Results 15,161-15,180 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Quality and Qualifications Ireland (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: Legislative amendments are necessary to facilitate the introduction of the International Education Mark (IEM).  These amendments will be contained in the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Amendment) Bill.  The Heads of this Bill are currently being prepared by my Department in consultation with Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).  It is anticipated that the IEM will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Social Insurance Refunds (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I refer to the matter raised by the Deputy. Following consultations with the Department of Social Protection a protocol has been agreed to address the misclassification of PRSI and the underpayment of pension. The Department of Social Protection will refund the Employee PRSI for the statutory four year period and my Department will refund the employee PRSI for the relevant years prior to...

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

Richard Bruton: On approval of a special class in a school my Department provides lump sum grant aid (€6,500 per class) towards the purchase of educational aids and equipment for special needs pupils enrolled in that class. My Department also provides lump sum grant aid (€7,000 per room) towards the purchase of equipment for schools with approval for a multi-sensory room. This funding is...

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

Richard Bruton: The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2016/2017 school year is set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0007/2016) which is available on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the 30 September 2015. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (6 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: Applications for a maintenance grant are means tested based on the reckonable income from the previous tax year. However, article 32 of the Student Grant Scheme provides for a review of eligibility during the academic year, if there is a permanent change in circumstance in respect of certain criteria specified in the scheme. A drop in reckonable income which is likely to obtain for the...

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

Richard Bruton: I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy has submitted an application to my Department for additional accommodation. The application concerned is currently being assessed and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority in due course.

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Transport (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: Níl an freagra as Gaeilge inniu, but I thank the Senator for his kind words. This issue really does not fall into our area. This service was not developed as a school transport service so there has been no communication with my Department about it. As Senators know, we transport some 113,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, and the service has...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: School Transport (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: Unfortunately this is not a school transport service for which I have any role or relationship with Bus Éireann. Bus Éireann only run the services we have agreed with it, based on national criteria. This is one that would not fall into my area. I understand that Bus Éireann has done a lot of restructuring of its services in Galway and has succeeded in building up the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Education and Training Boards (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: Tenders have been received for the project to which the Deputy refers. The Deputy will be aware that construction funding is allocated to a project when it is approved to proceed to site. A decision is taken in this regard in the context of competing demands from other on-going capital projects. As we have not reached this stage and as, in particular, a contract has not yet...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Redress Scheme (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: As I explained to the Deputy is response to his previous Parliamentary Question on this subject the terms of reference and the arrangements for the review of eligibility for services which are supported by Caranua are being considered at present. I hope that the matter will be finalised shortly.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can confirm that my Department has responded to the ETB in question in respect of its proposal to purchase additional land for a substantial extension and refurbishment of the school referred to by the Deputy. A major project for the ETB school referred to is not however included on my Department's 6 year Construction Programme (2016-2021) which is focused on providing essential school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that, Section 2 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, commenced in 2005, provides for the inclusive education of children with special educational needs in an inclusive environment with children who do not have such needs unless the nature or degree of those needs of the child is such that to do so would be inconsistent...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Health and Safety (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act requires school management authorities in their role as employers to ensure the safety and health of their employees. The body which has statutory responsibility for ensuring that health and safety requirements are met by all employers, including schools, is the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). Circular Letter M18/99 "Guidelines on Violence in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Contracts (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: As already stated in response to Parliamentary Question Nos. 220 and 226 of 29 November 2016, a teacher who is a sitting member of the Oireachtas cannot retain their post on a job-sharing or full-time basis while serving as a member of the Oireachtas. This gives effect to the Government decision of 2011 which revised the employment and pension arrangements for teachers who became Oireachtas...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Tribunals of Inquiry Expenditure (1 Dec 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department has not incurred any legal fees in respect of tribunals of inquiry established by the State and any resulting legal actions during the years in question.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank the Chairman and the committee for accommodating us in the taking of the Supplementary Estimate. I am seeking an additional €136 million, of which €100 million is capital expenditure and €36 million is current expenditure. As members can see, some of the subheads show savings, while others show increases. The original allocation for primary and post-primary...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank Deputies for their contributions. The saving on substitution costs is a once-off and not a basis on which we could fund a pay increase in the longer term. There is always an estimating element in deciding different issues and, as we see, superannuation and substitution costs are particularly hard to forecast. Just because there is a saving in one subhead does not mean that we can...

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: Yes, if projects are ready to commence, but readiness involves planning, design, sanction-----

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: No.

Select Committee on Education and Skills: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 26 - Education and Skills (Supplementary) (30 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: A school is included in the programme for a particular year, which means that the Department will engage with the school on delivery in that year. However, the supply chain which involves planning, design, approval, tendering and so on, is of such a length that cannot be fully determined. Therefore, we cannot say it will happen in month X or Y because it depends on the complexity of the...