Results 10,161-10,180 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Institutional Abuse: Institutional Abuse (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I am committed to establishing the proposed Statutory Fund for survivors of institutional abuse and as work on the drafting of the Bill is at an advanced stage, I hope to be in a position to publish the Bill in the coming weeks. I am aware that some former residents advocated a simple distribution of the available money rather than the establishment of the Statutory Fund. However, as I...

Written Answers — FÁS Training Programmes: FÁS Training Programmes (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In 2011 the further education and training sectors provided almost 300,000 places. In addition, enrolments in the third level sector reached 161,000 and 5,900 places were offered through the Springboard initiative. The Department of Education and Skills will maintain this general level of provision in 2012. There is a wide variety of training programmes available through FÁS Training...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Code: Social Welfare Code (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Prior to 1st April 1974 an insurable income limit was laid down by the then Department of Social Welfare and if an individuals earnings exceeded these limits a Social Welfare contribution was not payable by the employee. From 1 January 1973 the earnings of the person mentioned were in excess of the insurable limit of £1,600 and therefore she was not liable to pay a social welfare...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 210 and 246 together. My Department has just recently published Circular 0009/2012 to inform all post primary school management and staff of the staffing arrangements for post-primary schools for the 2012/13 school year, including in particular, the requirements to manage guidance from within the standard allocation. The circular is available on the...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 211, 233, 236 and 265 together. A public service-wide review of allowances, announced by the Government as part of Budget 2012, is currently being led by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Under Circular 70/2011 teachers who had been engaged in a public sector teaching post on or before 4 December 2011 are eligible to retain the allowances...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teaching hours to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All mainstream Primary schools have been...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I have previously advised the Deputy of the role of the appropriate state agencies in providing support to the child to whom he refers. I am advised that the relevant agencies including the National Educational Welfare Board and the National Council for Special Education continue to be positively engaged with the family of the child in question.

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: The announcement I made on the 11th January in relation to my Department reporting to me within four weeks refers only to the impact of the withdrawal of certain posts allocated under previous disadvantaged schemes in DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 primary schools. The School to which the Deputy refers is not included as part of this report as the school in question is not included in the DEIS...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, a campus development for Navan is already in train which will provide for a primary, post primary and special school to cater for the projected pupil growth in the area over the coming years. My Department has no plans to develop a second campus for the school to which the Deputy refers. The school concerned recently applied to my Department for funding to replace...

Written Answers — Third Level Access: Third Level Access (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the Universities Act 1997 the universities are autonomous and academically independent institutions. The establishment of entry requirements for third level programmes is therefore entirely a matter for the institutions themselves. While a third language has been a standard requirement for entry to NUI colleges, I understand that in recent years the universities have dropped this...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. SENOs also make recommendations to my Department where assistive technology is required. All mainstream Primary schools have been allocated...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department monitors the total number of executive and administrative staff posts in vocational education committees, where such posts are funded from my Department's pay funding allocation. These figures are used for the purposes of the public sector number returns and to monitor the employment control framework in the VEC sector. The table below outlines the executive and administrative...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Work on the drafting of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill is at an advanced stage and I hope to be in a position to publish the Bill in the coming weeks. The Fund will focus on victims of residential institutional abuse, with eligibility being confined to those who received an award from the Redress Board or those who received awards pursuant to court actions and who would...

Written Answers — Múineadh Teangacha Eachtracha: Múineadh Teangacha Eachtracha (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Mar chuid de chinntí Bhuiséad 2012 atáthar tar éis a fhógairt, tiocfaidh deireadh le Tionscnamh na Nuatheangacha i mBunscoileanna ag deireadh na scoilbhliana 2011/2012. Caithfear an €2.5 milliún de choigiltí a bheidh ann de bharr an bhirt seo ar chostas feidhmithe na Straitéise Náisiúnta Litearthachta agus Uimhearthachta, atá ina thiomantas lárnach i gClár an Rialtais. Ó...

Written Answers — State Bodies: State Bodies (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 221 and 222 together. Below for the Deputy's information is a list of the 20 bodies currently under the aegis of my Department. Some 17 of these agencies are required to provide corporate returns to my Department. The two Irish Research Councils are included in the Higher Education Authority's return for the purposes of corporate governance while the National...

Written Answers — Vocational Education Committees: Vocational Education Committees (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: In October 2011 the General Scheme of an Education and Training Boards Bill was referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education. The General Scheme was also published at that time. Following discussions with my Department and relevant stakeholders, the committee prepared a report which I responded to at a meeting of the committee on 25 January 2012. The...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Having Fun with Computer Programming and Games is a module on the NCCA website which has been developed for Transition Year by LERO, the Irish Software Engineering Research Centre. LERO brings together leading software engineering teams from universities and institutes of technology in a centre of excellence with a strong industry focus. Students learn to write their own programmes,...

Written Answers — Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 226, 228, 241, 245, 263 and 264 together. My Department will be notifying schools shortly of the new staffing arrangements for the 2012/13 school year. It will include details of the staffing appeals process and appeal criterion for those small schools that are projecting increased enrolments that would be sufficient to allow them to retain their existing...

Written Answers — Departmental Property: Departmental Property (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of a request to divest my interest in the property to which he refers, which has very recently been vacated by the school. My officials have been in contact with the Patron's office in relation to this request and a response to the request will issue in due course.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (21 Feb 2012)

Ruairi Quinn: Extra resources were assigned to the Redundancy Unit at the end of October 2011 to ensure that Special Needs Assistants that have been made redundant would have their claims for payment processed as quickly as possible. At that time, there was a backlog of applications of approximately 10 months. The Redundancy Unit is currently processing claims received in August / September 2011. My...