Results 12,821-12,840 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Student Support Schemes: Student Support Schemes (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Under my Department's student grant schemes, eligible candidates may receive funding provided they are attending an approved course at an approved institution as defined in the relevant scheme. I understand that the college referred to by the Deputy is a private college and is not on the list of approved institutions for student grant purposes. The Deputy will appreciate that, in the current...

Written Answers — School Curriculum: School Curriculum (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Work on a revised syllabus for Agricultural Science has largely been completed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). However, the assessment arrangements for the revised syllabus have not yet been finalised as they will have to be considered in the context of the assessment of other senior cycle science subjects, including the introduction of a second assessment...

Written Answers — Íocaíochtaí Deontas: Íocaíochtaí Deontas (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Táim ábalta a dheimhniú gur ndearna an scoil dá dtagraíonn an Teachta iarratas ar chuid de na fuinneoga a athrú faoin Scéim Oibreacha Samhraidh 2011. Fógraíodh liosta de 453 scoil an 30 Márta 2011. Faoi mhaoiniú Scéim Oibreacha Samhraidh na bliana seo tugadh tosaíocht d'iarratais ó scoileanna ar oibreacha gáis, meicniúla agus leictreachais agus tá aiféala orm nár...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The current redeployment arrangements apply in schools and VECs who have a surplus of permanent and/or CID holding teachers. The redeployment scheme that was introduced this year includes provision for further discussions with the relevant stakeholders in Autumn 2011 with a view to having a pilot scheme in operation as soon as is practicable for transfers on a voluntary basis.

Written Answers — Redundancy Payments: Redundancy Payments (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The redundancy payment for the person referred to by the deputy, will be paid to her on the 09th June 2011. My Department will advise the person referred to on the matter in the near future.

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (31 May 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...

Written Answers — School Accommodation: School Accommodation (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has recently applied to my Department seeking funding to provide additional accommodation. This application is currently being assessed. Officials in my Department will convey a decision on the application to the school authority when the assessment process has been completed.

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The redeployment panels that have been published consist solely of surplus permanent-CID teachers who are fully registered with the Teaching Council. The next stage of the redeployment panels will consist of fixed-term primary teachers who are fully registered with the Teaching Council and who have a minimum of five years service. The supplementary panels consist of fixed-term teachers who...

Written Answers — Ministerial Staff: Ministerial Staff (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Since I have taken office I have appointed 2 special advisers as follows: Mr. John Walshe Salary €92,672 per annum. Mr. Walshe has extensive experience of the education sector and he will assist me in formulating future educational policy. Ms. Deirdre Grant Ms. Grant has been appointed as Director of Communications. She formerly worked in media relations. She will assist me in...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating Resource Teachers and Special Needs Assistants to schools to support children with special educational needs. SENOs also make recommendations to my Department where assistive technology is required. The NCSE...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: An application under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme for window replacement has been received from the school referred to by the Deputy. The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme is solely for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for special needs pupils. An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life,...

Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: In terms of regime, the Deputy will probably be aware that, currently, there are four student grant schemes administered by 66 grant awarding bodies (local authorities and VECs) on my Department's behalf. However, earlier this year, the Student Support Act became law. This paves the way to consolidate the four existing schemes into a single unified scheme and I intend that this will happen...

Written Answers — Language Schools: Language Schools (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: English language schools targeted at international students are primarily operated by the private sector. There are no grants available from my Department to fund the start up costs of such schools.

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to inform the Deputy that there has been no overall reduction in the number of Special Needs Assistants in our education system. The Deputy will be aware that it is necessary to ensure that educational services are delivered within the resources available due to the current fiscal position. I intend to prioritise and support special educational services. However, I cannot re-visit...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Significant support is given to schools by way of language support provision. The level of extra teaching support provided in respect of language support to any school is determined by the numbers of eligible pupils enrolled and the associated assessed levels of those pupils' language proficiency. This is done through an annual application process in the Spring-Summer of each year. My...

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I am assuming that the Deputy is referring to the former premises of the school to which he refers. I can confirm to the Deputy that this property is not in my ownership and a technical examination completed by my Department has determined that the property is not suitable for future school accommodation. As such it is not my intention to pursue a transfer of all or part of this property to...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that there is no curtailment to Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Services, which is a major component of DEIS, (Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. The current provision of HSCL services will remain in the 200 post primary and 345 urban primary schools participating in DEIS. The process of allocating...

Written Answers — Home-School Liaison Scheme: Home-School Liaison Scheme (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 143 and 144 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that there is no curtailment to Home-School Community Liaison (HSCL) Services, which is a major component of DEIS, (Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. The current provision of HSCL services will remain in the 200 post primary and 345 urban primary...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 6 (1) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964 provides that the father and mother of an infant shall be guardians of the infant jointly. Section 19(2) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 provides that a parent who has applied to enrol their child in a school may be required to provide that school with such information as may be prescribed by the Minister. The Act does not...

Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (31 May 2011)

Ruairi Quinn: The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule for the 2011-2012 school year was published on my Department's website in March 2011. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an...