Results 12,001-12,020 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff Data (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 114 and 118 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's Circulars 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools were published on 7 March 2017. These Circulars set out the details of a new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. The revised allocation process replaces the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Administration (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 115, 116 and 119 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department uses a Geographical Information System (GIS) to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. The GIS uses...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Assessments (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools in the 2017/18 school year.  This Budget represents the start of a major reinvestment in education, and the first phase of implementation of the Action Plan for Education, aimed at becoming the best education system in Europe within a decade.  The budget provides for over 2,400 additional teaching posts for our...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Digital Strategy for Schools (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020 (Enhancing Teaching, Learning & Assessment), launched in October 2015, sets out a clear vision that is focused on realising the potential of digital technologies to transform the learning experience of students by helping them become engaged thinkers, active learners, knowledge constructors and global citizens who participate fully in society...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department is very aware of the importance of small schools to rural communities and particularly the most dispersed and remote communities. To sustain primary schools in these communities my Department has a more favourable staffing schedule for small schools that are more than 8km distant from the next nearest school of the same type of patronage and language of instruction. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Education (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Higher Education Institutions, which have primary responsibility for the quality of their course provision, have quality assurance procedures in place, having had regard to Guidelines from Quality and Qualifications Ireland. In addition to encompassing regular periodic reviews of study programmes, institutions are also encouraged to undertake quality reviews of academic,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Autism Support Services (6 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is the policy of my Department that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Broadband Service Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 to 106, inclusive, together. Through the Schools Broadband Access Programme, the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary, post-primary and special schools. The overall policy of my Department is to offer the best quality connectivity to all schools in line with technical solutions available in the market and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Educational Disadvantage (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) college admissions scheme is operated and regulated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. The HEAR is a college and university admissions scheme which offers places on the basis of lower Leaving Certificate points and extra college support to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post-primary schools were published on 7 March 2017. These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. The revised allocation process replaces the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is the policy of my Department that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is the policy of my Department that all children with Special Educational Needs, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Assessments (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases receive assessment services through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Under this scheme schools can have a student assessment carried...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an appeal from the school in question relating to its application under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) (2016-2017). My Department is considering the appeal and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as this process has been completed.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Expenditure (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The 2014/15 consolidated financial statements for University College Cork were submitted to my Department last May and were then laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. I have forward a copy of those accounts for the Deputy's information. The accounts for 2015/16 have not yet been signed off by the Comptroller and Auditor General but once finalized and received by my...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are provided 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 able to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Procurement Contracts Data (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) and the procurement hubs in the Health, Education, Local Authority and Defence sectors are the main sourcing organisations given responsibility under the Procurement Reform Plan to establish centralised procurement framework agreements.  These framework agreements and contracts are available to all public sector bodies to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Officials from my Department have been working closely with Laois County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites in order to identify and procure a suitable site for the new post-primary school to open in Portlaoise in September 2017. A number of potential site options were identified and assessed and a shortlist of preferred site options is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The criteria for the award of Incremental Credit, for qualified teaching service given in a private second level school, are set out in my Department's Circular 29/2010. These criteria were agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council. This Council is comprised of representatives of the teacher unions, school management bodies, the Department of Public Expenditure...