Parliamentary questions

Disability Act Employment Targets

Tom Fleming

102. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills the target of his Department and subsidiary offices throughout the country regarding employment of persons with disabilities in the special category; if the target is being achieved; the total number of employees in that category currently and the percentage of the total workforce in his Department that it represents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24612/13]

Schools Building Projects Administration

Joe Higgins

103. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress his Department has made in eliminating the problem of work arising from his Department's school building project falling into the hands of the black economy as detailed in correspondence to him from a person (details supplied) [24675/13]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Joe Higgins

104. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond positively to the calls of parents of children with Down syndrome to amend the Special Education Circular 02/05 to include Down syndrome as a low incidence disability and allocate maximum resource hours for children with Down syndrome. [24677/13]

Education and Training Provision

Tom Fleming

105. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a petition (details supplied) and the rational submission contained in this petition especially in view of the fact that literacy and numeracy are in the Programme for Government and the request that this be given priority on the FET (Solas) Bill 2013 is very logical and practical; if he will revise the draft to ensure that these vital issues are included in the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24686/13]

Public Sector Staff Remuneration

Róisín Shortall

106. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 283 of 14 May 2013, if he will identify the location and role of the 55 persons who are earning in excess of €200,000; and the reason in each case the public sector pay cap has not been applied to them. [24726/13]

State Examinations

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

107. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a student (details supplied) in County Kildare, undertaking their leaving certificate, who had, due to their learning difficulties, a full time special needs assistant at primary level and throughout secondary school, has been denied a reader and an exemption from grammar and spelling at the impending leaving certificate examination, when such a derogation has been provided to the student up to and including their mock leaving certificate; the reason that the student has only recently been told that they must now attempt the leaving certificate without any of these facilities, which they had come to rely upon; if he will review the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24743/13]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Seán Kyne

108. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the additional workload of the teachers and staff of Gaeltacht schools and Gaelscoileanna, particularly in view of the role such schools play in protecting and promoting our national language is taken into account in the determination of pupil-teacher ratios. [24750/13]

School Accommodation

Seán Kyne

109. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline his Department's procedures for collecting and maintaining data on capacity in the primary school network such as the number of classrooms in use and spare and if he is concerned at the under-utilisation of classrooms in city-based schools exemplified by the case of one school in Galway city in which six of the twelve classrooms are currently not being used. [24751/13]

Schools Building Projects Status

Finian McGrath

110. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on a school (details supplied) in Dublin 13 and plans for their new school. [24760/13]

Lease Agreements

Finian McGrath

111. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on a lease agreement (details supplied) [24761/13]

Schools Building Projects Status

Catherine Murphy

112. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the numbers of capital work contracts for school buildings and school extensions that have gone to successful tender for 2011, 2012 and to date in 2013; the companies that were awarded the contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24771/13]

Student Support Schemes

Catherine Murphy

113. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if triage procedures exist in relation to Student Universal Support Ireland grant applications; if he has encountered cases similar to a case where eligibility for a course was erroneously confirmed in writing to the applicant; if so, the steps he has taken to ensure the process eliminates the possibility of such errors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24791/13]

Schools Building Projects Administration

Joe Higgins

114. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made in eliminating the problem of work arising from his Department's school building project falling into the hands of the black economy as detailed in a letter to him from a person (details supplied) [24793/13]

Property Tax Assessments

Kevin Humphreys

115. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide a list in tabular form of all residential properties and address, operated or owned by the Office of Public Works which were liable for the local property tax; the valuation decided on for each property; and the amount of local property tax liable for each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24523/13]

Property Tax Assessments

Kevin Humphreys

116. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the valuation the Office of Public Works decided on for Áras an Uachtaráin and any other associated residential properties for the purposes of the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24524/13]

Property Tax Assessments

Kevin Humphreys

117. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the valuation the Office of Public Works decided on for Farmleigh and other residential properties in the estate for the purposes of the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24525/13]

Property Tax Assessments

Kevin Humphreys

118. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the valuation the Office of Public Works decided on for Ardilaun Lodge, St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, for the purposes of the local property tax; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24526/13]

Banking Inquiry

Michael Healy-Rae

119. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will outline the type of banking inquiry that will be proposed; if it will done in an Oireachtas-style committee setup and, therefore, not be a vastly expensive inquiry putting an additional burden on the already hard-pressed taxpayers of the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24674/13]

Freedom of Information Requests

Andrew Doyle

120. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he is taking to ensure that Freedom of Information requests are answered within the statutory period and to ensure that statistics are provided in a timely matter to the Information Commissioner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24734/13]

Croke Park Agreement Review

Charlie McConalogue

121. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there is any group representing retired public servants at the ongoing Croke Park 2 negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24503/13]