Parliamentary questions

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

80. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills to provide a financial statement for Caranua for the year 2015 including a breakdown of the moneys spent in 2015. [4535/16]

Residential Institutions Statutory Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

81. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount that remains in Caranua's fund. [4536/16]

Schools Refurbishment

Mary Lou McDonald

404. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding has been approved, tenders completed and contractors appointed for the refurbishment of a school (details supplied) in County Dublin; why she has not yet issued the letter to approve the commencement of works, given the length of time teachers, pupils and parents have been waiting for them to start; when this letter will issue; and when the works will commence. [2711/16]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

754. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the supports in place for students in secondary schools who suffer from dyslexia, memory impairments and severe receptive speech issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46586/15]

Education Policy

Mary Lou McDonald

761. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why a person (details supplied) in Dublin 7 has been refused an exemption from learning Irish; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46664/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

508. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional specialised programmes she provides as part of the Lufthansa Technik European Globalisation Adjustment Fund, EGF, programme in Rathcoole in County Dublin. [45342/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

511. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views that a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22 is receiving an allocation of special needs assistant hours appropriate to the diagnosed special needs. [44702/15]

Schools Building Projects Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

515. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 506 to 508, inclusive, of 24 November 2015, the status of the proposal from Castlethorn Construction regarding the provision of a sports hall and community centre at Adamstown community college in Lucan in County Dublin, including when she will make a decision on this proposal and if she will update the delegation of parents from the school with whom she recently discussed this the provision of this important facility. [44714/15]

Schools Building Projects Status

Mary Lou McDonald

516. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the length of time Castlethorn Construction was given by the education and training board to build the sports hall and community centre at Adamstown community college in Lucan in County Dublin from the start date of the original contract, and if, when and by how long the original completion date was extended. [44715/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

520. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special needs assistant hours allocated to a person (details supplied) in County Dublin. [44794/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

530. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will publish the EGF applications for Lufthansa Technik and PWA International Limited in Rathcoole in County Dublin or make them available to Teachtaí Dála. [45144/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

531. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why only 200 persons categorised as not in employment, education or training were detailed in the Lufthansa Technik EGF application, when the European Commission rules allow for a maximum of one such person per redundant worker, if she will allow the Lufthansa Technik EGF programme to increase the number of persons who can participate in the programme to 424. [45145/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

546. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the projected or estimated expenditure to date for the Lufthansa Technik EGF programme in Rathcoole in County Dublin. [45343/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

547. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the EGF service stakeholders for the Lufthansa Technik Programme in Rathcoole in County Dublin are required to submit projected or estimated expenditure to the European Globalisation Fund unit, the details of these provided to date. [45344/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

548. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of expenditure claims submitted by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund service stakeholders for the Lufthansa Technik programme in Rathcoole in County Dublin; and the value of these claims. [45345/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

549. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills to add an additional EGF stakeholder group in all existing and future funding programmes for the community and voluntary sector, to provide an additional avenue to ensure the maximum level of participation in current and future programmes, particularly from those classified as not in employment, education or training. [45346/15]

European Globalisation Fund

Mary Lou McDonald

550. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the additional specialised programmes being provided by the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire education and training programme as part of the Lufthansa Technik EGF programme. [45347/15]

School Transport Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

551. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 18 September 2013 and with reference to a request to publish the Farrell Grant Sparks, FGS, report of 2009 that was published in redacted form on 16 April 2014, if she will clarify that Bus Éireann does not make a profit from the school transport scheme, considering that the FGS report mentions, on page 150, a discarded option full cost recovery with no profit allocation. [45355/15]

School Transport Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

552. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to my Parliamentary Question No. 252 of 18 September 2013 and with reference to her statement regarding a signed confidentiality agreement, if she will provide the date Farrell Grant Sparks, FGS, commenced work on redactions, the date it completed its work on reaching an agreement with Bus Éireann and on making agreed redactions to the FGS report so that it could be published; the date that Bus Éireann first indicated that it was satisfied with the agreed redactions; the date of the FGS invoice for payment; the date and amount paid to FGS for agreeing the redactions; the date it was first decided to publish the FGS report; the date that her Department’s officials became aware that the freedom of information decision maker in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform decided that it was going to provide access to the FGS report in redacted form; the date Bus Éireann first became aware that the FGS report was going to be published on 16 April 2014; if she will explain the circumstances surroundings its publication; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45356/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

171. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why a person (details supplied) in County Dublin is losing an entitlement to a special needs assistant; if she will reinstate the person's special needs assistance hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44341/15]

Schools Building Projects Status

Mary Lou McDonald

470. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills when construction work will begin and be completed on a school (details supplied) in Dublin 7; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43537/15]

Schools Building Projects Status

Mary Lou McDonald

495. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the funding and building of St. Thomas's national school in Lucan, County Dublin, including the amount of funding allocated from the current capital programme, the stage that planning is at and when the works will be completed. [43753/15]

Third Level Fees

Mary Lou McDonald

522. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will introduce a fee waiver for independently managed community education providers for Quality and Qualifications Ireland re-engagement. [43954/15]

Third Level Fees

Mary Lou McDonald

523. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why organisations already accredited by the four bodies that are being amalgamated into Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, are being asked to apply for accreditation with QQI, thereby having to pay an additional fee, and if she will waive this fee. [43955/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

525. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why the resource hours of a person (details supplied) were withdrawn at the start of this school year and if these will be re-instated for the coming school year. [43957/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

526. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why a person with multiple special needs (details supplied) in Dublin 22 was not allocated a special needs assistant at the start of this school year and if she will consider providing this allocation to the person for the coming school year. [43958/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

527. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the process by which persons with multiple diagnoses are assessed for resource hours or special needs assistants and if a person with the following diagnoses (details supplied) in Dublin 22 will be allocated resource hours or a special needs assistant on the grounds of the multiple diagnosis. [43959/15]

SOLAS Training and Education Programmes Certification

Mary Lou McDonald

529. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund funded training courses are not recognised by SOLAS and if she will reconsider this policy. [43964/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

532. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills why a person (details supplied) in County Dublin is losing an entitlement to a special needs assistant; if she will re-instate this entitlement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44029/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

533. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an appeal by a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22 against the withdrawal of resource hours for the current school year and why the original deciding officer is overseeing the appeal despite this being in contravention of the National Council for Special Education rules. [44031/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

498. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22 will be provided with a place at a school that meets that person's special needs. [42364/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

499. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide sufficient resources to a school (details supplied) in County Dublin to ensure that it can cater for all the children with special needs who are on its waiting list for a placement in 2016. [42365/15]

Schools Building Projects Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

506. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills for details of the contractor she funded to build Adamstown Community College in Lucan in County Dublin, and the cost for the provision of this school. [41620/15]

Construction Contracts

Mary Lou McDonald

507. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the contract between the Education and Training Board and Castlethorn for the provision of a sports hall and community centre at Adamstown Community College which was funded by her Department; the cost to her Department and to the board for the sale of the land from Castlethorn; the moneys she and the board have paid to date to Castlethorn for the purchase of this site; any additional payment agreed for the building of the sports hall and community centre; and the date by which these facilities were to be provided under the terms of the contract. [41621/15]

Construction Contracts

Mary Lou McDonald

508. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she or the Education and Training Board are taking legal action against Castlethorn for its failure to meet the terms of its contract to build the sports hall and community centre at Adamstown Community College in Lucan in County Dublin; and if the board sought her approval or guidance, prior to taking this legal action. [41622/15]

Construction Contracts

Mary Lou McDonald

509. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills in the absence of an agreement between her Department, the Education and Training Board and Castlethorn for the provision of the sports hall and community centre at Adamstown Community College in Lucan in County Dublin, and in the context of a possible lengthy legal action by the board against Castlethorn, if she will directly fund, or co-fund with South Dublin County Council, the provision of the sports hall and community centre at this location. [41623/15]

Schools Building Contractors

Mary Lou McDonald

515. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the contract between the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Education and Training Board (DDLETB) and Castlethorn Construction to build the Adamstown community college and adjoining sports hall in Lucan in County Dublin was a public private partnership; the details of the original funding agreement between her Department, the DDLETB and the contractor; the amount of central government funding agreed for this project; the portion of this funding that has been drawn down to date by the DDLETB, and paid to the contractor; the reason the adjoining sports hall has not been built; her views on whether the original terms of the contract between the DDLETB and Castlethorn have been breached; if penalties were incurred, and if so, by whom; the efforts she is making to ensure the completion of this project; and her views on whether it is acceptable that a school, as large as this, has been left for such a long time with no adequate sports facility. [40229/15]

Schools Building Projects Status

Mary Lou McDonald

516. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide funding to complete the sports hall at Adamstown community college in Lucan in County Dublin in 2016. [40230/15]

Schools Building Contractors

Mary Lou McDonald

518. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of contracts that her Department is funding via the education and training boards for new-builds with a construction company (details supplied); the date at which these contracts were signed; and if her Department has any plans either directly or indirectly to sign any contracts with the company in the near future. [40254/15]

Autism Support Services

Mary Lou McDonald

474. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans for increased investment in special autism units and increased teacher supports and special needs assistants for children with autism and other special needs in the Newcastle, Rathcoole, Lucan, and Dublin 22 ares in Dublin over the coming five years. [39081/15]

School Accommodation Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

489. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set down in tabular form the capital budget for new school buildings for the years 2009 to 2015 to date. [39274/15]

Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme Eligibility

Mary Lou McDonald

573. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) in County Dublin has been refused funding under the vocational training opportunities scheme for a course in Pearse College of Further Education in Crumlin in Dublin 12; if her Department will review this case; and if there are any other forms of support to facilitate this person in remaining in education and training. [36169/15]

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Mary Lou McDonald

1235. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the supports which will be put in place to allow a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22 to remain at their current school; if she will consider the provision of additional special needs assistant hours to ensure that the person can remain in the school of their parents' choice. [31021/15]

Ministerial Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

212. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide, in tabular form, the expenses incurred by her from 2011 to date in 2015, including the date, expense type, description and amount; if each expense was vouched; her plans to introduce changes to the expenses system to ensure all expenses are fully vouched for; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26994/15]

Departmental Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

256. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual saving to her Department if spending on education and training was reduced by 2.5%, 5% and 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26918/15]

Departmental Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

257. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual saving to her Department if spending on professional fees, including but not limited to legal, IT-related, accountancy and other advisory and consultancy fees, was reduced by 10%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26947/15]

Departmental Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

258. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual saving to the Exchequer if the Minister's special advisers' salaries were capped at the first point of the principal officer grade, that is, €75,647; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26961/15]

Departmental Expenditure

Mary Lou McDonald

259. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual saving to her Department and the bodies under its aegis if all the fees for all State agency, non-commercial State-sponsored body and commercial semi-State body board members were reduced by 25%; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26976/15]

School Staff

Mary Lou McDonald

527. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide, in tabular form for the 2015-16 school year, the allocation of mainstream classroom teachers, special needs assistants, any other teaching staff resources and the teacher-pupil ratio for each class in third, fourth, fifth and sixth class for every senior school in Dublin 22. [25954/15]

School Placement

Mary Lou McDonald

744. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) in County Dublin will be granted a place for next year in the school that the person is currently enrolled in due to that person's special needs. [23933/15]