Parliamentary questions

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Charlie McConalogue

1. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether children qualifying for a special needs assistant this coming September will experience reductions in their allocated special needs assistant hours due to the continuance of the cap on numbers at a time when the number of students qualifying for special needs assistant support has increased by 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32544/13]

Back to School Costs

Jonathan O'Brien

2. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement the recommendations of the Oireachtas Select Committee on Education who have proposed that pupils should not be obliged to wear crested uniforms and schools should end the practice of using work plans and if he will present a timetable for when these measures will be implemented. [32342/13]

School Curriculum

Maureen O'Sullivan

3. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the serious concerns regarding the subject of history in the proposed reform of the junior certificate, if he will consider including history as a compulsory subject. [32343/13]

Student Grant Scheme Administration

Charlie McConalogue

4. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Student Universal Support Ireland applications for 2012-13 still to receive a final answer; the number of appeals outstanding; the steps he has taken to ensure students are not refused access to examination results due to not having a final answer on their grant application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32545/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Catherine Murphy

5. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills how he expects to update the plan for implementation of the Education For Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act to prioritise access for children with special needs to an individual educational plan in view of the reduction in such services in recent years and the increase in demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32499/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Brendan Smith

6. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way he can improve the provision of special needs services to post-primary students who require them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32258/13]

School Staffing

Jonathan O'Brien

7. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of resource teachers that will lose their jobs or have their teaching hours reduced in the 2013/14 academic year; if he will confirm that principals and school boards of management have the flexibility to employ mainstream teachers without full-time timetables into roles that should be filled by specially trained resource teachers. [32206/13]

State Examinations Issues

Maureen O'Sullivan

8. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the basis on which he decided teachers would correct the junior certificate examination work of their own students and schools would provide their own individual certification. [32005/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Joe Higgins

9. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reassure parents and teachers there will be no cuts to other education services following his announcement not to implement his planned cuts to resource hours. [32241/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Gerry Adams

10. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the July provision programme for children with autism and if siblings with autism will be entitled to one-to-one provision to meet their individual needs as stated in section 7 of the terms and conditions of the 2011 July provision scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32209/13]

Education Statistics

Sean Fleming

11. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills his response to the latest OECD Education at a Glance report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32265/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Joan Collins

12. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify his statement that pupil teacher ratios in schools may be increased to pay for the reversal of planned cuts to supports for children with special needs. [32053/13]

Third Level Fees

Clare Daly

13. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that no plans for a graduate tax, student loan or student voucher system in relation to university fees will be considered in budget 2014. [32006/13]

Student Grant Scheme Administration

Martin Ferris

14. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason school guidance counsellors were not informed by Student Universal Support Ireland that the closing date for higher education grants had been brought forward to 1 August. [32220/13]

Graduate Statistics

Alan Farrell

15. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the recent OECD Education at a Glance report showing that Irish graduates are more likely to be unemployed in comparison with other countries, and the noted lack of progression from education to work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32164/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Willie O'Dea

16. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills the implications for the education budget in 2014 of the additional resource teachers announced on 25 June 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32249/13]

Value for Money Reviews

John Browne

17. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans regarding smaller rural schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32250/13]

School Staffing

Dessie Ellis

18. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that guidance counsellors in many schools are reporting that up to 70% of their case load is now taken up by pastoral care and counselling with higher incidents of self-harm, drug abuse, children suffering from depression, abuse and the effects of family breakdown; and if he will respond to fears that the dismantling of guidance services in schools is putting the lives of young persons at greater risk. [32218/13]

Public Procurement Regulations

Micheál Martin

19. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to change the procedures in place for stationery procurement in primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32272/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Dara Calleary

20. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the working group to review special education will report; the key priorities the group is addressing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32254/13]

Institutes of Technology Issues

Barry Cowen

21. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the proposed reorganisation of third level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32259/13]

State Examinations Issues

Mary Lou McDonald

22. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the report he has ordered the State Examinations Commission to make into the typographical errors and mistakes that were made on leaving certificate papers; and if he will provide details of the way answers to these questions will be assessed in view of these mistakes. [32211/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Pearse Doherty

23. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide assurances that the allocation of an additional 500 resource teachers to meet the increase in the percentage of children with special needs who are attending school from September 2013 onwards will result in funding being withdrawn from the overall education budget; if he will confirm that he has no plans to increase the pupil-teacher ratio. [32216/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Éamon Ó Cuív

24. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills the implications for the education budget in 2014 of the additional resource teachers announced on 25 June 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32280/13]

State Examinations Issues

Patrick O'Donovan

25. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the circumstances of the mistakes that were reported in the leaving certificate maths papers; if his Department has carried out an investigation into what happened; if he has taken steps to ensure that the issue does not arise again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32016/13]

Student Grant Scheme Applications

John McGuinness

26. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Student Universal Support Ireland applications outstanding; the number of applications that are currently under appeal; the impact on students accessing exam results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32275/13]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Bernard Durkan

27. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he expects to be in a position to retain workable levels of pupil-teacher ratios in all schools throughout the country, primary and post-primary, private and public, religious and non-denominational, keeping in mind the need to maintain adequate capitation levels; if he accepts that variations already exist in this regard within both the private and the public school sector and between both and the desirability of the need to recognise the difficulties faced at this time of economic stress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32224/13]

Third Level Funding

Pearse Doherty

28. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to objections raised by staff of Dublin Institute of Technology regarding the provision of Shell funding towards the new visual arts degree in Erris, County Mayo, which is being offered by DIT and Mayo County Council. [32217/13]

Industrial Disputes

Robert Troy

29. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the contingency plans he has in place to deal with any industrial action by teachers in the autumn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32264/13]

Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

30. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna céard é an beartas faoi neamhspleáchas na Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [26106/13]

School Staffing

Gerry Adams

31. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason his Department wrote to the National Council for Special Education on 30 May regarding the 75% resource teaching allocations it was asked to delay communicating this information to schools for three weeks; and if he will respond to criticism that this resulted in considerable uncertainty for school authorities who would have found it difficult to put in place staff for September at such short notice. [32210/13]

Student Support Schemes Issues

Martin Ferris

32. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the Student Universal Support Ireland application system was not available online earlier than its launch in May when many sixth year students had broken up for the school year; and if he will respond to the view that having the system available earlier would have allowed counsellors additional time to help students with their college applications. [32221/13]

Special Educational Needs Expenditure

Michael McGrath

33. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the impact of the special needs assistant cap on access to special needs support from next September in view of the increase in demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32273/13]

Student Support Schemes Issues

Seán Crowe

34. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will intervene to stop third level institutions employing debt collectors to pursue student debt, in view of the serious difficulties that arose from the processing of grants through Student Universal Support Ireland in the 2012-13 academic year. [32215/13]

National Council for Special Education

Michael Colreavy

35. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on reports that children with special educational needs from middle-class backgrounds continue to receive more support at school than those from working-class areas as a result of having enhanced access to private psychological assessments when compared to schools dependent on the State funded National Educational Psychological Service. [32213/13]

Traveller Community Issues

Michael Colreavy

36. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if it is appropriate for the statistics section of his Department to contact schools to request in writing from the parents of Traveller children confirmation of their ethnic status in order to qualify for the higher capitation grant; and if he considers this method of data collection at odds with the concept of integrating Traveller children into a mainstream school setting. [32214/13]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Mary Lou McDonald

37. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a guarantee that he has shelved plans to include assets such as farmland and business premises in the means tests for third level students. [32212/13]

Child Care Guidelines

Seamus Kirk

38. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is satisfied with the implementation of Síolta and Aistear; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32269/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

39. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason it is taking until 2015 to implement the national policy on educating children with autism; and the reasons behind the lengthy delay for implementing a national policy for children with autism. [32208/13]

Institutes of Technology Funding

Thomas Pringle

40. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline in tabular form the capital funding which has been allocated to institutes of technology over the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32281/13]

School Textbooks

Thomas Pringle

41. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there are plans for the widespread introduction of e-books in schools nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32282/13]

Educational Tours

Derek Keating

42. Deputy Derek Keating asked the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements for supervision of students during school organised Gaeltacht residential trips and classes; if his attention has been drawn to a reported major breakdown in supervision following an organised school trip to Donegal with 38 students from a school (details supplied); if he has been notified that the school principal has removed himself from the board of management investigation because of a reported conflict of interest; the responsibility his Department has in such issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32017/13]

Student Universal Support Ireland Administration

Mick Wallace

43. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the case of a student (details supplied) who cannot access their examination results due to difficulties with Student Universal Support Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32245/13]

School Completion Programme

Joan Collins

44. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the proposals put forward by the SCP co-ordinator of the Dominican Campus school completion programme with the support of the three primary schools; if he has considered the proposals and when he will respond to the proposals. [32052/13]

Education and Training Boards Issues

Richard Boyd Barrett

45. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the impact of the move from Dún Laoghaire to Tallaght, Dublin, for the staff of Dún Laoghaire Vocational Education Committee and the delivery of services in the area; if he has considered the impact on education services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32244/13]

School Textbooks

Billy Kelleher

46. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to assist families with the cost of school books; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32267/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Mick Wallace

47. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the case of a school (details supplied) in County Wexford which has recently lost 2.5 special needs assistants even though two new children with special needs are due to start at the school this September; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32246/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Joe Higgins

48. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider a reversal of all the cuts to special needs assistants and resource hours that have been implemented by his Government. [32240/13]

Third Level Participation

Joe McHugh

49. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether third level institutions need to be more ambitious in opening up undergraduate programmes to Northern Ireland residents; if he is concerned about the insubstantial increase in the numbers of third level students here who are from Northern Ireland compared proportionately with 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32012/13]

State Examinations Issues

Patrick Nulty

50. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason geography is being considered for removal as a compulsory junior certificate subject under his reform proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32015/13]

School Staffing

Dessie Ellis

51. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to the claims that the reduction in the number of school guidance counsellors reflects his lack of understanding of the important role they perform in schools and that he is also denying children and young persons access to important supports and services when at school. [32219/13]

Departmental Expenditure

Jonathan O'Brien

52. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to the findings contained in the Education at a Glance 2013 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which shows the proportion of public expenditure on education in Ireland fell from 13.7% to 9.7% in the decade between 2000 and 2010; and if the failure of the Government to ring-fence funding for education will prevent the building of a knowledge-based economy. [32205/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Denis Naughten

53. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he will take to address the increasing numbers of special needs pupils at primary level, in view of the curtailment in funding to support such pupils; if he has assessed the impact of the curtailment of special needs assistants on children with special needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32188/13]

Third Level Fees

Clare Daly

54. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a State-funded study on the impact of increasing student registration fees was conducted in recent years; and if so, what the findings revealed. [32007/13]

State Examinations Issues

Patrick Nulty

55. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason history is being considered for removal as a compulsory junior certificate subject under his reform proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32014/13]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Denis Naughten

56. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an assessment of the impact the changes to pupil-teacher ratios is having on class numbers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32189/13]

Departmental Submissions

Joe McHugh

57. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will update Dáil Éireann on his Department's review of submissions that may have been received from organisations which represent minority denominational schools in rural areas; if he will acknowledge the roles that such schools play in the preservation of traditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32013/13]

Special Education Review

Alan Farrell

58. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline his long-term plan for special needs education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32163/13]

Special Education Review

Seán Crowe

59. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide the details of the terms of reference that will apply to the working group that is being established to review the allocation of special educational resources. [32222/13]

Schools Building Projects Status

Richard Boyd Barrett

60. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) in County Dublin may expect to receive funding for much needed refurbishment; when this refurbishment is scheduled to take place in view of the fact that it was due to be re-developed in 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32242/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Bernard Durkan

61. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will indicate the extent to which he expects to be in a position to continue to meet the requirements in respect of resource, special needs assistants or other special needs teaching notwithstanding the restrictions imposed on his Department arising from the memorandum of understanding entered into by his predecessor; if he expects to be in a position to address the concerns expressed by parents in the run-up to the forthcoming budget; if he hopes to be in a position to meet in full the requirements of children with special needs currently at school or in pre-school in the coming year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32223/13]

School Staffing

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

62. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the principal and board of management at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 2 have permission from his Department to allocate resource hours to mainstream teachers because the school is in an over quota position, thus resulting in a qualified resource teacher losing their job; and if he will confirm that only resource teachers should teach resource hours no matter what the situation or position the school finds itself in. [32207/13]

Arms Trade

Andrew Doyle

63. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 108 of 11 June 2013, if he will provide an update in the provision of legislation in Irish law for the ratification of the arms trade treaty he intends to bring before Dáil Éireann later this year; the steps that have been taken to date by officials in his Department in this matter to ensure early ratification; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32307/13]

Election Monitoring Missions

Andrew Doyle

64. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No.120 of 11 June 2013, the names of persons whom his Department sent on the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe election observation mission to oversee the presidential elections in Mongolia on 26 June 2013; the costs that each person will incur; if he will outline in tabular form the expenses of each person; the activity of the mission during the election and to report on their outcome; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32333/13]

Human Rights Issues

Finian McGrath

65. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding human rights at Falun Gong and the organ transplant industry in China; if there is evidence of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32491/13]

Undocumented Irish in the USA

Andrew Doyle

66. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade further to Parliamentary Question No. 132 of 28 May 2013 and the Immigration Reform Bill that was passed by the United States Senate on a 68-32 vote on 27 June 2013, to outline the measures contained within the Bill and the possible ramifications it will have on future J1 visas that many thousands of Irish college students avail of every summer; if new fees will be introduced on employers who hire J1 students for the usual 12 week period; his views on whether any such fees imposed on US employers will deter them from hiring Irish students, threatening the future of the J1 visa scheme; if it is apparent to him how this measure in the Bill would be paid or who would pay; his views on whether this measure contained in the Bill is unfair and unworkable; the measures he, officials in his Department and the Embassy of Ireland in Washington DC will be taking in the near future to ensure representations are made to every member of Congress, particularly those in support of the Irish cause, before this Bill is voted on in the United States House of Representatives to ensure amendments are made to the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32493/13]

Overseas Development Aid Issues

Andrew Doyle

67. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will outline the main points regarding the Minister of State with responsibility for trade and development's address to the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa EU Presidency Seminar in Dublin on 27 June 2013 entitled Africa's Development Future: land, hope and hunger; the number of persons on the African Continent who are employed by Irish companies; if he will detail where this data and statistical information is available; the Irish companies that interact with his Department that operate in Africa and the sectors they are involved with; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32495/13]

Undocumented Irish in the USA

Brendan Smith

68. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding the US Immigration Reform Bill; the proposals, if any, he has to support the work of Irish advocacy groups in support of this legislation; his plans for further discussions with members of the US Congress to progress this legislation to a successful conclusion due to its importance for the undocumented Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32522/13]

Fuel Laundering

Catherine Murphy

69. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Finance if he will confirm the amounts spent by the State in each year for the past five years to operate and maintain the addition of dye to diesel used for certain industrial and commercial purposes; if he will further outline the estimated revenue lost to the State from the laundering of such fuels illegally in respect of the same years if such figures are available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32361/13]

Banking Sector Staff Issues

Joe McHugh

70. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Finance if officials who were employed in banks that received bailout and contingency funding from the Central Bank and other State institutions, were bound by the code of the Civil Service that relates to the achievement of an excellent service for Government and the other institutions of the State as well as for the public as citizens and users of public services, based on principles of integrity, impartiality, effectiveness, equity and accountability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32331/13]

Budget 2014 Issues

Michael Healy-Rae

71. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Finance the way it is justifiable to take €280 a year from 300,000 pensioners in budget 2014; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32370/13]

Tax Code

Pearse Doherty

72. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 82 of 26 June, if he will outline the effective tax rate effect for income earners whose tax credits were phased out with a reduction of half the credits between €100,000 and €150,000; three quarters of the credits between €150,000 and €200,000; and abolished over €200,000; based on the current tax rates; but also setting out a table of what the effective rate would be if a new third tax rate of 48% was introduced on income over €100,000. [32381/13]

Tax Collection

Pearse Doherty

73. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 82 of 26 June 2013, if he will set out the additional average tax paid by employees in the categories mentioned if the employees were also subject to a new third rate of tax of 48% on income earned in excess of €100,000. [32382/13]

Tax Code

Pearse Doherty

74. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be raised if personal and not employee tax credits for high income earners were phased out with a reduction of half the credits between €100,000 and €150,000, three quarters of the credits between €150,000 and €200,000, and abolished over €200,000; the impact that would have on the average tax take from salary earners in that category; and the impact that would have on income earners in those categories if they were also subject to a new third rate of tax of 48% on income earned over €100,000. [32383/13]

Tax Code

Pearse Doherty

75. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to his Parliamentary Question No. 85 of 26 June 2013, if he will set out the average additional tax take paid by taxpayers earning over €100,000 if tax credits were abolished; the average additional tax take that would be paid if these taxpayers also incurred a new third rate of tax of 48% on the income earned in excess of €100,000; and what the effective tax rate with the credits abolished under either the current rate, or with the new tax rate, for average income earners at €125,000, €150,000, €175,000, €200,000, €300,000, and €500,000. [32384/13]

Tax Clearance Certificates

Sean Fleming

76. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Finance the procedure by which companies with registered offices in the British Virgin Islands can obtain tax clearance certificates to be awarded contracts by public bodies and Government Departments here for work to be carried on here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32438/13]

Money Laundering

Tom Fleming

77. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Finance if he will re-examine the requirement to have anti-money laundering identification requirements applied to the purchase of prize bonds over €25 as it is unnecessarily restrictive and will have a detrimental impact on the sale of prize bonds to customers who wish to give them as a gift to family members; if he will review this with a view to setting the limit at €100 before any requirements were applied and accept that this would be a move appropriate level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32476/13]

Insurance Costs

Joanna Tuffy

78. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Finance the protections there are for holders of life insurance policies against insurance companies unreasonably and arbitrarily increasing the premiums to be paid by the policyholder; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32477/13]

Banking Sector Investigations

Michael McGrath

79. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will state, in respect of each of the former covered institutions, if internal and-or external telephone calls were recorded by the bank; when the recording of telephone calls commenced; the current practice; if any such recordings from the period 2008 onwards have been passed on to the authorities as part of their investigation into certain matters associated with the banking collapse; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32527/13]

Bank Liabilities

Michael McGrath

80. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide the official breakdown by class of liability of the total amount of bank liabilities at 30 September 2008 covered by the bank guarantee announced on that day and subsequently enshrined in legislation. [32528/13]

Central Bank of Ireland Investigations

Michael McGrath

81. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide details of each of the separate investigations currently under way by the Central Bank of Ireland into the banking collapse; the subject matter being investigated; if he will provide an update in respect of each investigation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32531/13]

Bank Guarantee Scheme Administration

Michael McGrath

82. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount of money held by the then Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland at 30 September 2008 in respect of the deposit guarantee scheme for banks and building societies; and to specify the amount currently being held by the Central Bank of Ireland in respect of the same scheme. [32532/13]

Economic Data

Michael McGrath

83. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance his views on the recent fall in GDP; the actions the Government will take to arrest the decline in output; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32534/13]

Bond Redemption

Michael McGrath

84. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if sales have taken place to date by the Central Bank of Ireland of the portfolio of Irish Government bonds it holds which replaced the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation promissory notes; the total value of such transactions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32608/13]

State Bodies Mergers

Catherine Murphy

85. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the merger of the National Centre for Technology in Education with the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in order to integrate ICT education and further aid the number of students opting for ICT courses at third level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32500/13]

School Accommodation

Gerry Adams

86. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a school (details supplied) in County Louth has proposed to integrate an autism unit into its school and that a prefabricated building has been in place for some time; the reason the service has not yet been established in this school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32309/13]

Student Support Schemes Issues

Robert Troy

87. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider that there is little point in the Government fully accepting the recommendations of the Fottrell report, committing to increasing medical student numbers, investing the time and resources in establishing the GEM programmes and then making no provision to support students who will be returning to education driven by a passion to pursue a career in medicine (details supplied). [32329/13]

Schools Building Projects Administration

Paudie Coffey

88. Deputy Paudie Coffey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the date by which tenders have to be submitted to his Department for the construction of a new school (details supplied) in County Waterford; if a work schedule and completion date for the construction of the school will be published; if he will appoint a project co-ordinator to ensure adequate liaison and progress on the project between his Department and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government which is providing funding for a public library on the site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32334/13]

Emergency Works Scheme Applications

Pat Breen

89. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding emergency funding in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32336/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Michael McCarthy

90. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for an ASD unit, English speaking, for primary school children in the west Cork area. [32363/13]

Student Grant Scheme Appeals

Patrick O'Donovan

91. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an appeal made to Student Universal Support Ireland in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32369/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Martin Ferris

92. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special needs assistants who will be allocated to primary and secondary schools in County Kerry from September 2013; the comparable figures for 2011 and 2012; if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the number of special needs assistants per school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32374/13]

School Accommodation

Willie O'Dea

93. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received the application for capital funding in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Limerick requesting urgent repair of the school facilities; if he will fast-track the application in view of the fact that the architect's report has found the school building to be dangerous; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32376/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Charlie McConalogue

94. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of hours a permanent special needs assistant in a primary school is required to work on a weekly basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32377/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Charlie McConalogue

95. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills whether the total number of hours a permanent special needs assistant in a primary school works is inclusive or exclusive of tea breaks and lunch breaks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32379/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Noel Harrington

96. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the special needs assistant allocation for a child (details supplied) in County Cork currently receiving full-time assistance will be maintained for the upcoming year, as it is due to be halved, which will have adverse consequences for their learning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32386/13]

School Staffing

Jonathan O'Brien

97. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form the number of release days from full-time teaching duties afforded by his Department to teaching principals; his plans to increase these; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32393/13]

School Management

Jonathan O'Brien

98. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the training that was provided for members of boards of management at primary and post-primary level; the funding his Department provided for this training; the evaluation of this training that has been undertaken by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32394/13]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Jonathan O'Brien

99. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reduce the average class size in primary schools in Ireland, which according to OECD Education at a Glance 2013 is the second highest of EU countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32395/13]

School Staffing

Jonathan O'Brien

100. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will list in tabular form the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in primary schools in March 2009; the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in primary schools in September 2009; the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in primary schools in September 2010; the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in primary schools in September 2011; the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in primary schools in September 2012; the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in post-primary schools in March 2009; and the number of assistant principal posts and special duties posts in post-primary schools in September 2009. [32396/13]