Results 1,081-1,100 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have been informed by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the student referred to by the Deputy was not eligible for a grant under the nationality criteria. Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency, previous...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Child Abuse Issues (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Claims Agency is reviewing its day school abuse cases to identify those that come within the parameters of the judgment of the ECHR in this case. I expect to receive this review very shortly following which I will be reporting back to Government on the matter.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Services Staff (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I am advised by the school in question that the Employment Appeals Tribunal has not as yet issued a decision in the case referred to by the Deputy. When the Tribunal issue a decision, I will consider the implications of that decision.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The school referred to by the Deputy was included on the list of projects, announced in March 2012, to commence construction in 2015/16 and I can advise the Deputy that there has been no change on the list in relation to the school concerned. This list is available on my Department's website. As previously outlined, my Department is working in conjunction with Cork County Council towards...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the school to which he refers has recently been approved a significant devolved grant for the provision of two ensuite mainstream classrooms and three resource rooms to replace existing temporary accommodation. This level of replacement accommodation will meet the schools immediate accommodation needs.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision making authority for any amalgamation belongs to the Patron of a school, subject to the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills. My Department's role is to facilitate any such proposal or discussions between the relevant parties. The initiative for an amalgamation may come from a variety of sources, such as parents, staff, Board of Management and Patron. The schools...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The project to which the Deputy refers is currently out to tender. Tenders are due back towards the end of this month. Following completion of the tender process and subject to no issues arising, it is anticipated that works will commence in the coming months.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Grants (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Those who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible to have their post-graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270. Otherwise a postgraduate student may qualify to have a €2,000 contribution made towards the costs of their fees if he/she meets the income criteria. The income threshold for this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (10 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The project referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning and a design team has recently been appointed to commence the architectural planning process. Due to competing demands on the Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic...

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Anti-Bullying Procedures (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I thank Deputy Browne for raising this matter. I can confirm my Department provided funding of €40,000 to the Meitheal programme in December 2011. The Meitheal programme has not received any funding from the Department since that date. The programme previously was allocated funding through the fund for the development of targeted educational responses to certain children at risk...

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Anti-Bullying Procedures (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I regret that I am unable to respond to the Deputy as positively as I would wish. I understand this was a pilot project that, as the Deputy has noted, has been very successful in County Wexford. However, were one to multiply that by the other counties to which, in terms of equity, it must be applied in order to implement it on a national scale, it would cost much more than €40,000....

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Anti-Bullying Procedures (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: It will be another three years before we are out of it, but for some people whose lives have been ruined, the damage is permanent. The Deputy can shake his head for as long as he wishes. Money simply is not available in the form under discussion and one simply must consider other resources. I am facing an extremely challenging budget in the coming year and have had difficulties in previous...

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Anti-Bullying Procedures (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Yes, it is a small amount of money, until one multiplies it by every school in the country, and then it becomes a couple of million euro. There are schools that are running similar programmes, and one must learn how to do things. The culture of dependency on a grant for this and extra cash for that was characteristic of Fianna Fáil from 1997 until the collapse. The party would throw...

Other Questions: Bullying in Schools (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: From my point of view the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, gave a very accurate response in answer to the supplementary questions asked by Deputy Ó Fearghaíl. When considering reductions in the overall pupil-teacher ratio at second level, we had to make a difficult choice regarding the idea that a particular category of teacher would be ring-fenced and ex-quota when in many cases...

Other Questions: Bullying in Schools (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I fundamentally disagree with the Deputy. The two traditional aspects to guidance counsellors are pastoral care and actual career guidance. The resources for career guidance, the amount of information available and a host of other facilities which exist are totally different from what was available ten, 15, 20 or 30 years ago. With regard to pastoral care and mental health in a school...

Other Questions: School Enrolments Data (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I know the Deputy from Donegal and Deputy Ó Cuív, who is seated beside him, are concerned about this matter but I want to assure them both that small schools are not necessarily synonymous with rural Ireland. There are many small schools on either side of a school yard where there is a junior school and a senior school - I am talking about urban areas - where it makes sense to have...

Other Questions: School Enrolments Data (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I am talking about the broader picture. I am aware and I respect the Deputies' concerns about parts of rural Ireland, particularly isolated parts where the school is a critical part of the viability of the very community but I am talking about-----

Other Questions: School Enrolments Data (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I am still talking about schools in the greater urban complex in Dublin that are to be found across the yard from each other that have not moved or are not looking at rationalisation at a time when everybody has to be bear some degree of support and some degree of the burden of correcting a very difficult economic situation.

Other Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Under the budget 2012 measures the minimum threshold for a two-teacher school is now 20 pupils. However, if a school is the only school on an island, the pupil threshold for it to remain as a two-teacher school is eight pupils. The number of one-teacher schools over the last five years has varied between four and eight schools. In the 2008-09 school year, there were eight schools, the...

Other Questions: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (9 Apr 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I will make the tabular information available to the Deputy. I am aware of his interest in this matter. To quote from my reply, "I can tell the Deputy from preliminary information that there are 60 mainland schools".