Results 11,321-11,340 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Fire Safety (4 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that on 26thSeptember my Department announced that it will be putting in a place a comprehensive package of measures to ensure fire safety measures in schools meet best practice.  Ensuring the safety of all those who work and learn in our schools is a main priority of the Department of Education and Skills. These measures are being undertaken as an added...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (4 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: I recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years. It is difficult to make precise comparisons between the levels of grants paid and the actual costs of running schools at primary and post-primary levels.  However it is self-evident that the maintenance and running costs for second level...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil Data Collection (4 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: For school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 geographic areas known as school planning areas which facilitates the orderly planning of school provision and accommodation needs.  In the Navan school planning area, there are 20 primary schools with a total enrolment for the 2016/17 school year of 6,184 primary pupils and 5 post-primary...

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: To reassure the Deputies, to be fair to everyone, a number of alternative sites had to be pursued. It was not an open and shut case of a site being available that could be pursued. This site became available. It is zoned for education purposes so I think that gives security. We are at an advanced stage in that process of conveyancing in that the work has been done and the vendor has...

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: It has been a just-in-time approach. We have had to build for 20,000 places each year and that has necessitated some new schools opening in temporary accommodation while acquisition, delivery and so on are handled.

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is not as if there is a magic formula for nailing down temporary accommodation that can be designed in Marlborough Street.

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: I have seen in my area that there are problems with council applications for temporary accommodation. I take note of the points the two Deputies make and will bring that back to my Department and see if we can finalise plans early so that people have a sense of certainty. That can be easier said than done in individual sites. As the Deputy says, if the gap after the application for the...

Topical Issue Debate: School Accommodation Provision (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. I know it is an issue of considerable concern because this school was opened in 2013 and now has enrolment of up to third class so, clearly, finding permanent accommodation for the school is a priority from the Department's point of view. There were attempts to find a site. We have been working through the memorandum of agreement with Cork...

Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. We are working on the programme for Government. There is a commitment in it to address the primary school pupil-teacher ratio and capitation levels. In the previous two Septembers we increased the number of teachers in our schools by almost 5,000. We have made a very significant investment in additional teachers, including special educational...

Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: That is my hope. These issues require very careful drafting and I am consulting with the Attorney General to make sure that any proposals we bring forward will be robust from a legal and constitutional point of view. I am working on that and hope I will be in a position to bring forward amendments to the Bill.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Statutory Fund (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 to oversee the use of the cash contributions of up to €110 million, pledged by the religious congregations, to support the needs of survivors of institutional child abuse. The processing of individual applications is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Refugee Resettlement Programme (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 138 to 142, inclusive, and 195 together. Individual ETBs provide the following categories of education within the IRPP EROCs: - A transitional primary school programme is provided on-site in individual EROCs. The programme introduces children and their families to the Irish education system whilst also fostering social and personal development and cultural...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Stage 2b process for the major building project at the school to which the Deputy refers has recently been completed. Subsequently, the Department has been in contact with the Board of Management authorizing the progression of the building project to the Tender Stage to appoint a Building Contractor to complete the works. In parallel, the Board of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Eligibility (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: The key data sources used in the DEIS identification process are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases, and CSO data from the National Census of Population as represented in the Pobal HP Index for Small Areas which is a method of measuring the relative affluence or disadvantage of a particular geographical area.  Variables used in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school in question is included in my Department's 6 year Construction Programme. My Department has carried out a site visit at the school in the context of the preparatory work required to advance the project, which will also include determining a schedule of accommodation for the project. My...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: As advised in my response to parliamentary question 167 of 03 May last and subsequent parliamentary question 313 of 26 July, my Department contributed towards the capital cost of the sports hall for the school referred to. In that regard, my Department has no objection in principle to the use of a school’s recreational facilities for community use.   My Department issued a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: The brief for the school referred to by the Deputy is for a new three storey building of 5926m², containing 20 classrooms, Junior/Senior dining area, GP Hall, Library, Special Teacher rooms, Multi- Sensory, Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy rooms, nurse’s area, kitchen, ancillary storage and services. In July of this year, the Stage 2b (Detailed Design) was approved,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools, which have enrolled students with special educational needs, including pupils with Specific Learning Disability (SLD) and Specific Speech and Language Disorder (SSLD) in order to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education.   The National Council for Special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Placement (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: The building project for the new post primary school to serve Carpenterstown/Castleknock is included in my Department’s 6 year construction programme. Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in Fingal County Council in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable location for the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Data (3 Oct 2017)

Richard Bruton: In June 2011, the Government decided to reduce the overall number of vocationaleducation committees (VECs) from 33 to 16. The VECs were dissolved on 1 July 2013 and were replaced with 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs). The change was intended to strengthen locally managed education and enhance the scale of local education and training. It represented a major component of the public...