Results 9,981-10,000 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn
- Education (Amendment) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (29 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy.
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: Appeals were received in my Department from the applicants referred to by the Deputy. The appeals have been considered and the decisions have issued to the applicants.
- Written Answers — Third Level Courses: Third Level Courses (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, third level institutions are autonomous bodies and responsibility for day to day management and operational affairs, including course provision, is a matter for the governing bodies and management of the relevant institution. The Higher Education Authority allocates an annual core recurrent grant to each institution and it is a matter for the institution to...
- Written Answers — Ministerial Transport: Ministerial Transport (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 180, 188 and 275 together. In March 2011, the Government agreed new measures for Cabinet Ministers in relation to the provision of official transport to take effect from 1st May 2011. Between the formation of the Government on the 9th March 2011 until the 30th, April 2011 each senior Minister was provided with a state car. From the 1st, May 2011 in line with...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: The compulsory retirement date for a teacher reaching the age of 65 on 1st May, 2012 is 31 August 2012 where the teacher is not a new entrant under the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004. In the case of a person who is a new entrant within the meaning of that Act, there is no compulsory retirement age but a minimum pension age of 65 years. In recognition of the...
- Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: Teachers in primary, voluntary secondary and community/comprehensive schools are employed by the Management Authorities of the schools. They are paid on payrolls operated by my Department on behalf of the Management Authorities. In the final payroll of 2011 4.2% of the total number of substitute teachers paid were retired teachers.
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: As I indicated to the Deputy in my response to his question of 23rd February, 2012, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs, in accordance with my Department's...
- Written Answers — Site Acquisitions: Site Acquisitions (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: My Department has sought the assistance of, and is working closely with, the relevant Local Authority in relation to identifying and acquiring a suitable site for the proposed post-primary school. Due to the commercial sensitivities pertaining to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to comment further at this time.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 186, 187 and 189 together. A teacher who is absent from duty because of personal illness, may retain eligibility for incremental salary in respect of a maximum of 365 days of absence in any period of four consecutive years of teaching service. The sick leave period is calculated retrospectively and includes weekends, school closures and days on which a teacher...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: My priority as Minister for Education and Skills is to preserve access to undergraduate higher education courses despite the difficult circumstances in our public finances. As a result, no changes were made to the eligibility criteria for undergraduate students in the recent Budget. It is also worth emphasising that 41% of all undergraduate students currently receive a grant and pay no...
- Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: The Report on the net impact , in terms of posts, of Budget measures on DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 urban primary schools that still had additional posts allocated under disadvantage schemes, pre-dating DEIS was published on 21 February 2012. The School to which the Deputy refers was not included as part of this report, as it is a DEIS rural primary school and does not have any posts from previous...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Programme: Schools Building Programme (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: The Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has informed my Department that it is no longer in a position to fund this project. The DDDA had committed to provide â¬6 million or 75% of the costs for this project and as such was the main funding agent for the project. As this funding is no longer available from the DDDA the project will not now proceed as originally planned. The...
- Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: There are no catchment areas for primary schools. However for planning purposes the country is divided into geographic districts each with several primary schools feeding into a post-primary centre with one or more post-primary schools. These defined districts facilitate the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of...
- Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: The information requested by the deputy regarding entertainment expenses is as follows: Minister March 2011- to date â¬2,274.12 Minister of State March 2011- to date â¬2,864.82 Senior Officials 1 Jan 2011- 31 Dec 2011 â¬1,984.31 A proportion of the expenditure in this area is on official representation for visiting Ministers...
- Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: The total capital allocation for my Department at the beginning of 2011 amounted to â¬491m of which the primary sector had an allocation of â¬222m and the post-primary sector's allocation amounted to â¬161m. The total for the schools sector amounted to â¬383m. On the announcement of the Jobs Initiative in May 2011 the schools sector allocation for 2011 was adjusted upwards to â¬418m and...
- Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that all children with visual impairment who are attending mainstream primary or post primary schools study Irish, in accordance with normal criteria, unless they have been granted an exemption from Irish study. Exemptions from Irish are granted in line with the specified criteria provided under my Departments Circular 12/96 for primary schools and Circular M10/94...
- Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: My Department received an application for funding for replacement furniture from the school referred to by the Deputy. In light of the competing demands on the available budget, it is not possible to approve funding to replace existing furniture and the school authority have been informed of this decision.
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (28 Feb 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 relevant appointment and retention figures for mainstream staffing for the...
- Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: The Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Act 2005 devolved responsibility for the management of civil servants from the Government to Ministers and heads of office to reflect modern human resource practices. As such, the Act applies to civil servants, rather than public servants as a whole. Department of Education and Skills Circular 0040/2011 sets out the new pay scales for new appointees...
- Written Answers — Third Level Fees: Third Level Fees (28 Feb 2012)
Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 201 together. The reality of the economic situation and the public expenditure corrections which must be made in the coming years present challenges across all areas of public expenditure, including higher education. Moreover, the projected growth in demand for higher education over the next two decades creates further challenges for funding. Careful...