Results 16,741-16,760 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Topical Issue Debate: Schools Site Acquisitions (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I have been assured by the officials dealing with this that they recognise it is a priority. If they were in any doubt, I will convey to them the Deputy's points about the dual site, the pressure it is putting on the school and the ambitions, scale and growth of the school. I will take a personal interest to see that this can be delivered. These deals have to be nailed down permanently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school building project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Louth County Council. The project is at Stage 1 of the building process which is the preliminary design stage. When the stage 1 process has been satisfactorily completed by the Design Team, my Department expects to be in a position to allow the project to move through the remaining stages of the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Funding (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The school to which the Deputy refers was allocated funding to build a stand-alone classroom under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme 2014. Extra funding was subsequently approved to enable the school authority to convert its GP room to a classroom while the classroom is being constructed. These conversion works were completed in December 2015. The school more recently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Admissions Entry Requirements (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy will be aware, from 2017 a new grading scheme for the Leaving Certificate, which will reduce the number of grade bands from 14 to 8 at each level will be introduced. Under the revised scale, the maximum points available in each subject is 100, and the overall maximum points available, excluding Bonus Points for Maths, is 600. This is the same as the points available under the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Legislative Measures (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for a Partnership Government provides that the Government will introduce a stronger complaints procedure and charter for parents, and commence the Fitness to Teach provisions of the Teaching Council Act. The Programme also provides that the role and the power of an Ombudsman for Education, to whom a parent could complain and appeal on foot of a decision by a board of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following tables. It should be noted that the 2016 apprentice population is based on forecast figures. Table 1 Year Cost €’000 * Apprentice Population 2010 68.015 10,172 2011 43.353 8,327 2012 32.166 6,222 2013 27.942 5,711 2014 25.900 6,913 2015 34.800 8,317 2016 43.000 11,250* Direct provision costs in ETB...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I understand that the Apprenticeship Council has provided feedback to category 2 and 3 consortia in relation to their proposals. Consortia engaged with the call for proposals on the basis that details would only be published of proposals approved for progression to a detailed planning stage. At this stage, I do not propose to publish details of category 2 and 3 proposals. The Programme...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Apprenticeship Programmes (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The projected apprenticeship population in the existing trades for the years 2016 – 2018 is set out in the following table 1 provided by SOLAS. SOLAS do not currently have forecasts beyond 2018 but their Skills and Labour Market Research Unit will review and extend apprenticeship forecasts later this year. In addition to forecast numbers in the existing trades, apprentices will also...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Institutes of Technology (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 to 107, inclusive, together. My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to the HEA designated higher education institutions, including Institutes such as Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions and the internal disbursement of funding...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Appointments to State Boards (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: For the Deputy's information, comprehensive information in relation to the composition of the State boards of non-commercial bodies under the aegis of my Department is available on my Department's website () and this information is updated as appointments are made. The Deputy should note that there board appointments were made, as laid out below, according nominations made by other bodies as...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Patronage (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: Religious education is one of the seven curricular areas of the 1999 Primary School Curriculum. Under Article 44 of the Constitution, all parents have the right to withdraw their child from religious instruction in school. Furthermore, under Section 30 of the Education Act 1998, a student cannot be required to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the...

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

Richard Bruton: The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is an independent agency with responsibility for processing applications from schools for special needs assistants (SNA) supports, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs). The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in making recommendations for support, which is set out in my Department's Circular...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff Data (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: Section 6(1) of the Employment Equality Act lists nine grounds that an employer cannot discriminate on and it prohibits discrimination in relation to a person's ethnicity or their culture. As such my Department does not hold records of such information in relation employees and therefore I am not in a position to provide the information sought by the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Foireann Roinne (6 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: Tugtar mionsonraí sna ráitis tháblacha leis seo faoi na baill foirne a ceapadh sa Roinn seo le linn na tréimhse 12 mhí is deireanaí. Ceapadh ceathrar cigirí bunscoile agus ní mór dóibhsean bheith inniúil sa Ghaeilge chun dualgais an phoist a chomhlíonadh. Rinneadh ceithre cheapachán chun na Cigireachta Iar-bhunscoile. Ós...

Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Minister of State, Deputy John Halligan, is dealing with school transport. As the Deputy knows, he has indicated that a review of school transport is being undertaken. It is certainly his objective to minimise any disruption that would occur to any pupil. That is his objective and he will be reporting back in due course. He has answered parliamentary questions in the House recently...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Statutory Fund (5 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board, is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. It is the Board of Caranau, which is representative of survivors, that would have approved the changes to the eligibility criteria for accessing funds. I have asked Caranua to respond directly to the Deputy concerning the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (5 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: As a consequence of the financial crisis, there was a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure so as to stabilise the country's public finances. A previous Government reduced the salaries and allowances payable to all new entrants to public service recruitment grades by 10% with effect from 1 January 2011. This decision also required that such new entrants would start...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Maternity Protection Entitlements (5 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department's Circular 0017/2013 covers the Maternity Protection entitlements, including provision for breastfeeding, for Special Needs Assistants (SNA) in Recognised Primary and Post-Primary Schools. Special Needs Assistants are entitled to take maternity leave in the same way as all other employees in the State that is, 26 weeks paid leave and 16 weeks additional unpaid leave. Paragraph...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Support Schemes (5 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: The position is that the third level institutions are autonomous institutions and my Department does not have any function in their day to day operational affairs, for which the Governing Bodies and the management staff of the institutions are responsible. Students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs (5 Jul 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise that the policy of my Department is that children with special educational needs, including children with autism, should be included, where possible and appropriate, in mainstream school placements with additional supports provided. In circumstances where children with special educational needs require more specialised interventions, special school or special class places...