Results 10,961-10,980 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn
- Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 153, 155, 156, 158 to 162, inclusive, and 167 together. While difficult choices had to be made to identify savings across my Department's budget, the Government has tried to protect front line services in 2012. The Government has protected the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level, prioritised targeted support for the most disadvantaged schools and maintained...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: The budget measures, including those relating to guidance, come into effect from September 2012. Schools will be notified in the normal manner in relation to these changes. My Department will be issuing a Circular in January that will outline the staffing arrangements in schools for the 2012/13 school year.
- Written Answers — Third Level Courses: Third Level Courses (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, until now a specific resource was provided for guidance in addition to the standard teacher allocation to post primary schools. In future, schools will meet their guidance requirements from within the overall resource provided by that normal staffing schedule. Individually schools can continue to make provision for guidance and counselling, however, decisions on how...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations and determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations. In view of the above I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: While difficult choices had to be made to identify savings across my Department's budget, the Government has tried to protect front line services in 2012. The Government has protected the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level, prioritised targeted support for the most disadvantaged schools and maintained the overall number of resource teachers and SNAs to support children with special needs....
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the current means testing arrangements for student grants take no account of the capital value of savings or assets in determining eligibility for financial assistance. This approach is at variance with other major financial support schemes operated by the Department of Social Protection and other public bodies such as the HSE. A considerable body of reports...
- Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos 171 to 173, inclusive, together. It is anticipated that the funding available in 2012 for the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) will be sufficient to meet demand. I understand that this is possible for a number of reasons including a greater integration of delivery of supports to students with disabilities into the core activities of institutions which...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will appreciate that statistics are not yet available in respect of the 2011/12 academic year. However, HEA statistics indicate that there were some 21,880 full-time postgraduate students pursuing courses in approved institutions in the 2010/11 academic year. Based on recent returns from the grant awarding authorities, it is estimated that some 9,435 postgraduate students were in...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: As a matter of routine, my Department reviews the student grant scheme each year to prepare policy proposals and to include changes announced under the relevant Budget. A decision on the reckonable income limits for postgraduate fee support for the 2012/13 academic year will be taken in the context of this review and the Scheme will be published in due course in the New Year with this detail.
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the current means testing arrangements for student grants take no account of the capital value of savings or assets in determining eligibility for financial assistance. This approach is at variance with other major financial support schemes operated by the Department of Social Protection and other public bodies such as the HSE. A considerable body of reports...
- Departmental Properties (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: There are lessons to be learned from what has happened in this case. I thank the Deputy for giving me an opportunity to outline to the House the current position regarding the payment of funds. It would have been preferable if the original sale had gone ahead. In the circumstances in which we now find ourselves, we have to learn from the experience of this case and make sure similar...
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: A key priority for my Department is to continue to prioritise and target funding at schools with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage. However, in order to ensure fairness in the distribution of resources available under the DEIS plan, it is no longer possible to allow some schools to retain legacy posts on a concessionary basis that pre-date the introduction of the DEIS...
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I have visited DEIS band 1 and band 2 schools. There are some in my constituency which is an inner city one and not just all Dublin 4. There have been inequalities between various DEIS schools with some getting fewer resources than others that were previously identified as having a disadvantage and subsequently re-branded as DEIS schools. The...
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: I know Deputy McDonald does not like it.
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: No, we are not. We are trying to be as fair as possible on this.
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: It is. The fairest way to start is to ensure disadvantage is treated equally.
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: It has not been the case that disadvantage was treated equally. Former Ministers attempted to equalise the allocation of scarce resources but it was not done because of the sorts of arguments made now. I will examine carefully how these measures are implemented. I will discuss with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, how we can combine the home school...
- Educational Disadvantage (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: -----of the kind to which I have referred. That is how we will deal with this.
- Departmental Properties (13 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline to the House the current position in regard to the funding of the Piper's Hill Educational Campus in Naas, County Kildare. As the Deputy is aware, there has been a significant increase in the number of schoolgoing children in the country in recent years. My Department is forecasting that this will increase...
- Order of Business (9 Dec 2011)
Ruairi Quinn: What about the way the Deputy signed the bank bailout by telephone in the middle of the night?