Results 11,441-11,460 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: As there is a court case, I am not in a position to comment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: I recognise and agree fully that the schools should have been informed, but the policy of the Department at the time, before the protocol was put in place, was to pursue issues with the fire office and the contractor in order to have works conducted. That was the approach taken. In this case, of course, the Department discovered that the undertakings made were not conducted in the manner...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: I understand that in the case of a sealed contract there is a 12-year period for defects. We are consulting with the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in respect of all of the issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Chairman and members.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Legislative Measures (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: Pursuant to Section 41 of the Education Act 1998, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment develops curriculum and provides advice to me on matters relating to the curriculum for early childhood education, primary and post-primary schools. Once curricula are approved by my Department the content is advised to schools through Circular letters. The Rules and Programmes for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Social Personal Health Education (SPHE) curriculum is mandatory at primary level and up to junior cycle at post-primary level. Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) is embedded within SPHE at Junior Cycle level. A framework for Senior Cycle SPHE is available to schools and while its implementation is not mandatory, schools are required to provide an Relationship and Sexuality...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are provided specifically to assist recognised schools to cater for pupils with disabilities, who have additional and significant care needs, in an educational context and where the nature of these care needs have been outlined in medical and other professional reports as being so significant that a pupil will require additional adult assistance in order to be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: The school to which the Deputy refers was approved funding in March 2015 to provide 2 mainstream classrooms with en suite toilets and to convert an existing 40m2classroom into a multi-purpose room. Additional funding was subsequently approved as a contribution towards a GP Hall. However the school has proposed a project which is outside the scope of that normally approved....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, a project to deliver accommodation for the school to which she refers is included on my Department's Capital Programme. The acquisition of a site by my Department is required for the purpose of this project. With the assistance of officials in the relevant local authority, a number of site options were identified and assessed. Of these, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (26 Sep 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 identifying the requirement for additional school places, my Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. ...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: Ballinteer Educate Together National School is currently located on the Notre Dame campus, Upper Churchtown Road, Dublin 14 pending completion of the permanent accommodation for the school at the St. Tiernan’s Community School site in Balally.  Outline planning permission was submitted to the relevant local authority in December 2012 but was refused on the grounds of site access....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Inspections (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: Excluding the members of the Senior Management Team of the Inspectorate, there are currently fifty-five post-primary inspectors in service. With the exception of an inspector who has recently joined the service and is on induction, all regularly engage in inspection. The criteria for appointment as a post-primary inspector are included in the application process which is managed by the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Trade Union Membership (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: The information as requested by the Deputy is being compiled and I will arrange for it to be forwarded to him.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: The number of teachers in the voluntary secondary school sector that were in receipt of the gross additional payment of €796 in lieu of the supervision and substitution allowance in respect of the 2016/2017 school year on 2 June 2017 is 1,113.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Eligibility (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: We have, for the first time, put in place an objective statistics based model for which schools are in or out of the DEIS Plan, so that all stakeholders can have confidence that we are targeting extra resources at areas of greatest need. This model uses data supplied by schools to my Department's Primary and Post Primary Online Databases and CSO Small Area of Population statistics from...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: The project for the school in question is to provide a new 6 classroom special school plus ancillary accommodation to accommodate 36 pupils. Architectural planning has commenced and site surveys are currently being progressed. Also a pre-planning meeting was held with Westmeath County Council on 31 July to discuss the development and inform the design process. When...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (26 Sep 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: Schools Building Projects Data (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: Two new 16 classroom primary schools for Citywest Educate Together National School and Citywest & Saggart Community National School (which opened in September 2012 in suitable interim accommodation at Fortunestown Lane, Citywest) are currently at advanced architectural planning stage. The site acquisition in respect of these schools is also at an advanced stage and on completion the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, a building project for the school to which he refers is included in my Department's Six Year Plan. In this regard, my officials are liaising with South Dublin County Council with a view to finalising the acquisition of the site. Once the acquisition is finalised, it is my Department's intention to initiate the architectural...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Bruton: I proposed to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together. I can confirm that my Department has received a proposal directly from the schools, referred to in the details supplied by the Deputy, relating to a proposed reorganisation of the schools. My Department has not received any correspondence from the Patron regarding the above proposals or in respect of a proposal regarding divestment. My...