Results 12,021-12,040 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am aware of the service provided by the company referred to by the Deputy. This company operates on a commercial basis and consequently, it would not be appropriate to allocate public funding to this service in the absence of a public procurement process.  My Department through the PDST-TIE provides support and guidance to schools on internet safety. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Data (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: 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 data from a range of sources, including the Central...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme Data (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: To date contributions amounting to some €220 million in cash, counselling and property transfers have been made by the 18 religious congregations who managed most of the residential institutions in which child abuse took place. These contributions are being made under two rounds: the legally binding 2002 Indemnity Agreement and the voluntary offers made in 2009 in the aftermath of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: To date contributions amounting to some €220 million in cash, counselling and property transfers have been made by the 18 religious congregations who managed most of the residential institutions in which child abuse took place. These contributions are being made under two rounds: the legally binding 2002 Indemnity Agreement and the voluntary offers made in 2009 in the aftermath of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (5 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department received an application for significant capital funding from the school in question to provide additional school accommodation. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department’s current priority is focused on the provision of essential classroom accommodation to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and where...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for a Partnership Government states that a new model of In-School Speech and Language Therapy will be established. It also contains a commitment to examine the adequacy of the present policies and provision, and their scope for improvement, particularly in relation to speech and language difficulties and early intervention. As Speech and Language Therapists are currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 158 and 159 together. Based on data for the 2015/16 grant scheme, the estimated cost of increasing the 100% maintenance grants by €1,000 would be €26.7m for adjacent students and €29.2m for non-adjacent students. Extending the 100% maintenance grants to postgraduate students and increasing the current values by €1,000, is estimated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that the student grant scheme is not currently available to part-time students. As such, it is difficult to provide costings for this cohort of students. However, based on enrolment data for part-time students provided by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), the estimated cost of increasing the current value of the 100% adjacent and non-adjacent grants by...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I wish to confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has submitted an application to my Department for capital funding for additional school accommodation. The application will be assessed and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as the assessment process has been completed.  The Deputy will be aware that my Department provided...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, the school to which he refers submitted an application to my Department, for significant capital funding for improved school accommodation. The application was considered in the context of the very significant challenges facing my Department in prioritising available capital funding for essential mainstream classrooms to meet the demand for extra...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to inform the Deputy that funding for the school to which is refers has been approved to provide 1 mainstream classroom with en-suite toilets and 1 WC for assisted users.As usual when funding for a building project is approved, this has been conveyed to the School Authority in writing.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Under the Constitution, the State provides for education and where the public good requires it, to provide other educational facilities or institutions rather than to provide education directly. The Education Act 1998, subject to the provisions of that Act, provides that there is made available to each person resident in the State a level and quality of education which is appropriate to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards Staff (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: The person referred to by the Deputy is, I understand an employee of Waterford Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB).  ETBs are statutory authorities which have responsibility for education and training, youth work and a range of other statutory functions. ETBs manage and operate second-level schools, further education colleges, multi-faith community national schools and a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Property (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: There is a charging lease in place on the property referred to by the Deputy which means that I have a vested interest in the property.I can confirm that my Department has received a request from the property owner to release my interest. My Department has considered the above request. In principle, there is no objection to the request to use the property for community purposes....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: Currently, the capitation grant is €170 per pupil at primary level and €296 per pupil at post-primary level. The estimated cost of restoring capitation grants in primary and post-primary schools to pre 2010 levels is circa €35m. I do recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary schools having regard to the aforementioned reductions. The Action Plan for...

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

Richard Bruton: The funding arrangements in the Community & Comprehensive sector and the ETB sector are primarily based on budgets determined by the Department. The enrolment in the individual schools is the main driver of the level of these budgets. The funding arrangements in the Voluntary Secondary School Sector are based on per capita grants provided by the Department. Some equalisation...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Healthy Living Strategies (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department is active in the area of promotion of health and wellbeing in schools. The issue of promoting healthy eating is addressed in schools through subjects such as Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE), and Home Economics as well as in Physical Education. The aim is to equip students with such skills and knowledge to enable them to make appropriate choices for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Mental Health Strategies (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware my Department adopts a holistic and integrated approach to supporting the work of schools in promoting positive mental health and to supporting those with the broad range of problems, behavioural emotional and social. The processes span the curriculum in schools, whole-school ethos, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, student support and pastoral...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: I understand that a range of issues relating to the opening of the school referred to by the Deputy are matters for discussion between Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board and An Foras Pátrúnachta. My Department will continue to work closely with Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board and An Foras Pátrúnachta in relation to the provision of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (4 Jul 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Board of Management is the client for the major building project at the school to which the Deputy refers all correspondence issues from the Design Team to the Board. The Department has not received the Stage 2(b) submission to date. Upon completion of the review of the Stage 2(b), once submitted and subject to no further issues arising, the Department will revert to the school at...