Results 11,121-11,140 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Employment Rights: Employment Rights (24 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: All Contractors employed on school building projects are required to ensure that rates of pay and conditions of employment, including pension contributions, comply with all applicable law and that those rates and conditions are at least as favourable as those for the relevant category of worker in any employment agreements registered under the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2004. My...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (24 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: It is understood that the Deputy's question refers to my Department's policy on the education of children with autism. My Department's policy is centred on an inclusive approach promoting the use of a range of autism specific interventions including TEACCH, PECs and Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA). Under this approach, each child can benefit from a number of different interventions to...

Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: That is something we do here.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The processing of student grants is carried out by local grant awarding authorities – VECs and local authorities. In the circumstances, it will be necessary for the student in question to contact her grant awarding authority to ascertain the position regarding her grant application.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that all information in respect of the current school building programme along with all assessed applications for major capital works, is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie. Applications have been received from 17 post primary schools in County Mayo for new school buildings or extensions. The applications are at various stages of the...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 and 73 together. It is my Department's understanding that the Deputy is referring to its office accommodation. In this regard, my Department does not rent or lease any office premises or sites. The leasing of Government premises is the responsibility of the Property Management Services in the Office of Public Works, which acts as an agent for all...

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I announced on 10th November that capital funding is being made available to provide a primary schools minor works grant of €28 million for the current school year. This grant will be paid to schools in the coming weeks and includes the school that is the subject of this parliamentary question.

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: This Government is committed to supporting the overall thrust of 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, and to the delivery of the goals and targets proposed. As part of this, a thorough reform of the Irish curriculum and the way Irish is taught at primary and second level will be undertaken. The priority is to take steps to improve the quality and effectiveness of the teaching...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Syllabus planners are conscious of the need to avoid over-frequent changes to textbooks, primarily in order to minimise increases in the cost burden for parents. School authorities have been advised that books should be changed only to the extent that it is absolutely necessary. In addition, my Department has consistently encouraged schools to put in place book rental schemes as the most...

Written Answers — Teaching Council: Teaching Council (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware, access to the profession of teaching in recognised schools in Ireland is regulated by the Teaching Council, the designated Competent Authority for the regulation of the profession. To date over 70,000 teachers have been registered with the Council. Under Section 23 of the Act, the Council has statutory authority to charge a fee which is set at €90 per year at...

Written Answers — Institutes of Technology: Institutes of Technology (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Institutes of Technology are autonomous statutory bodies established under the Institutes of Technology Act 2006. An Institute's academic council has statutory responsibility to protect, maintain and develop the academic standards of the institute and, subject to the approval of the Governing Body, for the making of academic regulations of the Institute including those governing the conduct...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I have endorsed the broad thrust of the proposals on junior cycle reform submitted to me by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in October 2011 following an extensive consultation process. They envisage that all students will be expected to achieve 24 statements of learning over the period of their junior cycle. These include developing an understanding of the natural world,...

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Since September 2003, all post primary schools have been required to timetable Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) as part of the junior cycle core curriculum. The time allocation recommended is one class period per week. To support schools in delivering SPHE, a curriculum framework along with implementation guidelines have been developed by the National Council for Curriculum and...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: A total of 704 schools out of 729 schools offered SPHE as a subject last year. The remainder are specialist PLC colleges which do not provide the second level curriculum. Final data from all schools or 2011/12 has not been fully processed yet. The Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) programme is a mandatory part of the curriculum in primary schools and in junior cycle since 2003 and...

Written Answers — Residential Institutions Redress Scheme: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The details provided by the Deputy relate to the proposed Residential Institutions Statutory Fund. The Government agreed to the drafting of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Bill to provide for the establishment of a Statutory Fund to support the needs of victims of residential institutional abuse, as endorsed by Dáil Éireann in the aftermath of the publication of the Ryan Report...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The school in question was allocated devolved funding for the provision of a resource room and boiler replacement under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme 2010. The school authorities have sought additional funding towards this project and my Department's Planning and Building Unit has requested further supporting information. When this information is received a final decision...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The current status of all projects on the school building programme, including the school referred to by the Deputy, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie and this will be updated regularly throughout the year. The Government's Medium Term Infrastructure and Capital Investment Framework, which was published on 10th November 2011, sets out the demographic challenge...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The current status of all projects on the school building programme, including the school referred to by the Deputy, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie and this will be updated regularly throughout the year. The Government's Medium Term Infrastructure and Capital Investment Framework, which was published on 10th November 2011, sets out the demographic challenge...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that pupils with Down syndrome may receive additional teaching support in primary schools, either under the terms of the General Allocation Model (GAM) of teaching supports, if the pupil's educational psychological assessment places the pupil in the mild general learning disability/high incidence disability category, or through an allocation of individual...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (23 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has approved a building project at the school to which he refers to meet the demographic demand that has been identified in the area in question. In this case, responsibility for the delivery of the project has been accepted by County Clare Vocational Educational Committee.