Results 15,401-15,420 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016: Second Stage (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am very pleased to be introducing this Bill to the House. A similar Bill was drafted in the previous Oireachtas but did not make it through. This is part of a suite of measures I believe we need to introduce in the education area that will equip our education service to meet and respond to the expectations of citizens for a...

Other Questions: School Accommodation (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am surprised at the Deputy giving out about evidence-based policy making when she did that also when she was in her Department. She set up a review before she made policy decisions and committed public money. That is the way I approach this issue, and it is the right way to approach it. We have very senior officials working on it, including the Assistant Secretary from the Department of...

Other Questions: Teachers' Remuneration (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: We dealt with a similar question just a short time ago from Deputy Paul Murphy. I explained to him that-----

Other Questions: Teachers' Remuneration (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: -----the way in which teachers are employed involves increments so that they are not paid equal amounts. It depends on their experience. One teacher could earn up to €60,000. However, a person recruited last year will under the deal I negotiated see an increase of €6,700 in their pay to €37,700 in January 2018. As Deputy Boyd Barrett is aware, during the crash there...

Other Questions: Teachers' Remuneration (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: As I explained to the Deputy, during the recession restrictions were imposed on the pay of new entrants. That applied right across the public service. It is not a matter solely for teachers. That is an issue that has been tabled within the context of the Lansdowne Road agreement. We sat down with the teaching unions that signed up to that agreement, namely, the Teachers Union of Ireland,...

Other Questions: Teachers' Remuneration (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: It is worth pointing out to the Deputy that differences in pay for new entrants to those who are already working in the area for a considerable period are not unheard of in other parts of the economy and it is not confined to the public service - would that it were. The reality is that there have been big changes in the way people are paid in the private sector and one of those features has...

Other Questions: School Accommodation (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: This issue is addressed in the programme for Government. My Department is working closely with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to consider how to facilitate schools that wish to make their facilities available as part of the range of options for parents where demand exists. In general, school authorities have a considerable degree of autonomy in respect of how their premises...

Other Questions: School Accommodation Provision (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I understand the Deputy is going to sit down with the senior official dealing with this area. I am very happy that will take place. The Department has to work on the basis of catchments and identify whether there are available places within that catchment that are within reasonable reach of pupils. That is the approach that has been taken. There does not seem to be an overall capacity...

Other Questions: School Accommodation Provision (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: There are 15 projects in architectural planning in Meath. They go right across Navan, Dunboyne, Julianstown, Laytown, Ashbourne, Trim, Nobber and more beyond that. There is a very substantial flow of projects that are already committed to, which are meeting the planned expansion of the catchment. I am happy to facilitate sitting down with the Deputy to see if there are particular problems...

Other Questions: Back to Education Allowance (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: The programme for Government contains a commitment to commission an independent examination to identify the supports and barriers to accessing higher education for lone parents and to examine measures to increase participation. In line with this commitment, my Department engaged a multidisciplinary team in NUI Maynooth to undertake the independent review. The review is being overseen by a...

Other Questions: Back to Education Allowance (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: As I said, the report will be published before the end of the year. I understand that there are serious data weaknesses in actually gathering information in relation to lone parents. That has been one thing that hampered it. This has not been kicked down the road in the sense that we have made concrete decisions already. Not only did my Department allocate extra money, but the Minister...

Other Questions: Back to Education Allowance (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy is demanding action and I am outlining that actions have been taken. They have been taken and will be implemented this year. They are of significant value. That €500 cash for someone participating in back to education is a real benefit and it allows people to get access to resources, books and so on to allow them to participate more fully. The programme of child care...

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I am sorry to learn of the difficulties that arose in the selection of a site. I have no doubt that the county council has a broader footprint within the county and is used to dealing with site acquisition for other purposes. I am sure that is a better arrangement for the Department. I recognise the urgency the Deputy cites. We have a capital programme that is adequate to our needs but...

Other Questions: School Curriculum (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: Social, personal and health education, SPHE, is particularly important in educating our young people about a range of issues, including substance misuse, at both primary and post-primary levels. SPHE has a specific module on the use and misuse of a range of substances in which the issue is dealt with in a sensitive manner in the context of a spiral and developmental...

Other Questions: School Curriculum (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I agree and am an open to new thinking. We are doing an audit of all that is done in the well-being and mental health area within the Department. That includes not just the SPHE and the new well-being programme but also the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, the restoration of guidance counsellors and so on. We are very keen to see whether we can use the resources in a more...

Other Questions: School Curriculum (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Taoiseach has established a north inner city task force and is committed to action in this area, and in that context I met several people in the educational sphere in the north inner city and we exchanged views. We would like to develop some pilot initiatives in the education sphere to support those schools in addressing some of the wider issues. That work is continuing. We hope as...

Other Questions: School Accommodation Provision (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: I know this is an issue of concern to the Deputy and I am keen to respond as best I can. In identifying the requirement for new school provision and for additional school places, my Department uses a geographical information system to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the...

Other Questions: Teacher Recruitment (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: First, I should explain that the way in which teachers are paid includes an increment, so a teacher with ten years experience could be on €45,000 to €50,000 compared to a teacher who was recruited in 2015, who would be on €37,700. Built into the structure, people are not paid the same and it depends on the period in which the person was recruited. What we have done...

Other Questions: Teacher Recruitment (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: The approach we have taken is to sit down with all of the trade unions, particularly those within the Lansdowne Road agreement, and to work on the issues their members present. Just as under Lansdowne Road, the issue of new entrant pay was presented, and I believe we have responded very fairly to it and, as I said, we have met three quarters of the gap. I have no doubt that, when the next...

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (16 Nov 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy is aware, the project in respect of the education campus in Buncrana was announced as part of the six-year capital programme last year. Officials in the Department have been liaising with officials in Donegal County Council under the memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of school sites with regard to the procurement of a suitable site for the campus.  A...