Parliamentary questions

Pátrúnacht Scoileanna

Carol Nolan

78. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Carol Nolan den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna cén sásra a bheidh ann chun measúnú agus freastal a dhéanamh ar an éileamh ar oideachas lán-Ghaeilge faoin bplean nua chun dífheistiú pátrúnachta a chur chun cinn, ós rud é go bhfuil sé luaite mar cheann de na príomhfheidhmeanna a bheadh ag an bpróiseas dífheistithe. [10960/17]

Pátrúnacht Scoileanna

Carol Nolan

79. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Carol Nolan den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna an n-aontaíonn sé le Gaeloideachas go bhfuil baol ann, tríd an gcur chuige nua atá beartaithe, gur pobalscoileanna náisiúnta trí mheán an Bhéarla a bheidh mar thoradh ar an bpróiseas, toisc na Boird Oideachais agus Oiliúna a bheith i mbun an chomhairliúcháin agus iad cheana féin aitheanta mar a rogha pátrúin ag an gComhpháirtíocht Scoileanna Caitliceacha. [10961/17]

Pátrúnacht Scoileanna

Carol Nolan

80. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Carol Nolan den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna an n-aontaíonn sé go bhfuil sé de riachtanas go mbeadh áisíneacht nó údarás neamhspleách agus neodrach ag tabhairt faoin gcomhairliúchán le tuismitheoirí maidir le dífheistiú, agus mar sin de nach bhfuil sé feiliúnach go dtabharfadh an Boird Oideachais agus Oiliúna faoi ós rud é go bhfuil siad san iomaíocht chun pátrúnacht bunscoileanna nua a bhaint amach. [10962/17]

State Examinations Reviews

Carol Nolan

81. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the State Examinations Commission has written to schools to advise them of the process for the classroom based assessment for the junior certificate after the ASTI ballot; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10963/17]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Carol Nolan

82. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if schools will be expected to make provision for newly enrolled or newly diagnosed children with special educational needs under the current allocation under the new resource allocation model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10964/17]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Carol Nolan

83. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the procedure whereby a child with special educational needs transfers to another school; if the resource hours allocated to that child transfer with the child to the new school or if the new school is required to make an additional application; the way in which this type of scenario operates under the new resource allocation model; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10965/17]

DEIS Scheme

Carol Nolan

84. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department will review the decision not to designate a school (details supplied) as a DEIS school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10966/17]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Carol Nolan

85. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown of the staff included in the calculation of the pupil-teacher ratio including resource teachers, learning support teachers and any other staff including classroom teaching staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10967/17]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Carol Nolan

86. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated pupil-teacher ratio for DEIS schools, primary schools and post-primary schools if only mainstream classroom teachers were used in the calculation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10968/17]

National Educational Psychological Service Staff

Carol Nolan

92. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the recently announced appointment of ten additional NEPS psychologists will be used to deal with staff shortages due to leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11080/17]

Repair and Leasing Scheme

Carol Nolan

115. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the allocation to Offaly County Council and Tipperary County Council under the repair and leasing scheme announced recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11082/17]

School Meals Programme

Carol Nolan

134. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to schools that will run out of funding for school meals in 2017; the reason for this; the number of schools affected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11081/17]

Ambulance Service Accommodation

Carol Nolan

232. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to outline the progress on the new Edenderry ambulance station; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11083/17]

Hospital Waiting Lists

Carol Nolan

234. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to outline the reason for the excessive delay in an operation for a person (details supplied); when the operation will be carried out; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11086/17]

Occupational Therapy

Carol Nolan

235. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to set out the number of vacancies under each school age team in the areas of speech and language, clinical psychology and occupational therapy; the length of the vacancy; if staff are currently on extended leave, the number of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11087/17]

Speech and Language Therapy

Carol Nolan

236. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to outline the terms of reference of the review of speech and language therapy services; when the review is due to be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11088/17]

Occupational Therapy

Carol Nolan

237. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to set down the number of children currently waiting over six months for speech and language therapy, clinical psychologist or occupational therapy; if the waiting list is for an assessment or therapy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11089/17]

Occupational Therapy

Carol Nolan

238. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Health to set out the number of new posts appointed to speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and clinical psychology under the school age teams since the Government took office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11090/17]

Disadvantaged Status

Carol Nolan

20. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the new DEIS plan, including the resources to be provided for the implementation of the new plan. [10504/17]

State Examinations

Carol Nolan

52. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the detail of the new arrangements for the reasonable accommodations scheme for certificate examinations from 2017. [10336/17]

State Examinations

Carol Nolan

67. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements in place to ensure that junior certificate students do not lose marks as a result of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland, ASTI, ballot. [10335/17]

Derelict Sites

Carol Nolan

46. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to address the high level of vacant and derelict buildings in town centres in County Offaly such as Banagher and Edenderry. [9032/17]

DEIS Scheme

Carol Nolan

166. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of restoring the rural co-ordination service under DEIS; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9230/17]

DEIS Scheme

Carol Nolan

167. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of rural co-ordinators who had been in place under the DEIS programme before the service was cut; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9231/17]

National Educational Psychological Service Expenditure

Carol Nolan

168. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of ensuring that every school has access to a NEPS psychologist for the purposes of carrying out an assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9232/17]

DEIS Data

Carol Nolan

169. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the data sources his Department utilised in order to establish the new schools under the DEIS plan 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9233/17]

DEIS Eligibility

Carol Nolan

170. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider establishing an appeals mechanism for schools that are of the view they meet the criteria for DEIS support to have their applications reconsidered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9234/17]

DEIS Data

Carol Nolan

171. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of pupils covered by the DEIS programme over each of the past ten years; the number of schools per county that are included in the programme; the average funding per school and per student over each of the past ten years under the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9235/17]

National Educational Psychological Service Data

Carol Nolan

172. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of DEIS schools that do not have direct access to a NEPS psychologist for the purpose of carrying out an assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9236/17]

School Textbooks

Carol Nolan

173. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if all DEIS schools currently avail of a school book grant; the number that do not; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9237/17]

EU Funding

Carol Nolan

174. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of projects in receipt of EU funding under his Department in which partnership between an institution here and in the North was necessary to receive the funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9239/17]

Third Level Funding

Carol Nolan

175. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount his Department has provided for demographic growth in the higher education sector for the next five years; the amount provided in budget 2017; if the figure provided is taken into account when calculating the fiscal space; the number of staff who have been hired over each of the past five years specifically to address demographic growth in the higher education sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9240/17]

Third Level Staff Data

Carol Nolan

176. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of staff in the higher education sector in each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9241/17]

Capitation Grants

Carol Nolan

177. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the average rate of capitation per primary and post-primary pupil over each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9242/17]

DEIS Expenditure

Carol Nolan

178. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated costs of providing an administrative principal to all urban DEIS schools and for rural DEIS schools with more than 100 pupils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9243/17]

School Staff

Carol Nolan

179. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated costs of the establishment of 100 assistant principal posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9244/17]

Higher Education Schemes

Carol Nolan

180. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated costs of extending the HEAR and DARE schemes to students undertaking level 6 and level 7 courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9245/17]

Modern Language Teaching

Carol Nolan

181. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an estimated cost of the re-establishment of the modern languages in primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9248/17]

Modern Language Teaching

Carol Nolan

182. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the need for greater uptake of modern languages at secondary level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9249/17]

School Guidelines on Obesity

Carol Nolan

183. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement policy measures in schools to tackle the growing issue of obesity and to encourage healthy eating and awareness of a balanced lifestyle among children and teenagers; the funding that has been allocated to this issue; the resources that have been put in place to implement the measures proposed by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9250/17]

Physical Education

Carol Nolan

184. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has put in place a strategy to encourage children to be more physically active in schools; the resources that have been allocated to the plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9251/17]

School Curriculum

Carol Nolan

185. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown of all funding allocated to his Department over the past ten years in order to implement curriculum reform, either current or capital; the amount spent and details of the projects on which it was spent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9252/17]

School Staff

Carol Nolan

186. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teaching posts as additional English language posts over each of the past ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9253/17]

School Transport Eligibility

Carol Nolan

187. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an estimated cost of extending free school transport to concessionary pupils who hold a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9254/17]

School Transport

Carol Nolan

188. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has put in place guidelines or issued circulars to schools on the standards of vehicles to be used when transporting children during school hours on trips, lessons and so on outside of the school transport scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9255/17]

Disadvantaged Status

Carol Nolan

189. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) was not included on the DEIS list; if he will reconsider the exclusion in view of the fact that the corresponding boys school at which many siblings of pupils of the school attend has been granted DEIS status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9256/17]

International Study Opportunities

Carol Nolan

190. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an Irish citizen, enrolled on a course of study in an Irish university, should be subject to the same fees in an institution in another EU member state when undertaking a year of study at that institution with the support of the Irish university with which he or she is enrolled. [9257/17]

International Study Opportunities

Carol Nolan

191. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review a matter in which a person (details supplied) is studying in another EU member state and is subject to visiting students' fees that are higher than those levied on students of that member state and do not take into account this person's status as an EU citizen. [9258/17]

School Enrolments

Carol Nolan

192. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the establishment of a third stream in a school (details supplied) to meet local demand for the children to be educated through the medium of Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9259/17]

Motor Tax

Carol Nolan

203. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if there are any exceptions to the requirement to have a VAT number in order to tax a vehicle under the commercial rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9222/17]