Results 12,761-12,780 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — School Services Staff: School Services Staff (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The public service pensions-related deduction applies to public servants working in public service bodies who contribute to a pension scheme, or who receive a payment in lieu of such a contribution. Employees who do not contribute to a public service pension scheme are not subject to the public service pensions-related deduction.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: A letter setting out the background and the details of the redundancy payment issued to the person referred to by the Deputy on 6 May. The issues raised in the details supplied with the Parliamentary Question are being examined by my Department and a response will issue directly to the person.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: In accordance with normal practice for settlements of this type and to protect the commercial interests of the parties involved, the settlement agreement contained a confidentiality clause. The settlement agreement was negotiated between the parties with legal advice and involved a number of claims and counterclaims on each side. As a result the outstanding amounts due by both parties were in...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports. This includes the allocation of resource teaching hours to schools as well as the establishment of special classes...

Written Answers — State Examinations: State Examinations (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Legally, the entry criteria for programmes of higher education are matters for decision by the institutions themselves. I have asked the higher education interests to examine the scope of reform of the CAO points system to address some of the negative effects on students' learning in senior cycle. I look forward with interest to the debate on this important area.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating special needs resources to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The NCSE will continue to support schools,...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: While the student grant schemes do not extend to postgraduate study outside Ireland, Section 473A, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, as amended by Section 11 of the Finance Act 2011, provides for tax relief, at the standard rate of tax, for tuition fees paid in respect of approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including certain approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The current provision of Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) services will remain in the 200 post-primary and 345 urban primary schools participating in DEIS. The process of allocating teaching resources to schools for the 2011/12 school year and the arrangements for filling vacant or new teaching positions takes place in the context of the Programme for National Recovery, the EU/IMF...

Written Answers — Third Level Staff: Third Level Staff (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together. The standard contract for lecturers in the IoT sector commits them to deliver a maximum of 560 teaching contact hours per year, with a norm of 16 teaching contact hours per week. There is no specified contact hours in the contracts of university lecturers. I am not aware of any audit to ascertain the average number of contact hours per...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am aware of the difficulties currently faced by the construction sector. The purpose of requiring contractors engaged on school building projects to have a Performance Bond in place is to provide security for the State in the event of a Contractor becoming insolvent and no longer in a position to complete the contract. Should difficulties arise on any school building project, my...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am aware of the situation to which the Deputy refers, in which a receiver has been appointed over the contractors originally engaged on the school building project. Officials in my Department are liaising with the receiver with regard to next steps.

Written Answers — Teaching Qualifications: Teaching Qualifications (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Teacher qualifications, including those relating to Irish, are designed to equip teachers to teach in all publicly funded posts, and it is important that we do not construct barriers to redeployment. Flexible redeployment arrangements are required in order to ensure all surplus permanent teachers are redeployed into vacancies. The country simply cannot afford to have surplus teachers in a...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Department Circular 30/2011 sets out the arrangements for the deployment of resource teaching posts in schools for the 2011/12 school year. The purpose of this circular is to inform schools of the arrangements that are being put in place for the 2011/12 school year in respect of their NCSE approved resource hours so that posts are deployed in line with authorised allocations. The Department's...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that participation in my Department's July Provision Scheme is an option for all special schools and mainstream primary schools with special classes catering for children with autism or severe to profound general learning disability that choose to extend their education services through the month of July. Home-based tuition of ten hours per week for the four weeks in...

Written Answers — Rural Schools: Rural Schools (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I take it the Deputy's question relates to this school in the context of the value for money review on small schools which is under way at present. The value for money review on small schools is part of the normal review processes undertaken by all Departments on an annual basis on selected areas of expenditure and is being conducted in line with the standard procedure for value for money...

Written Answers — Services for People with Disabilities: Services for People with Disabilities (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Springboard is not a general education measure. It is a specific initiative targeted at unemployed people who have lost jobs in sectors where employment will not return to previous levels and who will need new qualifications and skills to re-enter employment. It is not targeted at people who have never been in employment or at those who may have lost their job as a result of an illness or...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The school to which the Deputy refers attended a briefing in my Department in February regarding the tendering process for design team appointment. It is intended that the tendering process for this school building project will commence shortly. Officials from my Department will contact the school authority when the tendering process is about to commence.

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The annual statistical returns for the 2010/11 academic year, which are made to my Department by the 66 grant awarding authorities, are not due to be filed until later in the Summer. However, without prejudice to the content of those returns and based on previous trends, it is estimated that some 30% of the student grant cohort is likely to be in the mature student category. This would...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: An official from my Department has been in contact with the school referred to by the Deputy. The Principal has confirmed that a pupil with the same name as the pupil in question will be attending the school in September 2011. However, the pupil's date of birth differs from that supplied by the Deputy. A report provided to the school in support of a request for assistive technology did not...

Written Answers — School Transport: School Transport (7 Jun 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The changes to school transport services were announced in the 2011 Budget by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and derive from a recommendation in the Value for Money Review of the scheme. These changes include the requirement that a minimum of ten eligible pupils, residing in a distinct locality, will be required to retain or establish a school transport service from 2011/12...