Results 1,581-1,600 of 19,032 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Training Provision (6 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Recommendations for changes to initial teacher education and the provision of continuing professional development were included in the National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011-2020. The recommendations on initial teacher education have been incorporated into the Teaching Council's Policy Paper on the Continuum of Teacher Education and Criteria...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Levels (6 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: With effect from January 2012 and in line with the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, all primary schools are required to spend 6.5 hours for infants with a shorter day, and 8.5 hours per week for students with a full day on the development of literacy skills, particularly in the first language of the school. At post-primary level circular 25/12 emphasises that literacy and numeracy are...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Levels (6 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The staffing and redeployment process for the 2014/15 school year is currently underway in my Department. The level of surplus for redeployment is influenced by many factors including retirements, career breaks, job-sharing etc. and additional allocations for the forthcoming year in respect of demographics. This continues to evolve as new information is received from relevant schools. At...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (6 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource hours to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (6 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Discipline (6 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or...

Government's Priorities for the Year Ahead: Statements (Resumed) (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to share time with the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes. I am pleased to have the opportunity to participate in this debate on the Government's priorities for the year ahead. I acknowledge and welcome the presence in the Chamber of the Sinn Féin parliamentary spokesperson on education and skills. When we entered government, I spoke about how Fianna Fáil had lost...

Government's Priorities for the Year Ahead: Statements (Resumed) (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Do the communities in which they are located have access to broadband?

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The day-to-day operation of the apprenticeship system is the responsibility of SOLAS. SOLAS has put several measures in place to assist redundant apprentices to complete their apprenticeship where necessary. Redundant apprentices may avail of existing skills training courses which enhance their skills. They may also avail of the range of night courses which are available in Training...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support as well as the establishment of special...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments Data (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The number of pupils enrolled in primary schools in the Balbriggan feeder area for the 2012-2013 school year was 3,789. Results from the Census for the current school year (2013/2014) are being finalised at present. Projections for the 2014-2015 school year indicate a requirement for some 3,780 primary school places, which is in line with the 2012-13 enrolment. My Department is currently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I can confirm to the Deputy that the school referred to has submitted an application for the works in question under the Summer Works Scheme. I wish to advise the Deputy that commensurate with the level of funding available for the Summer Works Scheme, applications are currently being assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: FÁS Local Training Initiatives Review (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: This is an operational matter for SOLAS. I understand that in 2013 a review process was put in place to enable Local Training Initiatives (LTIs) to be reviewed individually on the basis of an agreed national template. The LTI review process provides a mechanism for SOLAS and the Education & Training Boards (ETBs) to engage with LTI Providers in a structured manner to review...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language Issues (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: A breakdown of expenditure on Irish language translation, advertising and signage costs is set out in the following tables. This information has been extracted from my Department's Financial Management System and provides costs for the years in question wherever it is possible to disaggregate costs relating specifically to the Irish language from overall expenditure within these cost...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Book Rental Scheme (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Department will continue to provide a book grant as usual to all primary schools. This grant, can be utilised for the purposes of updating or expanding a school's existing book rental scheme. I want to commend all schools that have used it to help build up book rental schemes over the years and I am aware of the difficulties faced by schools in relation to these schemes. Their...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Qualifications (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I am aware that some newly qualified teachers may experience difficulty in accessing teaching hours to complete their probation for registration purposes because they do not yet hold a teaching position in a school. Measures have been taken by the Department and the Teaching Council to alleviate difficulties faced by teachers in this regard. One measure relates to the minimum service...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Site Acquisitions (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As I previously advised the Deputy, my officials have been working very closely with officials from Galway City Council in relation to identifying and acquiring a suitable site for new school accommodation for the school to which he refers. I can confirm that a suitable site has been identified and the site acquisition process is at an advanced stage. Given the sensitivities associated...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Administration (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: As the Deputy will be aware, Phase 1 of this project is a devolved project. This allows individual school authorities the means to address their accommodation and building priorities with a guaranteed amount of funding and gives them day to day control of their building project. It is a central tenet of the devolved schemes that responsibility for the management of a project, including cost...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: SOLAS Administration (5 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: This is an operational matter for SOLAS. SOLAS have been requested to provide the information directly to the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board (4 Mar 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 64 and 65 together. I made the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 (Commencement) Order 2014 (S.I. No 20 of 2014) on 28th January. This Order commenced sections 21 and 22 of the 2012 Act which provide for the appointment of an appeals officer and for the appeals process in relation to decisions of a decision maker of the Residential...