Results 1,541-1,560 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy is aware, my officials are currently engaged in intensive discussions with the education stakeholders on the resources including the detailed modalities in relation to workload and implementation issues for schools and teachers; on quality assurance and teacher assessment and on the professional development required to support teachers and school leaders to implement the Junior...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Legal Costs (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The payments made by my Department to legal firms during 2013 for services rendered to it are as follows: JD Scanlon Solicitors €258.30; Siobhan Fahy Solicitors €13,454.47; Patricia Martin Solicitors €4,044.90; A & L Goodbody Solicitors €8364.00; Arthur Cox Solicitors €12341.94. With regard to the public bodies under the aegis of my Department,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Sick Pay Scheme Reform (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has put in place an Occupational Health Strategy as a supportive resource for teachers and special needs assistants to promote their health in the workplace, with a focus primarily on prevention rather than cure. The Occupational Health Strategy comprises of the Employee Assistance and Occupational Health Services and caters for about 64,000 Teachers and 10,000 Special Needs...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Design team fees of just under €116,000 have been paid to date on the school building project referred to by the Deputy. The school was offered capital grant assistance in 2005 under a devolved scheme. However, the school subsequently declined this offer. Officials from my Department met with the school last month to discuss their accommodation needs. Subsequently, my Department wrote...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations Issues (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As you are aware I recently announced that I have decided to make the subject Politics and Society available to students as part of the suite of Leaving Certificate subjects. On foot of this, my Department recently wrote to the NCCA seeking its advice on a number of issues which need to be addressed before the subject can be made available since the NCCA completed a specification for Leaving...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Data (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that all mainstream primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources under the General Allocation Model (GAM) to cater for children with learning support needs and high incidence special educational needs, including mild, borderline mild general learning difficulties and specific learning disabilities. It is a matter for school authorities to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Eligibility (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that under the residency requirement of the Student Grant Scheme, a student must have been resident in Ireland for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately prior to an approved course commencing in an approved institution in order to qualify for a grant. However, a student may qualify for a grant, having met the residency requirement during the course of their studies.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department provides specific teaching resources and additional grant aid to schools that offer the transition year programme. Schools in the Free Education Scheme qualify for payment of a transition year grant of €95 for each pupil participating in the programme. The cost of transition year grants in 2013 was €2.88 million. The Department allocated circa 1,790 whole time...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 154 together. The Transition Year, TY, is a one-year programme designed to act as a bridge between the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate programmes. It is available to all second level schools. The management authority of each school carries responsibility for making decisions regarding the Transition Year Programme in that school. In some...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Transition Year is available to all second level schools but it is the board of management of each individual school that decides whether to offer the programme and if offered it decides on the number of places available to students on such programmes, depending on available resources. If offered, it also decides whether it is optional or compulsory for its students. The Transition...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) undertook a study for the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in 2004 "The Transition Year Programme: An Assessment". The findings of this study would have been informed by their previous research in 2004. The 2004 study found that students who take Transition Year differ in a number of respects from those who do not take the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Overseas Study Placements (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that students who are attending an approved undergraduate course in an EU Member State, can apply for a maintenance grant in respect of an approved course which is being pursued in an approved institution. Under the residency requirement of the Student Grant Scheme, a student must have been resident in Ireland for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately prior to an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 to 161, inclusive, 163 and 164 together. I previously outlined for the Deputy how my Department's policy is to promote a child-centred approach to the education of children with special education including autism. The document referred to by the Deputy is outdated in that it refers to specific models of provision. My Department's policy is to provide for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Council registers teachers under the terms of section 31(5) of the Teaching Council Act and the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2009. The Council also operates in accordance with the European Directive for the mutual recognition of qualifications 2005/36/EC for the teaching profession. The Council does not register persons for professions other than teaching. The Council does...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: In the time available and with current resource constraints, it is not possible to examine all the arrangements and conditions in place in respect of those organisations receiving funding from my Department to determine whether the clauses referred to by the Deputy form a part of these arrangements. However, it is considered unlikely that funding conditionality would include explicit...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that I published new anti-bullying procedures for all primary and post primary schools at the beginning of the 2013/14 school year. The purpose of these procedures is to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils. The procedures include specific requirements in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Officials in my Department have confirmed that the student referred to by the Deputy has appealed the decision of the awarding authority to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board. The appeal is due for consideration by the board on Tuesday 11th March 2014. The decision of the Appeals Board will issue directly to the student.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 169, 171 and 173 together. The Deputy will be aware that the establishment of a network of autism-specific special classes in schools across the country to cater for children with autism has been a key educational priority in recent years. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Education Review (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that I received the Report of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Working Group on a Proposed New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for Students with Special Educational Needs, on 5th March, 2014. This report has been developed following a review of best practise in both national and international research, and follows a wide process of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (11 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The school to which the Deputy refers is scheduled to open in September 2014 in temporary accommodation. Arrangements for this are progressing. My Department is keeping the Patron informed in this regard. The school will be a single stream school. Its projected junior infant intake is up to 28 pupils. Permanent accommodation plans for the school will be progressed separately