Results 13,421-13,440 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: Staffing arrangements in Primary Schools, including staffing in DEIS Urban Band 1 Primary Schools, for the 2017/18 school year are governed by Circular 0017/2017 available at the following link - .Post Primary staffing arrangements for 2017/18 are governed by Circular 00010/2017 available at the following link - . DEIS Primary Urban Band 2 and DEIS Primary Rural schools are in receipt of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grants Data (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: Figures for the 2016/17 academic year are not yet finalised. However, in 2015/16 there were 22,240 students in receipt of the special rate. Therefore, the cost of paying these students an additional €10, €20, €30 or €40 per week based on a 36 week period, would cost approximately €8m, €16m, €24m or €32m respectively.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The cost of reversing the change to the distance criteria in the Student Grant, is estimated to be in the region of €26m. Prior to the introduction of the 45 km rule, circa 75% of all maintenance grant holders qualified for higher non-adjacent grant support. The above costing assumes that a change to the distance rule would result in a similar percentage of students...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The links below outline the rates requested by the Deputy which are published on my Department's website.  .

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The estimated cost of increasing the rate of capitation by €5, €10, €15 and €20 per pupil in primary schools is circa €2.9m, €5.8, €8.7m and €11.6m retrospectively. The estimated cost of increasing the rate of capitation by €5, €10, €15 and €20 per pupil in post primary schools is €1.8m,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capitation Grants (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: Each 1% increase in capitation and related grants for primary schools would cost circa €1.9m therefore a 5%, 10% and 15% increase would be circa €9.5m, €19m and €28.5m retrospectively.  Each 1% increase in capitation and related grants for post-primary schools would cost circa €1.7m therefore a 5%, 10% and 15% increase would be circa...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: Budget 2016 introduced a 1 point improvement (from 28:1 to 27:1) to the primary staffing schedule which has been implemented for the current school year and it should be noted that the current staffing schedule of 27:1 for primary schools has restored it to the position it was at prior to the fiscal crisis. The staffing schedule operates on a general average of 27 pupils to every 1...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff Data (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: In the 2014/15 academic year, there were just over 18,000 core staff across the higher education system (whole-time equivalents. This figure encompasses some 9,800 academic staff and 8,300 non-academic staff. These figures do not include contract research staff. There were just over 190,000 students (whole-time equivalents) enrolled in 2014/15 giving an average academic staff:student ratio...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The total recurrent budget allocation for 2017 for the higher education institutions under the designation of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), which includes all of the Universities and Institutes of Technology, is €978.533 million. To increase that budget by 5% would cost the Exchequer an additional €48.927m; by 10% would cost an additional €97.853m; by 15%...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The estimated cost of increasing the student grant rates by 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% or 25% would cost in the region of €9m, €17.8m, €26m, €34.6m or €43.3m respectively.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: Based on the Higher Education Authority (HEA) publication of 'Key Facts and Figures' for Higher Education 2015/16, there were 37,249 part-time undergraduate students and 9,773 part-time postgraduate students. If maintenance and fee grants were introduced for part-time undergraduate and postgraduate students along similar lines to those for full-time students, and similar numbers...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Expenditure (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: I secured additional funding in Budget 2017 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants from September 2017, for the most disadvantaged postgraduate students. This will benefit approximately 1,100 post graduate students who meet the eligibility criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant. It reverses the budgetary cut that was imposed on this cohort of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Children First Act 2015 will, when fully commenced by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, put elements of the Children First-National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children on a statutory footing. The Act provides for a number of key child protection measures, as follows: - A requirement on organisations providing services to children, which includes all...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Legal Cases Data (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The State Claims Agency (SCA) is mandated on behalf of the State to deal with cases of alleged sex abuse in schools.  I have asked that the SCA collate the data and I will then write directly to the Deputy with the information.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, it is my intention to replace all purchased temporary accommodation with permanent accommodation, where the need is established, over the lifetime of my Department's Capital Programme (2016 to 2021). To enable this development, my Department will be carrying out an assessment of the number of prefabs being used in schools to deliver the curriculum. This will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Reports (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector was established in 2011 to advise on how the primary education system could provide a sufficiently diverse range of primary schools and on how all primary schools could become more inclusive. The Report of the Forum Advisory Group was published in April 2012 and made a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring that the education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector recommended in its report that programmes in Education about Religion and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics be developed. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) was asked, in response to the report, to explore the development of such programmes. The NCCA produced a Consultation Paper in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Government is committed to progressing the development of a dynamic and innovative education system that reflects the diversity of twenty-first Century Ireland.  The Programme for a Partnership Government reflects the Government’s objective of strengthening parental choice and further expanding diversity in our school system.  The desire of parents for diversity in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: UN Committees (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland recently appeared before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and my Department was represented on the Irish delegation at official level. In its concluding observations the Committee welcomed measures taken to improve women’s and girls’ access to quality education in Ireland and particularly...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (11 Apr 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department is currently in discussion with the relevant patron body concerning the intake of the school referred to by the Deputy. A decision will be communicated to the patron body as soon as the analysis of the relevant factors has been completed.