Results 14,861-14,880 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Priority Questions: Third Level Funding (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is not true that we are duplicating because any envisaged future outlined by Peter Cassells and his committee would envisage an increased contribution from the Exchequer and an increased contribution from employers. We are advancing that with an April deadline so that we are in a position come next year's budget to indicate a future path for the funding of higher education. In this...

Priority Questions: Third Level Funding (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I do not think this is envisaged as some sort of commercialisation. At the moment, people pay fees so there are student contributions and students or their parents must find them while they are studying. The report suggests that we look at an alternative where people do not pay anything while they are studying but there is a recovery when their income goes over a certain figure and that...

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department's capital programme continues to address the challenge posed by a rapidly increasing school population. To meet this demographic challenge, my Department's six-year construction programme for 2016-21 details 310 school projects that are being progressed through the architectural planning process towards tender and construction. The...

Priority Questions: School Curriculum (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: First, I reassure the Deputy that we are not falling behind, in the sense that at third level we are at the top in Europe in terms of the take-up of STEM. Our performance in the recent PISA results in both mathematics and science is very strong but there is room for improvement. The Deputy is correct to recognise that this is an area where action is needed. Recently Brian MacCraith...

Priority Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I will ask my officials to look at the possibility of doing what Deputy Boyd Barrett suggests. By way of context, it is down to individual schools to decide what material they put into their journals. There is not a central direction in respect of the material in journals that schools put together. It is up to the schools to develop them. What we do is provide guidelines for schools, both...

Priority Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I will ask my officials to examine how this can be best approached. What we are trying to do is make sure that the school environment is one in which young people feel safe, supported, confident, resilient and have the ability to look for help for themselves and the confidence not to feel there is any stigma attached to looking for help and having the resources available either from directly...

Priority Questions: Schools Mental Health Strategies (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department is represented on the task force chaired by the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, which specifically targets youth mental health. We are very keen that we come forward with initiatives through the education system that can support what is a very serious challenge for us. I look forward to developing the issue. I have undertaken an audit of our activity in this area with a...

Priority Questions: Third Level Funding (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The report of the expert group on the future funding for higher education sets out a number of funding options for the sector with income contingent loans being just one of those options. Other options include a predominantly State-funded system or a State-funded system supplemented with continuing student fees. As the Deputy is aware, the report is currently with the Oireachtas...

Priority Questions: School Curriculum (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, in which respect there have been developments across the primary and post-primary sectors. The Action Plan for Education includes a commitment to developing a new subject specification for leaving certificate computer science, which will help to harness and develop student interest in this strategically important discipline. In this...

Priority Questions: School Curriculum (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: It is important to highlight the fact that the Department has, since before my time there, had a strategy in place to integrate digital into the education system. There are two major elements to this, the first of which is the roll-out of ICT programmes for children. The second is the availing of ICT's potential in the teaching of all subjects. There is a strategy to develop this aspect...

Priority Questions: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Deputy for raising this. As he rightly points out, the new action plan for educational inclusion will be published in the coming weeks. This follows a detailed review of all aspects of the so-called DEIS programme, including the range and impact of different elements of the school support programme, the potential for innovation within and between schools, and its scope for...

Priority Questions: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The impact of the DEIS programme has been positive. We have seen positive improvements in both literacy and numeracy in the schools but they have not closed the gap. It is clear that the programme is effective but it needs to do better. On the question the Deputy raises, there has been no new school in the programme since 2009. It is in that year that the embargo was imposed.

Priority Questions: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: Until we apply the new model, we will not know the exact number of schools that will come up for inclusion in the 2017-18 year. I have, however, secured resources in the recent budget to provide for an increased number of participating schools and also to fund some new initiatives that would respond to some of the issues the Deputy rightly adverts to in the ESRI recommendations on the issue.

Priority Questions: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: We have not got the numbers at this stage. That will depend on the application of the detailed model, which is based on CSO and departmental data. We are however, making provision for a significant number of schools, but that number will be finalised only when we complete the research.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology Funding (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: My Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) are aware of the financial difficulties being experienced by a number of the Institutes of Technology (IoTs), including Letterkenny IoT. The HEA has been closely monitoring the financial position of all of the IoTs and in particular is working closely with those Institutes operating in deficit to ensure appropriate mechanisms are put in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with Special Educational Needs, including establishing special classes in mainstream primary and post primary schools. Progress in developing the network of Special Classes has been significant. In 2011 there were 548 special classes, of which 224 were primary ASD classes, 72...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: A great deal of work has gone into the review of the DEIS Programme which began in 2015 and is progressing very well and it is my intention to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion in the coming weeks. The review process has looked at all aspects of DEIS, including the range and impact of different elements of the School Support Programme, the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: In September, I launched the first ever Action Plan for Education aimed at making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. This plan, which incorporates my Department's Strategy Statement as well as the Action Plan of Education outlines over one hundred actions to be implemented across the period 2016-2019. It provides the strategic framework for planning and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: The delivery of the new education campus at Ballinrea, Carrigaline has been devolved to Cork Education & Training Board (CETB). Planning permission has been received for the three schools following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.  To comply with recent changes to the Public Works Contract, the Design Team was requested to assess the additional work that needs to be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Policy (18 Jan 2017)

Richard Bruton: In September, I launched the first ever Action Plan for Education. It set out the overall ambition of making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. The plan itself focuses on the period 2016-2019 and outlines over one hundred actions to be implemented across the period. It provides the strategic framework for planning and reporting across the...