Results 11,301-11,320 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy knows, these matters are still under consideration. Budgetary decisions have yet to be finalised. I will bear in mind what the Deputy has said.

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I do not know how many times it has to be conveyed to the Fianna Fáil Party that this country has lost its economic sovereignty. It was signed away 12 months ago by a Government of which Deputy Smith was a member. We control neither the chequebook nor the policy in relation to a range of items of public expenditure. We have to work within that constraint. We will do whatever we can to...

Third Level Funding (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand what the Deputy is saying. I also understand why he is saying it.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together. I do not propose to give any specific commitment on the overall number of teaching posts in the education sector or on any changes to the pupil-teacher ratio and the impact it could have. These are issues that I am considering with my colleagues in Cabinet in the context of the forthcoming budget discussions and meeting our obligations under...

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy has been in the House for many years and she knows that asking a specific budgetary question three weeks from budget day is like trying to ask about the outcome of a football match before the game is over. It is still on. The Deputy will get all the answers to all the questions in due course but I need time to discuss them first with my Cabinet colleagues.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I share the concern of the Deputy and I am endeavouring to do the best I can in regard to these matters. However, as a former Minister, the Deputy will know that in Departments such as the Department of Health or the Department of Education and Skills, in particular, 80% of the budget is centred around salaries and related costs. Therefore, the room for manoeuvre is confined to that 20%...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Teachers will be supported in implementing junior cycle reform through the professional development service for teachers, focusing on the syllabus changes, assessment and school moderation. The assessment and consideration of the resource implications of the proposals have begun. These will, of course, fall to be considered in the normal way by Government in the context of the Estimates and...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I do not know why there is such concern in the history and geography teaching communities about a fall-off in the study of their subjects. The take-up in the junior certificate examination this year was 90.2% for history and 91.5% for geography, making them the fifth and fourth most popular subjects respectively. While in the leaving certificate the percentages differ due to a wider range...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The courses offered at the teacher training colleges will go from three to four years while the HDip offered in other education institutions will be extended from a one-year course to a two-year course. The concentration of the extra time and resources will be on pedagogic skills. As the Deputy can testify, and from all the advice I have received, a good teacher is a good deliverer of good...

State Examinations (16 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, NCCA, in October 2011 following an extensive consultation process. It envisages all students will be expected to achieve 24 statements of learning over the three years of their junior cycle. These include developing an understanding of the natural...

State Examinations (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: There are some statistics available on the number of subjects junior cycle students take. I will make them available to Deputies later to better inform them of the situation. The Deputy is correct that we have suggested that schools, on a voluntary basis, could reduce the number of subjects in which junior certificate examinations are taken to figure out the implications of the cap....

School Staffing (16 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Applications for part-time language support at primary level relate to schools that have less than 14 eligible pupils for language support. Decisions on these applications were deferred until the autumn, having regard to the overall level of demand for full-time language support and other upward pressures on teacher numbers in the context of operating under a fixed ceiling on teacher...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has not provided support for the programme referred to by the Deputy, which I understand was run as a pilot project in some schools. The Deputy will be aware that a Comprehensive Expenditure Review is ongoing in all Government Departments at the request of the Minister of Public Expenditure and Reform and due to the current economic climate the funding for new programmes,...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority. The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form, including those relating to reckonable income, it would not be possible for me to say why a student's level of grant was reduced. Where a grant...

Written Answers — Traveller Education: Traveller Education (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, established the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) charged with ensuring that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. While responsibility for the National...

Written Answers — Overseas Student Enrolments: Overseas Student Enrolments (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: HETAC seeks the Personal Public Services Number (PPSN) as part of its learner registration processes. HETAC is aware that certain learners may not have a PPSN available at registration. In these circumstances, an alternative identifier is generated by HETAC. FETAC requires students to have a PPSN or its UK equivalent for the purpose of certification of learning and uses them as a unique...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I have made no changes to the qualifying year for assessing reckonable income for the self-employed for the student grant. For 2011/2012 academic year all relevant income arising between 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 is considered. The same approach was used for previous academic years. The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a third-level admissions scheme for students from...

Written Answers — School Enrolments: School Enrolments (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of individual schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or, occasionally, on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating teaching staff and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to special schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Departments criteria in allocating such support, which now...

Written Answers — School Patronage: School Patronage (15 Nov 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy may be aware I announced new criteria on 27 June 2011 in relation to the establishment of new second level schools. As part of the new procedures it was clearly stated that an initial decision would be made by the Department on whether the new schools would operate through the medium of Irish or English. Applications would then be sought from prospective patrons when this...