Results 12,281-12,300 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Jun 2017)

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

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Protected Disclosures (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 to 114, inclusive, and 116 together. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which came into effect on 15 July 2014, allows for any employee of a higher education institution (HEI) to make a disclosure to the Chief Executive Officer of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on any matter relating to the funding, planning and development of higher education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Institutions (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department and the HEA have been working closely together in recent years to strengthen governance arrangements in the higher education sector. A key result of this shared commitment to underpin governance arrangements in the sector is the new Governance Framework for the Higher Education System, which was agreed in 2015 following consultation with my Department, the higher...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Protected Disclosures (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 118 together. The Deputy has not named the Institute in question so I can provide only limited information. The Protected Disclosures Act 2014, which came into effect on 15 July 2014, allows for any employee of a higher education institution (HEI) to make a disclosure to the Chief Executive Officer of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on any...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Protected Disclosures (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The conditions governing the payment of salary for Civil Servants while on sick leave are contained in circular 12/2015. Section 3.9 of the circular provides an avenue for a staff member to avail of the Civil Service Employment Assistance Service for the overall wellbeing of the staff member.  Section 3.11 provides a mechanism for a member of staff to apply to extend the period of paid...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Assistance Fund (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 121 and 132 together. In December 2012 An additional €3 million was approved to supplement the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) following a survey conducted by the HEA in relation to the demand for the Fund. This supplementary funding was a once-off exceptional measure which was taken in the context of long grant delays/issues encountered by Student...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Public Relations Contracts Data (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding, along with any funding it receives from private sources, is a matter for individual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Protected Disclosures (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Protected Disclosures Act 2014 provides a framework within which employees can raise concerns regarding potential wrongdoing that has come to their attention in the knowledge that they can avail of appropriate protections if they are penalised by their employer or suffer any detriment for doing so.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (28 Jun 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: Capitation Grants (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department is aware of the research referred to by the Deputy. I do recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years.  The Action Plan for Education outlines hundreds of actions to be implemented over the 3 year period 2016 to 2019 which include restoring capitation funding as resources...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Administration (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: As noted in DEIS Plan 2017 – Supports to schools participating in the School Support Programme come in many forms – additional financial assistance, enhanced grant payments, additional teaching resources, psychological and behavioural supports, access to Home School Community Liaison and School programmes and priority access to School Meals Schemes.  The objective of these...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Panel Rights (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: A value for money review of the Supply Teacher Scheme was published in July 2006. The review found that only approx. 60% of supply teachers' time was used to cover sick leave absences. This reflects the unpredictable nature of sick leave absences. While there are benefits for schools in having these teachers it is considered more cost effective to use the normal substitution arrangements...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Jun 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: English Language Training Organisations (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 129 and 130 together. The majority of English language schools in Ireland are privately run.  The relationship between teachers and private providers of education is based on a private contract, and issues relating to working conditions are a matter between the two parties and do not come under the remit of my Department.  If teachers...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding, along with any funding it receives from private sources, is a matter for the individual...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware of the Action Plan for Education commitment to increase financial supports for postgraduate students with a particular focus on those from low income households. In response to this commitment, I secured additional funding of €4 million in Budget 2017 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants, from September 2017, for the most...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that Budget 2011 provided for a number of student grant measures which came into effect for the 2011/12 academic year, including the change in the assessment of the qualifying distance criterion for the non-adjacent rate of grant from 24 kilometres to 45 kilometres. The 24km distance criterion was originally set in 1968 and had not been updated in more than 40...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The 2017 scheme and regulations were published in late March. The 2017 scheme includes an amendment to the income threshold for the special rate of grant which has increased from €22,703 to €23,000. This change reflects the recent budget increases to the Old Age Contributory Pension and ensures that qualifying families dependent on welfare, will continue to qualify for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Costs (28 Jun 2017)

Richard Bruton: The decision to stop the Gaeltacht placement grants was taken during the economic crisis when, unfortunately, very difficult decisions had to be made to stabilise the nation's finances. Priority was given to protecting resources for front line education services as far as possible, which remains particularly challenging with rising numbers of school-going children. The Deputy should note...