Results 15,121-15,140 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (7 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that 12,900 Special Needs Assistants (Ss) have been made available for allocation to primary and secondary schools to the end of 2016, at a total gross annual cost of €425 million. This represents 860 more posts, or a 7% increase, in the number of posts over which were available last year. It also represents an increase of 22% since 2011/12 when 10,575 S...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: National Educational Psychological Service (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: For school planning purposes, my Department plans school provision across some 314 school planning areas.  Sallins and Naas towns fall within the Naas school planning area.  Currently five post-primary schools serve the Naas school planning area.  This includes a new 1,000 pupil, multi-denominational, post-primary school, Naas Community College, which opened in 2015 under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that this Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that a permanent accommodation solution for the school to which he refers, has been identified. My Department will be in contact with the school authority in due course. However, due to the sensitivity of the position, my Department is unable to comment further at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can have an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 131 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that a permanent accommodation solution for the school to which he refers, has been identified. My Department will be in contact with the school authority in due course. However, due to the sensitivity of the position, my Department is unable to comment further at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education Grants (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department currently provides more than €400m in student supports to assist some 80,000 disadvantaged students to participate in higher education. Approximately 45% of all undergraduate students in higher education received financial support in the 2015/16 academic year. The principal support is provided for under the statutory based student grant scheme, which makes...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Staff Data (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department does not collect data on the total number of staff in third level education that are engaged, in supporting access for under-represented groups. However, it is my understanding that each publicly funded higher education institution has a full time access and/or a full-time disability officer. In addition, there will also be other staff members within each...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Access to Higher Education (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The HEAR/DARE college admissions scheme is operated and regulated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. For information on the administration and operation of this scheme, the Deputy may wish to contact the Irish Universities Association.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Assistance Fund (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Student Assistance Fund (SAF) is a component of the Third Level Access Measure (TLAM) co-financed by the European Social Fund and is managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of the Department.  The HEA allocate funding to participating institutions. The total amount of funding allocated to SAF in 2016/17 is €7.99m. I understand from the HEA that SAF...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology Funding (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 138 together. My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions, including Institutes of Technology (IoTs) such as Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions and the internal disbursement of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an application for major capital works from the Post Primary school referred to. In this regard, my Department is currently reviewing the demographic demand in the area serviced by the schools referred to.  As the Deputy may be aware my Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Contracts (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: Additional hours requirements were agreed for all public servants as part of recent collective agreements between Government and the Public Services Committee of ICTU, including the employees in question who were re-designated as tutors.  The Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 – 2018 (Lansdowne Road Agreement) contains commitments to the continuing delivery of these hours.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Refurbishment (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Department has no record of receiving an application for grant aid for the works in question. The Deputy will be aware that the school prioritised its electrical works project under the Summer Works Scheme (2016-2017). It is open to the school to apply for grant aid for window replacements under future Summer Works Schemes. In the meantime the school may utilise its minor works in full...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Closures (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, my Department acquires land for the establishment of new schools where a future demographic and diversity need has been identified. It was for the purpose of providing school accommodation to meet future requirements for school places needs, that my Department acquired the property, in question. In that regard, it is intended that the property in question will be the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Preschool Services (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that, in general, school authorities have a considerable degree of autonomy in relation to how their premises are managed and utilised at local level. It should be noted that the vast majority of primary school buildings in the country are in private ownership, including the school referred to by the Deputy. The Department has a general policy of encouraging...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The new schools which will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic demand nationwide were announced in November 2015.  As part of that announcement, it was stated that a Gaelcholáiste to serve the North Kildare area will open in 2019, subject to sufficient viability of the Irish-medium Aonad, which is currently part of Maynooth Community College. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The project to which the Deputy refers has reached an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2b, which involves securing the statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. The design team was appointed to the project for the school in question in March 2011. The brief was to provide an extension and refurbishment work on a phased basis with a partial decant of...