Results 10,381-10,400 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Minor Works Scheme Payments (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: Demographic pressures, and the imperative of ensuring a school place for every child, are placing significant demands on the education capital budget. As part of our longer term infrastructural planning, my Department will explore whether it will be possible to give greater certainty to primary schools in relation to the payment of the Minor...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Redeployment (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent/CID holding teachers to schools that have vacancies. Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from supplementary panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers. Circular 0068/2017 sets out the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Facilities (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The school to which the Deputy refers applied for funding under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme to provide car parking facilities at the school. As the scope of the works were outside the terms of the scheme, the application was refused. The mechanism for applying for funding for works of this nature is my Department’s Summer Works Scheme. It is open to the school authority to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, a project to provide permanent accommodation for the school in question is included on my Department's Capital Programme. Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in the relevant local authority in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the acquisition of a suitable site to facilitate this building project. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaelscoil Issues (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that Education and Training Boards are public bodies and are therefore obliged to have their own language schemes in place to implement their obligations under Official Languages Act 2003.  ETBs have responsibilities to support appropriately the all-Irish Schools and Colleges operating under their management. However, individual language schemes are a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. The enrolment policy must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Protected Disclosures (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, I have appointed an independent external examiner to carry out an investigation into claims made by a number of current and former staff of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), contained in a disclosure made under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014, to report to me on the investigation and make any appropriate recommendations.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The details sought by the Deputy are not readily available. Officials in my Department are arranging for the relevant information to be gathered and it will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it becomes available.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The statutory obligations my Department must comply with in respect of funding for recognised primary schools and post primary schools within the free education scheme derive mainly from the Education Act 1998. Funding to meet these obligations is voted to my Department in the annual Appropriation Acts. At the core of funding arrangements for schools is reliance upon capitation as the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware, the project to which he refers has been devolved for delivery to the local Education and Training Board (ETB). Planning permission has been received for the project which is at the detailed design stage. In this regard, the Stage 2B submission was recently submitted to my Department for examination. The outcome of this examination will be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, a building project for the school to which he refers is included in my Department's 6 Year Capital Programme. The preliminary work relating to the project has commenced following a site visit to the school by my Department. This includes considering how the accommodation requirements of the school will be best met and this process is currently in train. When this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that funding for the works outlined are appropriate to the Summer Works Scheme (SWS). The purpose of the SWS is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small and medium scale improvement works that will upgrade existing school facilities, which can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pension Provisions (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The award of an occupational pension on retirement on medical grounds under pension schemes administered by my Department for teachers and other school staff is grounded on an assessment of the medical evidence supplied as part of the application process. The medical evidence is assessed by an Occupational Health Service Provider on behalf of the Department. The criteria to be satisfied is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The enrolment of a child to a school is a matter, in the first instance, for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools. The policy of my Department is to ensure that all children with special educational needs can be provided with an education appropriate to their needs. Where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Exemptions (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: While the study of Irish is compulsory in both primary and post-primary schools recognised by my Department, there are a limited number of specific circumstances whereby an exemption from this requirement may be granted. The granting of exemptions is governed by Departmental circular M10/94 for post-primary schools. Under this circular the authority to grant exemptions within the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (12 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools were published on 7th March 2017. These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. The revised allocation process replaces the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning...

Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: The minor works grant scheme is a discretionary scheme that is paid most years. It is paid for the school year, between September and June each year. As I confirmed this week, the payment for 2017 to 2018 will go ahead. I indicated that the payment for the 2018 to 2019 year will be conditional on availability of money, as it always is, and there is a possibility that it will not be paid...

Business of Dáil (7 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders and provided that the debate on Second Stage of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017 does not conclude tomorrow, that the Dáil shall sit at 12 noon on Tuesday, 12 December 2017, to take the resumed Second Stage debate of the Bill and should it conclude before 2 p.m., the House shall suspend until 2 p.m.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (7 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: I have received a copy of the research report prepared by the team involved in the Adult Learning BA (ALBA) for Personal and Professional Development.  The ALBA Programme was offered at All Hallows College in Drumcondra and was accredited by DCU.  When All Hallows College closed, DCU facilitated the completion of ALBA by existing students.  The ALBA Programme sought to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (7 Dec 2017)

Richard Bruton: Caranua is an independent statutory body established under the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. The legislation provides that €110 million in contributions from religious congregations will be made available to Caranua to help meet the needs of persons who, as children, were abused in residential institutions. To date some €101million, comprising contributions...