Written Answers Nos. 104 - 107
104. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills the consideration he has given to the proposal for a school for deaf children (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8638/14]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has now received a proposal from the school referred to by him in his question to establish an early intervention class in the school for pupils who are deaf or hard of hearing. My Department will consider this proposal, in conjunction with the National Council for Special Education, the Visiting Teacher for the Hearing Impaired, and my Departments Inspectorate Division, and will respond to the school regarding this matter as soon as possible.
105. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 224 of 11 February 2014, regarding a new school (details supplied) in County Cork, if he will advise if his Department has a projected start or completion date for the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8639/14]
View answerThe school referred to by the Deputy was included in the list of school building projects announced to go to construction in 2014/15 and I can confirm that this project is among those budgeted for in the 5 year capital programme.
The acquisition of a site for permanent accommodation for the school referred to by the Deputy is being progressed by my Department. However, due to the commercially sensitive nature of site acquisitions, I am not in a position to give further details at this time. However, once the acquisition of a site is finalised, a design team for the project will be appointed with a view to its progression to tender and construction.
106. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on inaccurate information being communicated by Student Universal Support Ireland to Deputies' offices regarding updating the status of individual student grants and fees (details supplied). [8646/14]
View answerThe service referred to by the Deputy is one element of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) and meets an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications. In some cases, applicants may opt not to use the established channels provided by SUSI, including online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter. SUSI wishes to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to such applicants to receive the information they need.
The Deputy will appreciate that in the context of Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) dealing with in excess of 92,000 new and renewal applications in the 2013/14 academic year that every effort is made by SUSI to ensure that queries are dealt with correctly and in a timely manner but that some errors may inevitably arise when handling a high volume of queries within a relatively short timeframe. This error occurred in the case the Deputy referred to and is regretted.
Officials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, that the application of the student referred to by the Deputy has been awarded a grant and an award letter issued on the 17th February 2014.
107. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the current position regarding the amalgamation of schools (details supplied). [8649/14]
View answerThe two schools referred to by the Deputy have agreed to amalgamate and submitted an application for a major capital project. As the Deputy is aware, this school project is scheduled on the Five Year Plan to proceed to construction in 2015/2016.
Further to a technical site visit by Department officials, the girls school was deemed to be the most suitable location, subject to additional land being acquired to facilitate the development of a building for the new amalgamated school. The Congregation of The Sisters of Mercy offered to transfer additional land to the State as part of its offer made in response to the publication of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (the Ryan Report). The Government has agreed to accept this land offered by the Congregation.
My Department through the Chief State Solicitor's Office is currently working with the Solicitors acting on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy on the legal procedures and mechanisms required to facilitate the transfer of this additional land.
