Results 12,321-12,340 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I know from my previous background as an architect that in recessionary times, contractors sometimes undercut other tenders or bids when a project goes out to tender. They are hoping to buy work, in effect, and subsequently claim extras to recoup the margin and bring the project into profit. I understand that under contract law, the client - the building section of the Department in this...

Schools Building Projects (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Yes. It is something that concerns me already because there have been bankruptcies in a number of projects. One must put the completion of the contract out for re-tender and that process is cumbersome, slow and, as a result, costly. It also delays the delivery of the final product for the students and teachers.

School Staffing (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am committed to ensuring that schools employ registered teachers who have the qualifications needed for teaching in recognised schools. This is important in terms of quality provision to pupils and in ensuring qualified and registered teachers can secure employment. My Department recently issued a circular requiring schools to prioritise teachers over unregistered persons and appropriately...

School Staffing (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy opposite, Deputy Crowe and I were at the INTO conference in Sligo just after Easter at which time this issue was hotly debated. It really must be brought to the attention of everybody involved that on short notice it is the principal who is the person who hires the substitute teacher if somebody reports sick or cannot attend. The INTO has given a clear indication to all of its...

School Staffing (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: We will be moving to have in place by autumn a system whereby the school will make available a panel of substitute teachers that it has in mind should a necessity to hire somebody arise and that panel will be open to scrutiny by members of the school community, the board of management and the parents, and perhaps by a wider public if that is necessary. At the same time, teachers who are...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As Minister, I do not make individual decisions regarding the allocation of special needs assistants to a particular child. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is responsible for allocating SNAs to schools. The NCSE is in the process of advising schools of their SNA allocations for the coming school year. Some 10,575 whole-time equivalent posts are being provided for the coming...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I understand the concern the Deputy expressed. I have had it expressed to me by parents in my constituency and around the country, and by many of the Fine Gael and Labour backbench Deputies. I hope the NCSE will be able to respond to the kind of comment Deputy Crowe and others have made in this regard. The value for money report is a revealing document and should be read carefully by every...

Special Educational Needs (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am unsure what the response to getting the statistical data on a county basis will be but I will make inquiries in that regard. If the data are available I will make them available to all Deputies in the House and to Senators as well. The position regarding holding back a certain number of posts was genuinely misunderstood across the sector at the time. It was a good management...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My officials are working on the preparation of legislation to give effect to the Government decision to reconfigure the VEC sector. This will take the form of a Bill that will consolidate the existing nine separate tranches of legislation. Ultimately, the timeframe for implementation of the decision will depend on the passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas. Consequently, it is...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: No. We are consolidating nine separate tranches of legislation. The first Vocational Education Committee Act was in 1930. Since then and as recently as 2001, for various reasons there has been various amending legislation. We are using the reconfiguration of the 33 VECs to update and consolidate into one Act all the relevant legislation regarding the operation of the VECs. We are...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, there are 33 VECs currently. Within that structure, 22 of the chief executive officers, CEOs, are permanent and the others are acting at present. The union representing the 22 CEOs on a professional basis, SIPTU, is in discussion with the Department to evolve a mechanism that will enable the 16 CEO designates for the new entities to be identified in a manner...

Vocational Education Committees (7 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: There is similar thinking on this side of the House in respect of that matter. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, will have responsibility for taking the training element that was FÁS into the space currently occupied by the further education sector and bringing together the disparate elements of the further education components of VEC activities along with what...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers applied to my Department for large scale capital funding for an extension/refurbishment including a GP Room, toilets and ancillary accommodation. In accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects, the project for this school has been assigned a Band 3 rating. Information in respect of the...

Written Answers — Teachers' Remuneration: Teachers' Remuneration (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: This allowance is payable to teachers with specified qualifications working in designated special needs positions. An application from the teacher concerned for payment of this allowance has not been received by my Department. An application form may be obtained by contacting the Teacher/SNA Terms and Conditions Section of my Department.

Written Answers — School Services Staff: School Services Staff (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 88 and 93 together. Chaplain posts are allocated in respect of Community and Comprehensive Schools and designated Community Colleges. The breakdown requested on a county basis is set out below. There are currently 147 whole time equivalent posts allocated in respect of chaplaincy services at a cost of almost €9 million for the 2010/2011 school year. ...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I regret that the economic circumstances of the country are such that I am not in a position to reverse or alter any of the changes to the student grant measures announced in Budget 2011 by the previous Fianna Fáil - Green Party Government. These changes included an increase in the qualifying distance criterion for the non-adjacent rate of grant. I understand the concerns of students with...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to inform the Deputy that 10,575 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts are being provided for SNA support for the coming school year. This is a significant number of posts and unlike other areas of the public sector vacancies are being filled up to this number. It is considered that with equitable and careful management and distribution of these resources that there should be sufficient...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has been in correspondence with the schools referred to by the Deputy regarding the staffing requirements for 2011/12. I understand the concerns raised by the board of management and the principal have now been addressed.

Written Answers — National Framework of Qualifications: National Framework of Qualifications (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Awards made by the provider referred to by the Deputy are not recognised by my Department, whether as equivalent to a particular level of the National Framework of Qualifications or otherwise, and never have been recognised by my Department. Furthermore I am not aware of any contact or correspondence between my Department and the provider concerned regarding the equivalence of their awards....

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (6 Jul 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Academic matters including the admissions criteria for entry to higher education institutions are legally a matter for the institutions themselves. However, I have been informed that the following universities and Institutes of Technology operate a second chance examination aimed at students who do not fulfil the matriculation requirements in Mathematics through their Leaving Certificate...