Results 17,421-17,440 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Momentum Programme (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Momentum programme is open to all long-term unemployed jobseekers, including those with a disability. It should be noted that the programme does not have any ring-fenced places specifically for participants with a disability. To be eligible to participate in the programme, individuals must have met the following criteria -Be unemployed for 12 months or longer and -Be in receipt of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Books Grant (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department has provided approx. €16m in funding to first and second level schools to provide assistance for books in 2015. Increasing this funding by 30% in 2016 would cost approx. €4.8million.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The delivery of the new post-primary school referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board (ETB) under a Service Level Agreement. A planning application was submitted to Limerick County Council by the ETB in January this year and the local authority has sought further information in relation to this application. The ETB and its Design Team...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teacher Data (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Deputy will be aware that it is the policy of my Department that only teachers registered with the Teaching Council should be employed by recognised schools. Circulars 31/2011, 25/2013 and 52/2013 issued by my Department to the Managerial Authorities of schools state that each employer shall ensure that each person proposed for appointment to a teaching post, for which salary grant is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 99, 107 and 108 together. The Government has committed to establishing a Public Service Pay Commission to examine pay levels across the Public Service, including entry pay levels. The terms of reference and timescale for the Commission's work are a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The Government recognises the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that it is open to the school in question to submit an application under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme in respect of the provision of facilities for Special Needs. The appropriate application is available on my Department's website, www.education.ie.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Irish Language (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The drafting of a Policy on Gaeltacht Education is at an advanced stage. This is a key response by my Department to the Government's Twenty Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 – 2030. Provision for early years education in the Gaeltacht is part of the overall policy for Gaeltacht education alongside the primary and post-primary sectors. I am awaiting the draft policy document...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Site Acquisitions (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that a site for the school, referred to, has been identified and officials from my Department are progressing the acquisition. As the Deputy will appreciate, due to the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally, my Department is not in a position to provide further information at this time.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Curriculum (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Department of Education and Skills has done its utmost to support and embrace the educational aspects of the Ireland 2016 commemorative programme. Under its auspices, the Professional Development Service for Teachers has already placed approximately 70 resources about 1916 on the Scoilnet portal for teachers and students, many of them produced by teachers themselves. It would be...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Staff (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to schools is published annually on the Department's website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing process includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Summer Works Scheme Applications (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) will be applied on a multi-annual basis for the years 2016 and 2017. The Deputy will be aware that details of the 197 successful school applicants in Categories 1 and 2 under the SWS (2016-2017) were announced on 28th April last, details of which are published on my Department's website, www.education.ie. Under SWS (2016-2017),...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Gaelscoil Issues (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: As the Deputy may already be aware, the project to deliver a new school building for the school to which he refers was announced to go to construction in 2018. Officials from my Department have worked closely with officials from Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites to procure a suitable site for this building...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level. The pupil teacher ratio in the current school year is 1 classroom teacher for every 28 pupils. Budget 2016 provides for a one point adjustment to the staffing allocation to primary schools, which will be implemented for the 2016/17 school year. This will see the primary staffing schedule operate on the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Defibrillators in Schools Provision (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Any decision to install a defibrillator is made at local school level. The question of the need for defibrillators to be made available in public places such as schools and any training needs arising is primarily a public health matter and would therefore be a matter for the Department of Health. However, most second level schools have a defibrillator and training on the use of the machine is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Staff (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I wish to advise the Deputy that recent years have seen an increase in the number of SNAs from 10,575 posts in 2011, to 12,040 to June 2016. In the same period the number of children accessing SNA support has grown from approximately 22,000 to some 30,000 by the end of 2015. This is a higher level of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support than ever before, which ensures that children with...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Psychological Services (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools can have an...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Expenditure (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 154 together. I wish to advise the Deputy that spending on provision for children with Special Educational Needs has been prioritised in recent years, despite the enormous pressures on all public spending. Funding for special education provision in 2016 will amount to some €1.4 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 17% of the gross...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Expenditure (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: Supports provided by my Department for students with disabilities in higher education include the Student Grant Scheme, the Free Fees Scheme, the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities. The cost of funding undergraduate and post-graduate part-time students with disabilities for one academic year has been estimated at €5.67m. The AHEAD survey of 2014/15...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Expenditure (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: My Department has in place detailed design guidelines for primary and post-primary schools. These guidelines, which are available on my Departments web-site, currently provide for a standard range of servery and eating facilities in the design of new Primary and Post Primary schools. In new Primary schools a servery of 8.0m² in area is provided. At Post Primary level a kitchenette,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teachers' Remuneration (25 May 2016)

Richard Bruton: The estimated cost of restoring qualification allowances to teachers, including the cost of Employers' PRSI, is approximately €16 million per annum. This is based on the assumption that teachers employed since 2012 would qualify for an allowance at the rate applicable to a honours Primary Degree. New teachers are appointed each year to replace teachers retiring and leaving teaching...