Results 15,701-15,720 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Questions on Proposed Legislation (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: From September, there is an improvement in the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools that was provided for in the 2016 budget. Decisions on the new schedule are taken independently by the appeals board. It is an independent decision and the board makes its decisions independent of the Minister. On small schools, we were able to make a start this year for some island schools. We will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Direct Provision Data (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: All children who are non-Irish nationals and resident in Ireland, including children of asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers and unaccompanied minors can access pre-school, first and second level education in a manner similar to Irish nationals, until they have reached the age of 18 years. The Education system does not track whether a child enrolling in a school is in direct...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Direct Provision Data (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: All children who are non-Irish nationals and resident in Ireland, including children of asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers and unaccompanied minors can access pre-school, first and second level education in a manner similar to Irish nationals, until they have reached the age of 18 years. The Education system does not track whether a child enrolling in a school is in direct...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: University Governance (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 69 to 71, inclusive, together. Following publication of the Mazars review of the process employed by the University of Limerick (UL) to inquire into allegations made by a number of individuals, the Higher Education Authority (HEA) met with the University to request a full response and an action plan to address the recommendations in the review. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education, including approved postgraduate courses in EU Member States and in non-EU countries. Further information on this tax relief is available from the Revenue Commissioners at www.revenue.ie. In addition, students in third-level institutions...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that a project for the expansion and refurbishment of the school, to which he refers, is included in my Department's 6 Year Capital Programme which was announced in November 2015. The project for Portmarnock Community School is scheduled to proceed to tender and construction in 2019-21. My Department is currently progressing the school project brief and once this...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, a number of schools in the area in question have been approved funding for additional permanent school accommodation under the Devolved Initiative Scheme administered by my Department. Details of all successful applications are available on my Department's website, . It is open to all schools to apply for funding for additional school accommodation for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Accommodation Provision (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Board of Management of the school in question was allocated funding under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2013 to build 2 mainstream classrooms and 2 Resource Rooms. An application for additional funding has been received in the Department and an examination of this request is nearing completion.  As soon as a decision has been made the school will be notified...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, a project for the school referred is included in my Department's 6 Year Capital Programme and is scheduled to proceed to tender and construction in 2018. Officials from my Department recently advised the school's Board of Management and the Patron's representative that following a technical examination of an alternative site being made available by the School...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: University Status Review (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Universities Act 1997 provides the legal and regulatory framework for Irish universities.As part of the overall legal framework for the sector, the Act also provides for a limitation on the use of the title “university”. The Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 provides for the authorisation by the Minister of the use of the description...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Funding (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 78 and 79 together. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following tables. Universities - State Income 2011-2012 Institution Core Grants Academic Fees Research Grants and Contracts Other Total % of Total Income UCD €85,902.00 €66,928.00 €66,985.00 €1,059.00 €220,874.00 53% UCC €58,080.00...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As set out in my previous reply, the process to review the DEIS Programme, which began last year, is nearing completion and it is my intention to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion before the end of this year. As part of the review, a new assessment process is being developed using centrally held CSO and DES data to identify schools schools for inclusion in a new...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools Scheme (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: A process to review DEIS- Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools which began last year is nearing completion and it is my intention to publish a new Plan for Educational Inclusion before the end of this year. The review is looking at all aspects of the DEIS programme, including the development of a new assessment process for the identification of schools.  This work is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Primary Online Database (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Primary Online Database (POD) has been rolled out to all primary schools in the country, and all schools have now entered their pupils onto the system. Schools are currently in the process of submitting the 2016/2017 National School Annual Census through POD. The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has not expressed any concerns about the current retention period for POD data, or...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Closures (27 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may be aware the decision to close the schools in question and the timeline for the closures was a decision for the schools' Trustees and not my Department. The Trustees had approached my Department at an early stage outlining the situation and requesting if the Department was open to acquiring the property as they were seeking to ensure it would continue to be used for...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs Staff (26 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I thank Senator Colm Burke for raising this issue. It needs consideration. Senator Burke has set out his case. The school has 95 pupils, 16 classroom teachers and 35 special needs assistants. The staff numbers come to over 50. Under the current arrangements for the appointment of administrative deputy principals, the criteria is based on the number of pupils. It is uniform across the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Special Educational Needs Staff (26 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: I fully acknowledge that extraordinary work is being done by special schools who are supporting children with particular needs. However, my response must be one that takes into account all special schools, rather than one individual school or one individual set of needs. That is why my Department is dealing with the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education so that...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Asylum Applications (26 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: All immigrant children, including children of asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers and unaccompanied minors can access pre-school, first and second level education in a manner similar to Irish nationals, until they have reached the age of 18 years.  The Education system does not track whether a child enrolling in a school or sitting the Leaving Certificate is an asylum seeker or in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (26 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: Under Section 15 of the Education Act 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. Schools are required to take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of pupils and responsibility for the appropriate supervision of students is therefore a matter for the individual Board of Management. While my Department does not issue specific guidelines...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Closures (26 Oct 2016)

Richard Bruton: The closure of the private schools to which the Deputy refers has recently been announced by the patron body.  The Department of Education and Skills has acquired the school campus and it will be used for school purposes in the future. While the proposed school to be accommodated on the campus has not been determined at this point, there are several school needs arising in...