Results 9,381-9,400 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I recognise the need to improve capitation funding for schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years.  The first cuts to capitation were announced in October 2010 by the then Minister for Finance. Budget 2018 marked the second year of major reinvestment in the education sector, as we continue to implement the Action Plan for Education, which has the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently awaiting the appointment of a Design Team. Officials from my Department have been in direct contact with the school authorities to outline the procurement process for the Design Team. Upon completion of the appointment of the Design Team, my Department Officials will be in further contact with the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Data (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to provide the Deputy with the list of new primary school buildings completed and occupied in 2016 and 2017 together with the new primary school buildings expected to reach substantial completion by the end of 2018. New Primary Schools 2016-2017 County Roll No School 1 Cork 19851H Gaelscoil de hIde, Fermoy 2 Cork 20336V Midleton ETNS 3 Cork 20440Q Mallow Community NS 4...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Admissions (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016 was published in July 2016. The Bill which passed Committee Stage on 28 June 2017 and will shortly proceed to Report Stage, is an important piece of legislation which strives to create a new more parent-friendly, equitable and consistent approach to how school admission operates for the almost 4,000 primary and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff Appeals Mechanism (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually on the Department 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 operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Status (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: We have, for the first time, introduced an objective, statistics based model for deciding which schools merit inclusion in the DEIS programme, so that all stakeholders can have confidence that we are targeting extra resources at those schools with the highest concentrated levels of disadvantage. The methodology adopted to assess levels of disadvantage in schools is based on centrally held...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I with to advise the Deputy that my Department has approved additional mainstream classroom and special needs accommodation to the school authority in question to cater for increasing enrolments.  The responsibility for installing the accommodation concerned has been devolved directly to the school authority. The school applied for funding for the works...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service Data (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to a NEPS psychologist for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The current Summer Works Scheme, SWS, is being applied on a multi-annual basis.  The Deputy will also be aware that nearly 50% of schools have applied for inclusion under the scheme which reflects a very high demand.  Almost €80 million has been approved to date under the Summer Works Scheme, in respect of over 640 school projects in categories 1 - 6. Details of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm that my Department received an application in February for additional accommodation from the school referred to by the Deputy. The application will be assessed and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as the assessment process is completed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: In addition to a starting pay of nearly €36,000, newly recruited teachers also benefit from the terms of the Ward Report which reduced the qualifying period for a contract of indefinite duration to two years and removed career break and secondment categories of objective grounds which had previously prevented some teachers from obtaining permanency in their positions. The Ward Report...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Recruitment (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is referring to correspondence from a person concerning the supply of teachers of STEM subjects and to her eligibility for a student grant. As the Deputy will be aware, additional investment has allowed the successful recruitment of over 5,000 additional teachers in the last two years.  Since 2012/2013, there are 8,900 more teachers in our schools. No other part of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Establishment (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware, in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. My Department uses a Geographical Information System, GIS, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. The GIS uses data from a range of sources, including the Central Statistics...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: A review of senior cycle programmes and vocational pathways in senior cycle has been commenced by the NCCA with a view to recommending areas for development. As a first step, to inform this review, the NCCA commissioned research to scope international developments in upper secondary education. This research will feed into a public consultation process in spring 2018, which commenced...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: The Social, Personal and Health Education, SPHE, curriculum is mandatory at primary level and up to junior cycle at post-primary level.  A Framework for SPHE at Senior Cycle is also available to schools. The SPHE curriculum aims to provide a range of diverse and inclusive skills such as communicating, making decisions, knowing where to find reliable data, belonging and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Sector Staff Retirements (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: Legislation is currently being drafted to provide for the Government decision to change the compulsory retirement age of some public servants. In this regard my Department is currently preparing a circular letter which will notify all education and training sector employers and staff of temporary arrangements to allow certain staff, including primary school principal teachers, be retained in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: Special Needs Assistants, SNAs, are provided to assist recognised schools to cater for pupils with disabilities, who have additional and significant care needs, in an educational context and where the nature of these care needs have been outlined in medical and other professional reports as being so significant that a pupil will require additional adult assistance in order to be able to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Charges (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and therefore the day to day operations including the determination of the fee rate applicable for individual students in relation to re-sitting examinations is a matter for the governing authority of each institution. Accordingly, my Department has no function in relation to such matters. The final decision on this issue is a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has approved substantial devolved funding for the provision of the long-term accommodation solution for the school referred to. My Department is in ongoing contact with the Patron and the school authorities in respect of the proposed project, which includes finalising the project brief. In that regard, it is not possible at this point to advise...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (20 Mar 2018)

Richard Bruton: I understand that the students to which the Deputy refers, recently appealed the decision of the Appeals Officer in SUSI to the statutory independent Student Grants Appeals Board (SGAB). Their appeals will be heard within the 60 day timeframe set out in the Student Support Act 2011. The decision of the SGAB will be communicated directly to the students in due course.