Results 13,741-13,760 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The investment which is being made to support children with special educational needs is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government. Funding for special education provision in 2017 will amount to some €1.68 billion, which is equivalent to over 19% of the gross overall current allocation for education and training and an increase of 12% in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Curaclam Scoile (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: Le feidhm ó Mheán Fómhair 2017, beidh dhá shonraíocht (siollabais) nua i gceist le soláthar na sraithe sóisearaí don Ghaeilge i scoileanna agus suíomhanna iar-bhunscoile. Tá an tsonraíocht T1 dírithe ar scoláirí i scoileanna a fheidhmíonn trí mheán na Gaeilge agus ar scoláirí i scoileanna a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Applications (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: Under the statutory based Student Grants Scheme, decisions regarding late applications are matters to be determined by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). The online application system for the 2016/17 academic year, closed on 3 November 2016. Students wishing to make an application after that date must satisfy one of the following criteria in order to be granted access to make a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff Recruitment (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The position is that the body referred to by the Deputy receives staffing approvals from my Department, for categories of staff such as teachers, other school support staff and administration staff. It is a statutory body and has responsibility for employment matters. The way in which staff are recruited and assigned between offices, individual schools, colleges and other...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department has received correspondence from parents of one child attending the school to which the Deputy refers, dating back to May 2016 relating to the issues raised by the Deputy.  The School in question participated in the School Based July Programme for several years up to and including 2015. The school did not participate in 2016. The July Programme is not mandatory and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 154 to 158, inclusive, together. I wish to advise the Deputy that the primary consideration of the Government in establishing the Redress Scheme was to provide justice for people who had been abused in childhood whilst resident in institutions which operated under the supervision of the State. The Government's decision to establish the Redress Scheme was...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Amalgamation (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application for additional funding from the school referred to by the Deputy.  The application is currently being assessed and my Department will be in contact with the school authority in the matter shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating special educational needs supports to schools, including Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support.  The NCSE allocates SNA support in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Protected Disclosures Data (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department has guidance procedures in place and has provided training to relevant officials at Principal Officer level who will act as recipients for the handling of protected disclosures from staff of the Department. The procedures were developed in accordance with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s Guidance for Public Bodies on Protected Disclosures. In...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The Commission in this regard operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The current scheme for the award of incremental credit for teachers was agreed under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council. This Council is comprised of representatives of teachers, school management, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the Department of Education & Skills and is chaired by an official of the Workplace Relations Commission. The application...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: In that regard, my Department understands that the Board of Management for one of the school’s concerned have approached the land owners with a request to retain part of the lands concerned for the benefit of the school. As the schools and lands, referred to by the Deputy, are in private ownership, issues pertaining to the school site and lands available for school use would be a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: DEIS Scheme (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Parliamentary Questions Nos. 166 to 172, inclusive, together. DEIS is my Department's main policy initiative to tackle educational disadvantage. The DEIS Plan for 2017 sets out our vision for future intervention in the critical area of social inclusion in education policy. In its initial application, the new identification model has identified that there are schools in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Brexit Issues (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department continues to work on risk assessment and contingency planning for Brexit and is participating in the Inter-Departmental Senior Officials Group that is preparing the response to the outcome of the UK referendum and that serves the Cabinet Committee on Brexit.  My Department actively participates on two of Six Sectoral Brexit Workgroups established to provide key sectoral or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The curriculum in schools must meet an extensive range of needs in catering for the cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social, physical and moral development of students, and in preparing them for the demands of citizenship, lifelong learning and social and economic participation. Key messages arising from evaluations of the curriculum relate to overload, and the need to make more...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: Measures announced by my Department as part of Budget 2016 and 2017 mean that 400 guidance posts, or two thirds of the guidance allocation that was withdrawn in Budget 2012, will be restored to schools from September 2017. I have made it clear that all these 400 posts are allocated separately and transparently and outside of the quota on the normal schedule of posts. This...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Insurance Costs (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department is guided in its consideration of the need for insurance by the stipulations of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Public Financial Procedures guidance manual. Section C.8(11 and 12) of the Public Financial Procedures provides guidance for all Government Departments in regard to their consideration of insurance...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department does not provide funding to pre-school services other than in early intervention classes in recognised primary schools or special schools.  Supports for childcare, including pre-school education, are provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. The principal vehicle for the delivery of pre-school education is the free Pre-School Year in Early Childhood Care...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Home Tuition Scheme Staff (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy's question refers to the change in payment arrangements for the Home Tuition scheme administered by my Department since September 2015. Under the Home Tuition Scheme, Home Tutors have always been engaged by the parents/guardian of the child who is to receive tuition. Home tutors do not have a contractual relationship with the Department of Education and Skills. The change in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (28 Mar 2017)

Richard Bruton: Measures announced by my Department as part of Budget 2016 and 2017 mean that 400 guidance posts, or two thirds of the guidance allocation that was withdrawn in Budget 2012, will be restored to schools from September 2017.  The restoration of the remaining 200 posts will be considered in future Budgets.  I have made it clear that all these 400 posts...