Results 61-80 of 14,576 for in 'Written Answers' speaker:Ruairi Quinn

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Data (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Forward Planning Section of my Department continuously monitors and analyses demographic data for all areas of the country, including the area referred to by the Deputy, to anticipate emerging needs and to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet those needs. My Department's five year construction plan is focused on providing accommodation to meet demographic needs this regard....

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Data (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The 5-Year Plan that I announced in March 2012 as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme, outlines the major school projects that are scheduled to commence construction over the duration of the Plan. These have been prioritised on the basis of meeting significant demographic needs. The Deputy will be aware that there are four Post-Primary school projects included in the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Data (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department has not, to date, received any formal submission from parents in relation to the provision of a Gaelcholáiste for county Kildare. The Department's current five-year construction plan is focused on meeting demographic demands to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to accommodate increasing pupil...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together. We have a growing population of young people in this country and despite the difficult financial circumstances we face as a country, we prioritised education so that the number of teachers we have in the system has also grown in order to protect pupil teacher ratios. There are a thousand more teachers employed in schools around the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Administration (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 104 together. The current status of all projects on the school building programme, including those for County Kildare, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie which is updated regularly throughout the year. The Deputy will be aware that the 5 Year Construction Plan, that I announced in March 2012, lists the individual school...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Bullying in Schools (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The Deputy will be aware that I published new anti-bullying procedures for all primary and post primary schools at the beginning of the 2013/14 school year. The purpose of these procedures is to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils. The procedures include specific requirements in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Special Educational Needs Service Provision (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 to 109, inclusive, together. I wish to firstly explain to the Deputy that more resources than ever before are being provided to ensure that the educational requirements of children with special educational needs, including children with special educational needs in Co. Kildare, can continue to be met at primary and second level, and that as many children...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Universal Support Ireland Administration (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: SUSI processed over 90,000 grant applications in 2013 compared with 70,000 in 2012. The changes and improvements made in 2013 included additional staff, improved communications and information services, earlier opening dates and more efficient processing of applications. For 2014 SUSI will process in the region of 105,000 applications. SUSI has developed a programme of further changes and...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects Status (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has been working in conjunction with Cork County Council towards securing a permanent site to meet the needs of the school referred to by the Deputy. I can confirm that potential options have been identified and my Department is progressing the current preferred option. However the acquisition of the preferred site option is subject to the...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 113 together. The information sought is not readily available and will have to be extracted from my Department's Financial Management System and collated. The details requested will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as this has been done.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff Training (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The information sought by the Deputy is contained in the attached table. Staff engage in relevant third level and further education programmes in their own time to broaden and maintain their learning and competencies and to build capability to enable the Department meet current and future challenges. My Department also provides a range of targeted training courses annually in areas including...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Staff Training (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The training budget meets the cost of training and development for the Department's staff in administrative, professional, technical and service grades and aims to enhance the skills and knowledge of the staff to enable the Department to meet the current and future challenges and promote the personal development of staff. In 2008 The training budget at my Department was €1m. The...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: My Department's travel and subsistence allocation for 2014 comprises €1.520 million in respect of Departmental staff and an allocation of €0.720 million for the National Educational Psychological Service, giving a total allocation of €2.240 million. This provision supports the delivery of key functions within my Department such as the provision of schools inspections,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Departmental Expenditure (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 119 together. Projected net current expenditure on my Department's Vote of €3,719 million to the end of June 2014 is running €7 million or 0.2% behind the profiled expenditure position of €3,726 million. The full extent of the Department's end-2014 expenditure position will only become apparent in the final quarter of the year,...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Capital Programme Expenditure (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: At this stage of the year it is not possible to forecast with any degree of accuracy the likely outturn of the 2014 capital expenditure programme. The target of expending the entire allocation remains.

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Management (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for consideration by the Appeals Board for the June meeting. The Appeals Board determined that the appeal did not satisfy all of the published criteria as set out in Circular 0007/2014. The Appeal Board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final.Day to day running of a school is a matter for...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Teaching Council of Ireland (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The requirement that teachers seeking to register under Regulation Five of the Teaching Council [Registration] Regulations 2009 and teach in the further education sector is designed to achieve consistent standards in the qualifications required to be a registered teacher across the three education sectors – Primary, Post-Primary and Further Education. It followed an extensive...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grant Scheme Appeals (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The appeal of the student referred to by the deputy was heard by the independent Appeals Board on the 17th June 2014. The Board upheld the decision of the awarding authority and the appeals officer as the Board felt that the student was given ample opportunity to submit all documentation requested but failed to do so within the given timeframe. The student was advised of his options in...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grants Data (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The following table provides a breakdown by category of the reasons the 1,484 students referred to by the Deputy were initially awarded a grant by SUSI and subsequently refused. This data has been provided to my Department by SUSI. Breakdown of Reasons for Refusal of 1484 2013-14 Grant Applications previously Awarded Category of Reasons No. of Students Repeating same year of course 668...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Student Grants Data (9 Jul 2014)

Ruairi Quinn: The following table made available to my Department by SUSI, provides details in relation to the 50 students referred to by the Deputy who received a payment from SUSI. SUSI has a flexible repayment policy whereby students are invited to propose a repayment plan in line with their ability to repay. The question of whether or not a student may proceed with their studies while repaying any...