Parliamentary questions

School Patronage

Eric J. Byrne

157. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way he proposes to vindicate the constitutional rights of the parents who live in Portobello across Dublin 6, 8 and 12, and who are involved with the Portobello Educate Together group, to ensure that their children receive a primary education that is in accordance with their conscience and lawful preference; if he will explain the way to vindicate the rights of those parents and their children if the current negotiations he is carrying out on the transformation or divestment of existing school premises are unsuccessful in generating a new multi-denominational school in the local area for September 2013. [41432/12]

School Transport Provision

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

158. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding school transport; if he will address these concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41434/12]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Brendan Griffin

159. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will recognise long term recipients of supplementary welfare as a long term social welfare payment when assessing income for the special rate of maintenance grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41435/12]

Schools Building Projects Applications

Marcella Corcoran Kennedy

160. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that a school (details supplied) in County Offaly has submitted an amended proposal for an extension: if he will proceed with this design / model being piloted by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41462/12]

Schools Building Projects Status

Dara Calleary

161. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the status of a school building project (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41469/12]

School Transport Appeals

Charlie McConalogue

162. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the outcome of an appeal for school transport in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41476/12]

School Transport Applications

John Paul Phelan

163. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny who has been refused school transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41506/12]

Departmental Expenditure

Pearse Doherty

164. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form education spending both as a percentage of gross domestic product and in nominal terms by year from 1992 to 2011. [41521/12]

School Transport Provision

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan

165. Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 271 of 12 June 2012 the reason someone in Bus Éireann decided that persons (details supplied) in County Roscommon were not fit to travel together as they presented safety concerns, yet these persons share the same room at Ivy House where they are resident; the reason no-one consulted with the staff who look after them, their teachers, or their parents; if he will name the person who made the decision; if he will provide documents relating to the decision, both in the first instance and upon review; if his attention has been drawn to the waste of resources involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41538/12]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Éamon Ó Cuív

166. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills if for the purposes of determining if a third level student is the required distance from the college to be eligible for the non-adjacent grant, the distance is measured from the persons home to the gates of the college or to the college building the student habitually attends, particularly in view of the size of some of the campuses, the legal and regulatory basis for the method of measuring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41580/12]

Teacher Training Provision

Éamon Ó Cuív

167. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement the recommendation made recently to him that teacher training will cease in colleges (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41583/12]

Site Acquisitions

Tony McLoughlin

168. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason he will not enter into negotiations with the Health Service Executive regarding the purchase, for a nominal price, of a field adjacent to a school (details supplied) in County Sligo, to provide much needed parking which would provide critical safety infrastructure at this busy primary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41692/12]

School Curriculum

Tom Fleming

169. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will revive the modern languages in primary schools initiative in view of statistics that only 4% of primary students here learn a foreign language; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41701/12]

School Transport Eligibility

Dominic Hannigan

170. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the procedures that are in place to facilitate a person (details supplied) in County Meath regarding the school transport scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41729/12]

School Transport Appeals

Michael McCarthy

171. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an appeal has been lodged in a school transport case in respect of a person (details supplied); if so, if he will issue an update on same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41733/12]

English Language Training Organisations

Ciaran Lynch

172. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of establishments here that are providing English language classes for Chinese students; the number of Chinese students that have come here to study English since 2007; the strategies that are in place or under consideration to increase the number of such students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41820/12]

Physical Education Facilities

Patrick Nulty

173. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding remains in place for the construction of an extension to be used as a gym facility at a college (details supplied) in Dublin 15. [41828/12]

Pyrite Remediation Programme Issues

Patrick Nulty

174. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills when repair work needed to address the pyrite found in a school (details supplied) in Dublin 15 will be completed. [41829/12]

Schools Building Projects Status

Patrick Nulty

175. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the construction of new classrooms extension for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 15 is in his Departments capital works programme. [41830/12]

Schools Building Projects Status

Patrick Nulty

176. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the permanent school building at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 15 will be ready for opening in September 2013. [41831/12]