Results 1,321-1,340 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Third Level Maintenance Grant Schemes, are administered by the Local Authorities and Vocational Education Committees' on behalf of my Department. The arrangement for the payment of grants and refunds of student service charges under the grant schemes are a matter for the administering authorities. Officials in Longford Vocational Education Committee have confirmed that the candidate...
- Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: Emergency works grants are made available to those schools most in need of resources as a result of unforeseen emergencies of a capital nature that may arise during the school year. Primary, Secondary and VEC schools which have suffered damage due to flooding during the recent inclement weather should, in the first instance, contact their insurance companies. Community and Comprensive schools...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Forward Planning Section of my Department has carried out a study of the country to identify the areas where, due to demographic changes, there may be a requirement for significant additional school provision at both primary and post-primary levels over the coming years. This study has been conducted using data from the Central Statistics Office, the General Register Office and the...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: As you are aware, a total of â¬79m of my Department's capital budget in 2009 is being carried forward to 2010. Of the total amount, â¬72m is being allocated to primary schools' capital and the remainder of â¬7m to my Department's Information & Communications Technology Policy area towards payment of capital grants to schools as I announced towards the end of last year. The â¬72m...
- Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The allocation for higher education capital in 2010 is â¬141m The allocation will allow me to continue the programme of investment in upgrading and modernising undergraduate facilities at institutes of technology, universities and other colleges around the country. â¬46m of this allocation will be specifically targeted at research. In terms of mainstream projects my Department currently has...
- Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy is aware the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) was established under the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, 2004 to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities with particular emphasis on children. Section 21 of the EPSEN Act sets out the process required to be followed...
- Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: Over 2,300 schools submitted applications by the closing date on 27 November 2009 in respect of the Summer Works Scheme 2010. Following an assessment process which is currently underway, projects will be selected for funding from all valid and approved applications on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria published with the Scheme. When the assessment process is...
- Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: Since 1 January 2010, all schools, including those within the DEIS programme, are liable for full metered water charges. In order to avoid substantial increases in their water charges, it is essential that schools put in place water conservation measures. Actions that schools can take in this regard were included in Circular 46/2008, issued by my Department in April 2008. Schools were advised...
- Written Answers — Site Acquisition: Site Acquisition (26 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: I wish to advise the Deputy the acquistion of the site will be considered in the context of the capital budget available to the Department for school buildings generally.
- Written Answers — Departmental Websites: Departmental Websites (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: My Department has one website. The annual cost of maintaining the website is approximately â¬21,000. This figure includes a contribution of â¬6,929 to the Local Government Computer Services Board (LGCSB) for hosting the website. In 2009 the website attracted 568,429 unique visitors.
- Written Answers — Schools Building Programme: Schools Building Programme (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The proposed allocation for the primary and post primary school building programme for 2010 is â¬578.8 million. Details providing an overview of the 2009 schools building programme, including the information requested by the Deputy, along with a listing of all projects currently in architectural planning are available on my Departments web-site. Copies of the relevant tables are as follows....
- Written Answers — Summer Works Scheme: Summer Works Scheme (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: I can confirm that an application under the Summer Works Scheme 2010 has been received from the School to which the Deputy refers. Following an assessment process, projects will be selected for funding from all valid and approved applications on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria published with the Scheme. The timetable for the Summer Works Scheme 2010 has been...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The total numbers of students in receipt of Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) allowances for 1996, 2007 and 2008 is attached. It is not possible to indicate how many of these were grant-holders, although only "dispersed" VTOS students are eligible to apply for a maintenance grant - the majority "core" VTOS students are not. Students currently in receipt of the BTEA or VTOS...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: It was decided to discontinue the practice of allowing students to hold both the Back to Education Allowance and a student maintenance grant simultaneously as this represents a duplication of income support payments. The Deputy will appreciate that many categories of applicants apply for funding under the maintenance grant schemes. My Department does not collate information specifically on...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Higher Education Authority has provisionally indicated a 6% increase in new entrants to third level education between the academic year 2008-2009 and 2009-2010. Information from the Central Applications Office also confirms that attendance in third level education is being maintained and has, in fact, increased. In 2008, the number of applications was 68,809 while the number in 2009 was...
- Written Answers — School Staffing: School Staffing (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: 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 (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The school in...
- Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: The Grangegorman Development Agency Act 2005 provides for a total membership of 15 in the agency including the chairperson and chief executive officer. I appointed the new board of the agency in late 2009. There is no specific provision for a student or staff representative from the Dublin Institute of Technology on the agency. The legislation does provide that two ordinary members of the...
- Written Answers — Higher Education Grants: Higher Education Grants (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy may be aware the position is that in the context of budgetary discussions regarding overall funding and proposals for fee changes at a sectoral level, third level institutions are autonomous bodies and may determine the level of fees to be charged in cases where the free fees schemes do not apply. As such, post-graduate level fees are set by individual higher education...
- Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy may be aware, the summer works scheme was deferred in 2008. Under the summer works scheme 2009, 52 schools in County Galway were allocated funding, 34 were primary and 18 were post primary schools. There were no Galway schools that declined the offer of SWS funding in 2009. A list of successful projects in Galway follows. The list contains the final grant amount where the...
- Written Answers — School Textbooks: School Textbooks (20 Jan 2010)
Batt O'Keeffe: Apart from a small number of prescribed texts at second-level, mainly in the case of language subjects, decisions on which textbooks to use in first and second-level schools are taken at school level, and I have no plans to regulate this area. Syllabus planners are conscious of the need to avoid over-frequent changes to textbooks, primarily in order to minimise increases in the cost burden...