Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 28 May 1996

Vol. 466 No. 1

Adjournment Debate. - Kilrush (Clare) Community School.

Mr. Killeen

I very much regret that conditions at Kilrush community school have so frustrated the staff, students and parents that the TUI finds it necessary to take strike action tomorrow. The immediate cause of the strike is the failure to appoint a permanent teacher in the woodwork and technical graphics area. The decision is set against a number of years of frustration because the school is located on three separate campuses, causing great difficulty for teachers and students. Seven permanent appointments have been lost from the school and one teacher has been made ex-quota, but not one permanent appointment has been made.

The practical subjects of woodwork, technical graphics and construction studies in particular have taken a severe blow. Where previously in the vocational school there were two permanent teachers in this area, at present there is no permanent teacher of these subjects. The present leaving certificate students have had four different teachers of woodwork, construction studies and technical graphics. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that the present woodwork teacher will be available in September. Parents have expressed their disappointment at the range of practical subjects available. For four years the school staff and everybody associated with it have lobbied for a permanent appointment. They have also lobbied, unsuccessfully, to have a building constructed.

To underline the difficulties that exist I wish to refer to a study by the West Clare Community Development Resource Centre on young people and educational disadvantage in Kilrush. It found that given the well documented tendency for patterns of educational disadvantage to reproduce within families, it is clear that the children of people who are unemployed have a significantly higher than average risk of educational disadvantage. It is also clear that the educational role modelling these young people receive within the home is much more likely to encourage practical skill training in areas such as woodwork, metalwork and art.

Kilrush community school has a wider catchment than the area surveyed. Nevertheless, the west Clare Youthreach programme, local primary schools and Kilrush community school identified very clear family patterns of educational disadvantage and early school leaving. All these bodies are very concerned about the problem but none has been able to access sufficient resources to deal with it effectively. They propose a range of preventive measures, central to which is recognition of the importance of encouraging and enabling young people to remain at school. This task is particularly important in the context of subjects such as woodwork, metalwork, domestic science and art which enable the development of practical skills.

In a survey of parents of Youthreach trainees, every parent expressed regret at the closure of the vocational school, particularly on the grounds that it narrowed the range of practical subjects available to their children. I call on the Minister to make a permanent appointment in this area. I understand that a 90 per cent quota restriction applies. Apparently the number of permanent teachers relative to entire staffing in the school is 89.31 per cent. The Minister may point out, which from her perspective is reasonable, that to make a permanent appointment would raise the quota to over 90 per cent. Nevertheless, in the circumstances pertaining in Kilrush and particularly in view of the frustration suffered as a result of having to operate in three centres, I urge the Minister to allow a permanent appointment with immediate effect to enable the teachers to deliver a good service.

Ms Bhreathnach

I am pleased to have the opportunity to clarify the situation in relation to the threatened strike in Kilrush community school. The Teacher's Union of Ireland submitted official notice of strike action at Kilrush community school to both the board of management of the school and my Department in a letter dated 22 May 1996. According to the TUI the reason for the proposed strike, which is scheduled to take place tomorrow, is the refusal by my Department to allow the appointment of a permanent teacher of woodwork and technical graphics in the school. At present this post is filled by a temporary teacher.

To clarify the situation, I wish to advise the House of the position in relation to the approved teacher allocations and teacher appointments in second level schools. In this sector, the approved number of teaching posts is determined by reference to the school's enrolments and the prevailing pupil-teacher ratio. It is then open to the authorities of the individual schools to submit an appeal for an increased allocation on the basis of projected increases in enrolment or in respect of identified curricular needs. My Department considers each appeal on its merits, decides on the final approved allocation for the school year in question and notifies the school authorities accordingly.

In the case of Kilrush community school, my Department has approved additional allocations for the past number of years over and above those warranted by the pupil-teacher ratio. Having received its allocation of teachers, their appointment is, in the first instance, a matter for the authorities of the school. In the case of community schools all appointments are subject to the approval of my Department. My Department has for many years operated a ceiling on the proportion of posts in community schools which may be filled in a permanent capacity. Up to 90 per cent of the allocation warranted by the pupil-teacher ratio and approved ex-quota posts may be filled on a permanent basis. The balance of the approved teacher allocation may be filled by part-time and-or temporary teachers.

There are a number of reasons for limiting the number of permanent teachers in a community school. First, it allows school authorities an acceptable level of flexibility to enable them to cope with a range of curricular demands within the approved teacher allocation for the school. Second, in the absence of a redeployment scheme in the community-comprehensive school sector the limit of 90 per cent permanency helps to prevent surplus posts arising as a result of declining enrolments.

The present position in the case of Kilrush community school is that its teacher allocation based on the current pupil-teacher ratio is approximately 33.5 teachers. In addition, my Department has allocated this school a further four posts over and above that justified by strict reference to the current pupil-teacher ratio. These four additional posts were allocated on the basis of identified curricular needs within the school. My Department is at present in consultation with the school authorities in relation to its final allocation for the 1996-97 school year. Were the school to now increase the number of posts filled in a permanent capacity this would result in its exceeding the 90 per cent limit which applies in this sector.

In this context, the general question of increasing the level of permanency in the community-comprehensive and vocational sectors has been the subject of discussions between my Department, the teacher unions and management in accordance with the provisions in the Programme for Competitiveness and Work. It is appropriate that any adjustment to the present ceiling on the level of pernmanency should be dealt with within the framework of those discussions rather than at the level of the individual school. In the event of an increase in the approved level of permanency being agreed, the revised limit will be applied to all community schools including Kilrush.

I regret that the Teachers' Union of Ireland has decided on strike action in this case. My Department has indicated that it is available to discuss the staffing situation in Kilrush with union representatives. As is evidenced by the final allocations which were approved for the school over recent years, my Department has demonstrated a willingness and capacity to meet the identified curricular needs of the school.