expand...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Schools Building Projects (29 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for his question. I know we had a discussion on the issue last night. Ireland has experienced a significant bulge in pupil enrolments going through our schools. This has seen a significant expansion in the rate of provision of new school places and this puts a high demand on the Department's capital budgets. Since 2011, some 340 major school projects and over 120,000...