Results 341-360 of 14,576 for speaker:Ruairi Quinn in 'Written Answers'

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Retention Rates (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The second level Leaving Certificate retention rate has shown incremental improvement nationally in the past decade, rising from a 82.3% nationally for the 1997 cohort of entrants to second level education, to over 90% for the 2007 entry cohort. The data also shows that retention rates for different groups have continued to converge over time. The gender gap has narrowed very significantly,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The number of students who sat higher level Maths in the Junior Certificate is as follows: In 2013 there were 30,500; in 2012 there were 27,913; in 2011 there were 25,554; in 2010 there were 24,840 and in 2009 there were 23,592. The number of students who sat higher level Maths in the Junior Certificate in 2014 will not be available until later in the early autumn, however, the number of...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The number of students who sat higher level Maths in the Leaving Certificate is as follows: In 2013 there were 13,014; in 2012 there were 11,131; in 2011 there were 8,235; in 2010 there were 8,390 and in 2009 there were 8,420. The number of students who sat higher level Maths in the Leaving Certificate this year will not be available until August, however, the number of "Entries" for 2014 is...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Levels (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The OECD's PISA assessment is carried out on a three year cycle. In the past five years there have been two assessment rounds - PISA 2009 and PISA 2012. In PISA 2009:- in print reading 28.9% of Irish students performed at or above level 4- in mathematics 26.1% of Irish students performed at or above level 4. In PISA 2012:- in print reading 37.4% of Irish students performed at or above level...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Literacy Levels (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The OECD's PISA assessment is carried out on a three year cycle. In the past five years there have been two assessment rounds - PISA 2009 and PISA 2012. In PISA 2009:- in print reading 17.2% of Irish students performed at or below level 1- in mathematics 20.9% of Irish students performed at or below level 1. In PISA 2012:- in print reading 9.7% of Irish students performed at or below level...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Third Level Fees (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 228, 248 and 254 together. The position is that where full-time undergraduate students do not qualify for free fees they must pay the appropriate fee as determined by their third level institution. In the case of students who do not meet the residency clause of the free fees scheme, I have requested that the higher education institutions charge the more...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Early Child Care Education (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Data on the percentage of GDP spent on early years education has only been included as part of the UOE (UNESCO, OECD, EUROSTAT) return for Education at a Glance since the full introduction of the universal pre-school scheme in January 2010 and only includes the public expenditure by the DCYA. Table 4.1 in Education at a Glance 2013 shows that Ireland spent 0.1% of GDP on pre-primary education...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: A sports facility was originally planned for this site, to be developed by a third party. Due to circumstances outside of my Department's control, the facility was not delivered. My Department officials have engaged with the relevant stakeholders with a view to reaching an acceptable outcome and will continue to follow up on the matter. I am sure the Deputy will agree that all means to...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Funding (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The funding provided by my Department to Right of Place from 2001 to 2013, when my Department ceased funding survivor groups, is as follows: 2001 - €269,971.71 2002 - €149,423 2003 - €135,381 2004 - €124,783 2005 - €127,904 2006 - €52,690 2007 - €89,280 2008 - €87,998 2009 - €75,944.76 2010 - €44,616.54 2011 -...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: State Examinations (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Guidance Counsellors (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Guidance and counselling are a whole-school responsibility, with guidance counsellors playing their part within an overall team approach. The representative organisations for school principals and school management have developed a framework that assists schools on how best to manage the provision of guidance from within their staffing allocation. Wherever possible, group work and class-based...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Residential Institutions Issues (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: Caranua, which is the service name of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board is an independent statutory body established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012. The processing of individual applications is a matter for Caranua and my officials have requested Caranua to examine this matter and to reply to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Programme Expenditure (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The total amount of capital spending on construction projects in the Education sector for the years 2008 to 2014 is available on the table. While the overall capital expenditure in the school sector for each year is presented, the relevant data in respect of large scale projects, the additional accommodation scheme, the prefab replacement initiative, the summer works scheme and emergency...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Programme Expenditure (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I am assuming that the question refers to large scale construction projects, although the Deputy will appreciate that there is a significant construction element in the Additional Accommodation and Prefab Replacement Schemes and to a lesser extent on the Summer Works and Emergency Works Schemes. Expenditure in the order of €275m is expected to arise on large scale projects in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: English Language Training Organisations (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Task Force referred to by the Deputy has met on four occasions to date. I would like to make clear that the immigration permissions of all affected students have been extended by the Department of Justice and Equality to allow them to continue to work in order to support themselves and also to allow them space to make alternative arrangements. Approximately 2,000 students have been...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The issues raised by the Deputy relate to budgetary matters. The budget for education, including the number of teaching posts that we can afford to fund in schools is a matter that I will have to consider with my colleagues in Cabinet in the context of the next budget. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot at this stage anticipate any specific decisions the Government may take in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Expulsions (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department holds information on the number of appeals lodged to my Department in respect of expulsions under section 29 of the Education Act. This information is held by calendar year and is set out in the following table. The Deputy may wish to liaise with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs for additional information relating to expulsions. Second Level Section 29 Appeals in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Higher Education Courses Applications (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a college and university admissions scheme which offers places on reduced points and extra college support to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The scheme is operated by a number of higher education institutions and not by my Department. Admissions to the institutions are regulated by the institutions themselves. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Applications (17 Jun 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The school in question recently submitted an application for funding for toilet facilities for a special needs pupil under my Department's Emergency Works Scheme. The scope of the proposed works is currently being assessed and the school authorities will be notified of the outcome once this assessment has been completed.