Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 24 Mar 2005

Vol. 599 No. 7

Adjournment Debate.

Hospitals Building Programme.

Mr. McGinley

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this important matter on the Adjournment.

The situation in Letterkenny General Hospital is chaotic. Since last January, upwards of 15 patients a night are being accommodated on trolleys in the day services unit and the accident and emergency department at the hospital, resulting in the cancellation of day service procedures, elective procedures and leading to gross overcrowding in the accident and emergency department. Last Tuesday there were 26 patients on trolleys waiting for beds. Today, the situation has improved somewhat, in that the total number on trolleys is 13, nine in the day services unit and four in casualty.

This week, all elective surgery has been cancelled, along with day services procedures, and this has been the pattern almost continually since last July. Patients awaiting hip replacements, knee replacements, hernia operations and such procedures are being left to suffer without knowing when they will be treated. All of this mayhem is caused by a chronic shortage of beds in the hospital.

Letterkenny General Hospital caters for a population in excess of 130,000 with only 286 beds to accommodate in-patients. It is probably one of the lowest per capita bed ratios in the country. Doctors, nurses and staff in general are doing their utmost under impossible working conditions. As a regular visitor to the hospital I have seen for myself the turmoil that is a regular feature in casualty. One could justifiably say that it is more like what one would expect in a Third World country than in the so-called richest country in the EU.

The situation has been allowed to continue to deteriorate because Letterkenny General Hospital has been starved of resources. While the medical and nursing staff are among the best in the country, the facilities they have to work with are woefully inadequate. The requirements of the hospital have been identified and generally accepted. Top priority must be given to the provision of a new accident and emergency department as the present unit is woefully inadequate. It treats some 30,000 cases per annum and it is only about one quarter of the size required for treating so many patients. It is cramped, confined, overcrowded and completely inadequate to meet its demands.

An approval to proceed to planning for a new accident and emergency unit was given by the Department of Health and Children in July 2003. Plans were submitted to the Department in October 2004. Since then, nothing has happened. We are now awaiting approval to proceed to the next stage, the appointment of an architectural team. I cannot over-emphasise the importance of that approval and I am asking that it should be granted without further delay.

It is also accepted that Letterkenny General Hospital requires an extra 70 beds and until these beds are provided, the hospital will continue to career from crisis to crisis, with the ultimate victims being the citizens of County Donegal. Provision for the extra beds could be made by providing an extra storey or two on the proposed new accident and emergency unit which is envisaged to be an independent block. We have listened long enough to daily bulletins about conditions in the hospital. We want to hear the decision to proceed to the next stage of planning for the proposed accident and emergency unit followed by the provision of the 70 extra beds.

There are a number of other critical services that must also be provided in Letterkenny. Donegal cancer patients have to travel the long distance to Dublin to obtain radiation oncology treatment. This has resulted in some cancer sufferers in the county taking the drastic decision to have breast removal operations rather than face the gruelling journey to Dublin for radiation treatment. While there is an excellent day patient oncology unit in the hospital, there is no dedicated cancer unit for in-patients. This is unacceptable when one considers that in the most peripheral county in Ireland, there are 50 new breast cancer cases, 70 new bowel cancer cases and 80 new prostate cancer cases annually. Cancer treatment facilities need to be upgraded and the BreastCheck service made available immediately. We are not asking for special treatment for the people of Donegal, just equal treatment. I ask the Government to meet the needs of the county without further delay.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Mr. S. Power)

I thank Deputy McGinley for raising this issue and welcome the opportunity to clarify the position on the development of services at Letterkenny General Hospital on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children.

The Deputy will be aware that the Health Act 2004 provided for the Health Service Executive, which was established on 1 January 2005. Under the Act, the executive has the responsibility to manage and deliver, or arrange to be delivered on its behalf, health and personal social services. This includes responsibility for the provision and development of services at Letterkenny General Hospital.

The Department of Health and Children is advised by the HSE that the increasing capacity pressures at Letterkenny have arisen both from the recruitment of additional consultants in recent years and as a consequence of advances in modern medicine which have resulted in greater life expectancy. The most recent consultant appointments to the hospital, including a consultant cardiologist, haematologist, oncologist, geriatrician and a consultant in respiratory medicine, have meant that more patients access more services locally. These developments are welcome but it is acknowledged that they have led to an increase in the local demand for services.

To assist the hospital in addressing the issue of capacity, the Department gave approval in 2003 to the HSE north-western area to proceed with the planning of an extension to the emergency medicine department at Letterkenny. The HSE north-western area appointed a design team to carry out an option appraisal-feasibility study to determine the preferred location for the facility on the hospital site. The study, which examined eight options, has been completed and is under consideration by the HSE. The proposal also includes the provision of two "shelled-out" floors over the emergency medicine department for the future provision of up to 70 beds.

The Minister has identified the delivery of emergency services as a priority area for attention. Many of the difficulties and delays experienced in emergency medicine departments reflect system-wide issues. It is, therefore, necessary to take a whole-system approach involving primary care, acute care, and sub-acute and community care in tackling the problems in emergency medicine departments.

In November 2004, the Minister announced additional funding of €70 million to implement a ten-point action plan to improve the delivery of emergency services. She has met senior management of the Health Service Executive and the Department is working closely with the HSE to ensure early implementation of these measures.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio.

Mr. P. Breen

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this matter. It is particularly appropriate this week when the INTO invited Oireachtas Members to visit schools throughout the country to see at first hand the conditions therein.

I and all my colleagues in County Clare believe that thousands of children in primary schools in Clare are in classes which are well in excess of the national average class size. The INTO recently carried out a survey in Clare primary schools that revealed from the 86% response that there are 93 primary classes there with 30 to 40 pupils, 12 primary classes with 35 pupils or more, and 3,500 Clare primary pupils in classes of 30 or over. Some 420 of these pupils are in classes of 35 or more and 800 are in multiple classes where the teacher must cope with up to four different classes in one overall class grouping.

All this is happening at a time three years after the Government committed to a radical reduction in the size of primary classes in its programme for Government. In its programme the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats Government gave a commitment that it would introduce maximum class guidelines over five years which would ensure that the average size of classes for children under nine would be below the international best practice guideline of 1:20. Three years later, the Government has failed to take even one step towards reducing class sizes in primary schools by even the slightest amount.

Last Monday, I and three of my Oireachtas colleagues visited Ballyea national school, which is very close to my parish. I was astonished to see at first hand the overcrowding in the classrooms. There were 35 children in one classroom that was less than well-ventilated, one of whom was a pupil in a wheelchair. The children were so close to each other that the teacher said that when one child coughed, every child picked up the infection. Even the teacher had very little space between the table and blackboard in which to manoeuvre.

Young children need more scope. The teachers, who do an excellent job, informed us that it was impossible for them to teach the new curriculum where small classes and groups are required in the guidelines introduced by the Department of Education and Science. The new curriculum clearly states that all children have a right to access to the highest quality of education appropriate to their needs. This includes children with disabilities.

I was further astonished to see that Ireland ranks second in the European Union on average class size, just behind Great Britain. This is unacceptable in an era when significant Government resources are available and there is under-spending in some Departments. Teachers and parents are entitled to the highest quality education and individual attention for their children. Adequate space in classrooms is the least we can expect. Pupils with special learning needs must be able to progress satisfactorily at their own pace. Unless class numbers are reduced, our children will suffer.

An additional 2,500 teachers will graduate this year from colleges. Some 1,700 of these could enter the system which would make a major difference towards reducing class numbers while 800 would go towards annual teacher replacements. The teachers are available and I urge the Minister to make the changes. We do not expect it to be done overnight as we know it cannot be done like that. If the Minister reduced class sizes, it would make a significant difference.

During our briefing with the teachers in Ballyea school, many of them indicated they were frustrated with the class numbers and informed us that they could not achieve what they wanted with many children because of class size. They need more work space. Every pupil needs to get to know the teacher. Many teachers said they could not get to know their pupils on a one-to-one basis because of class size.

I urge the Minister to begin the process of reducing class size numbers rather than reducing the pupil-teacher ratio, which is different. The Government must deliver on its pre-election promise because a good primary education for our young population is the foundation for our children's future. A sound education would also alleviate some of the social problems in towns and cities.

Mr. S. Power

I thank Deputy Pat Breen for raising this matter. I am glad to have the opportunity to outline to the House the improvements that have been made in primary class sizes by the Government.

Since 1997, the Government has dramatically increased the number of teachers in primary schools. In that time more than 4,000 additional teachers, including nearly 2,500 resource teachers, have been employed. These additional teaching posts have been used to reduce class sizes, tackle educational disadvantage and provide additional resources for children with special needs. Average class size has been reduced from 26.6 in 1996-97 to 23.9 in 2003-04. With regard to primary schools in County Clare, I am pleased to say that the average class size in the 2003-04 school year was 23.2.

The pupil-teacher ratio, which includes all the teachers in the school, including resource and learning support teachers, has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.4:1 in 2003-04. Significantly smaller class sizes have been introduced in disadvantaged schools involved in the Giving Children an Even Break and Breaking the Cycle programmes, with approximately 47,700 pupils in 243 participating schools availing of reduced class sizes of either 15 or 20 pupils per class.

The mainstream staffing of a primary school is determined by reference to the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous year. The staffing allocation system is based on ensuring an overall maximum class of 29 in each school. Where some classes in a school have class sizes of more than 29, it is generally because a decision has been taken at local level to use teaching resources to have smaller numbers in other classes in the school. As a result of the decrease in the overall maximum class size by reference to the staffing schedule from 35 in the 1995-96 school year to 29 currently, the number of children in classes of 30 or more has decreased substantially. In that regard, the average class size in the 30 to 39 category in 2003-04 was 31.7.

Other improvements in staffing for primary schools in recent years include a reduction in the appointment and retention figure for the first mainstream class teacher to 12 pupils; the appointment of administrative principals to ordinary schools with nine or more teachers, including ex-quota posts; a reduction in the enrolment figures required for the appointment of administrative principals to ordinary schools and Gaelscoileanna; the allocation of teaching posts to schools where 14 or more pupils with significant English language deficits are identified; and the allocation of additional learning support teachers.

In line with Government policy, the Department of Education and Science will continue to provide further reductions in the pupil teacher ratio within available resources subject to spending priorities within the education sector. Priority will be given to pupils with special needs, those from disadvantaged areas and those in junior classes. Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

School Staffing.

Mr. Sargent

Gabhaim buíochas don Cheann Comhairle as deis a thabhairt dom labhairt faoi seo. Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit fosta. I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this matter. Many teaching posts in the special needs education sector are filled by post-primary teachers and untrained personnel. The sector suffers a high turnover of staff because many teachers find they are not suited for, or keen to do, such work given, that it is different from mainstream education or because their qualifications and experience are not fully recognised. Many teachers who have chosen a career in special needs education and who have a great deal of specialist training and experience behind them are not fully recognised by the Department as special needs teachers because they are not trained for the primary sector.

The Department only considers primary or post-primary training in recognising special needs teachers. Part five of departmental circular 25/00 states the Department will offer "restricted recognition to teachers with a recognised post-primary qualification to enable them to teach in special schools where a proportion of the pupils attending the special school are of post-primary age (i.e. 12 years or older) and where 2nd level programmes are being provided by the school e.g. Junior Certificate Elementary Programme, Leaving Certificate Applied Programme".

Part four of circular 25/00 states "restricted recognition [is granted] to certain teachers who have a recognised primary teacher qualification from another jurisdiction", that is, those trained outside the state or those with a Montessori qualification. These teachers are qualified to teach four to 12 year olds in schools and classes where Irish is not a curricular requirement. These include schools and classes for pupils with severe and profound general learning disabilities, severe emotional disturbance and autistic spectrum disorders. In the UK, the DFEE confirmation of status for teachers states, "QTS is non-subject and non-age range specific. You are therefore eligible to seek posts covering the range of National Curriculum Subjects."

Why is there not more flexibility in Ireland regarding the recognition of basic teacher training and qualifications for the employment of special needs teachers? Many "unqualified" teachers are in classrooms in the special needs sector in Ireland, particularly in classes of children with autistic spectrum disorders, which I highlight because a number of my constituents work in them. They are considered unqualified in that they are not primary trained. Many may be post-primary trained and may have plenty of specialist training and experience, yet they are not entitled to full recognition and permanent contracts.

The education of these children is a specialist area and it requires much more training and experience than that provided in teacher training colleges. A few examples of the many special needs specific courses available both in Ireland and the UK, which have been taken by people who are teaching but not fully recognised, are PORTAGE, home teaching scheme for pre-school children with special educational needs and their families; PECS, picture exchange communication system; and TEACCH, treatment and education of autistic and related communication handicapped children. It is time the Department adopted a more progressive approach and recognised training other than primary qualifications when it comes to special needs education.

Perhaps it would be preferable if the Department concentrated on allocating primary trained teachers to mainstream primary posts and began to recognise those with specialist qualifications and experience as special needs teachers of any age and ability by allowing them to take up special education posts without restrictions. This way the need for investment in the retraining of teachers will lessen, staff turnover will reduce, there will be more continuity in the classroom and, consequently, the quality in the education of these children will improve.

I ask the Minister of State to recognise that children with special needs need continuity in their education. A great disservice is being done to them, perhaps unwittingly, by the Department, which has created this unrecognised category of teachers who are expert in their field and highly specialised but who must seek jobs elsewhere because they do not meet the Department's narrow criteria or because their own jobs are advertised. The Minister should pay attention to this issue in the interest of children with special needs who require continuity.

The irony is that teachers with post-primary qualifications are educating pupils with special needs who may be aged between 13 and 16 in primary schools but they are not recognised to teach children of post-primary age.

Mr. S. Power

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, I am glad to have the opportunity to provide clarity on the issue.

Unqualified teachers should only be employed in exceptional circumstances and when all avenues for recruiting qualified personnel have been exhausted. The primary sector has experienced a shortage of trained teachers in recent years, mainly as a result of the large number of posts created to reduce class sizes, to cater for pupils in disadvantaged areas and to provide for those with special educational needs. The difficulties being experienced are aggravated by the number of teachers availing of career breaks and job sharing schemes.

The Department introduced a range of measures to address the shortage of qualified teachers and I am pleased the number of unqualified teachers employed in our primary schools has reduced significantly as a result. Some of the initiatives taken since 1999 are as follows. More than 1,000 students have been admitted annually to the B Ed programme in the colleges of education; a postgraduate course was introduced; graduates of the Hibernia course are recognised for employment as primary teacher; B Ed graduates of St. Mary's College, Belfast, who have studied Irish to honours level as an academic subject as part of their teaching qualifications, are recognised as fully qualified; Montessori trained teachers who have successfully completed the three-year full-time course at St. Nicholas College, Dún Laoghaire, which is recognised by HETAC, or the Montessori qualification which is awarded on completion of the three year full-time course in the AMI College, are recognised as fully qualified substitute teachers and to teach in certain categories of special schools, special classes and as resource teachers in primary schools; and fully qualified teachers who trained outside the State are recognised to teach in certain categories of schools and classes without the necessity to hold an Irish language qualification.

With regard to the question of recognition of qualifications, all applications for recognition are considered under the terms of circular 25/00 regarding recognition of teacher qualifications for the purposes of teaching in national schools, and are considered on a case by case basis. In accordance with the circular, where an applicant has a general primary teaching qualification from another jurisdiction, he or she may be entitled to recognition in a provisional and restricted capacity. This would entitle him or her to teach in mainstream classes in national schools, special classes and special schools and in resource teaching posts.

While in Ireland qualifications in special education are undertaken at postgraduate level, it is recognised that in other jurisdictions a qualification in special education may be taken at undergraduate level. In processing applications for recognition, account of this position is taken and teachers holding such qualifications, following consideration of their individual cases, may be granted restricted recognition to work in certain categories of special schools and special classes where Irish is not a curricular requirement and in resource teaching posts in mainstream schools. The Minister is committed to ensuring the shortage of qualified teachers will be eliminated as speedily as possible and her Department will continue to consider new initiatives and keep existing initiatives under review.

School Absenteeism.

Mr. Costello

This is a specific issue. I want to know what the Minister intends to do in a general sense in terms of absenteeism. The school to which I refer is a second level college under the auspices of the Dublin Vocational Education Committee and the student is doing her junior certificate. The statistics are stark. In 2002, this student came into the college and was absent 90 days in that year. In 2003, she was absent for 121 days and up to Christmas 2004 she was absent for 60 days. That is 271 days out of 334 days she should have been in school, an absentee rate of over 80%. That situation has continued over three years, through first, second and third year.

The student is currently in junior certificate class, when she is present in the school, and should be sitting the examination this year, yet the attendance roll for this girl is appalling. The staff have done everything in their power to try to get the young girl to attend school. It has initiated 21 different interventions. It has contacted the National Educational Welfare Board and I am aware educational welfare officers have done their best, but there has been no success in ensuring this young lady goes to school.

What does the Minister for Education and Science propose to do about this matter? Everybody is totally frustrated and at their wits end. The student is very bright but she does not go to school. That is in breach of all the rules and regulations of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, but that Department does not appear to have an opinion on the matter. The school brought the problem to its attention and gave the whole appalling file to the Minister not long ago, but it has not received a response. What does the Minister intend to do about an appalling situation where a youngster is unable to avail of an education?

The situation regarding the student is dire and one can imagine the impact it has on other students. They might say that this student is not attending school, nobody is doing anything about it and they might as well mitch from school. As a result, the attendance levels in that school are deteriorating because no action is being taken.

We were told the National Educational Welfare Board, which replaced the role of the attendance officers and the Garda, would focus on ensuring that the emphasis would not be on penalising the student but on dealing with the parents. What action has been taken to ensure that the parents of that student will send her to school? I would welcome the Department of Education and Science giving an opinion and letting the school know the action it intends to take, how it can be supportive, whether it intends to fine the parent — under the legislation the parent could be put in jail — or whether it has some plan. The Department is standing idly by.

The 23 vocational schools in Dublin had a meeting recently at which it was revealed that they are all suffering greatly from absenteeism. Last year's statistics from the National Educational Welfare Board show that there was approximately 25% prolonged absenteeism. It was revealed that 20 days in the year, one month's schooling, was the norm in disadvantaged areas. There was a somewhat lower level in middle class areas but the figure was high also.

Students are supposed to be in full-time education up to the age of 16. This youngster is much younger than that and she has not had any decent education for the past three years. I want an answer to this issue and to the whole question of absenteeism, which is fairly rampant throughout many areas of Dublin. I am sure there is a problem in country areas also.

Mr. S. Power

I thank Deputy Costello for raising this serious matter on the Adjournment. On behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, I will reply.

The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 established the National Educational Welfare Board as the single national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The general functions of the board are to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education.

To discharge its responsibilities, the board is developing a nationwide service that is accessible to schools, parents-guardians and others concerned with the welfare of young people. For this purpose, educational welfare officers are being appointed and deployed throughout the country to provide a welfare-focused service to support regular school attendance and discharge the board's functions locally.

The overall authorised staffing complement is 94, comprising 16 HQ and support staff, five regional managers, 11 senior educational welfare officers and 62 educational welfare officers. I understand that some staff vacancies exist at present but that the board is in the process of making appointments which will bring the service delivery staff to its authorised complement.

At this stage of its development, the aim of the board is to provide a service to the most disadvantaged areas, including areas designated under the Government's RAPID programme and most at-risk groups. Five regional teams have been established with bases in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford and an educational welfare service is now available, for the first time, in the cities of Limerick, Galway and Kilkenny. A total of 12 towns with significant school-going populations, 11 of which are designated under the Government's RAPID programme, also now have an educational welfare officer allocated to them. These towns are Dundalk, Drogheda, Navan, Athlone, Carlow, Wexford, Bray, Clonmel, Tralee, Ennis, Sligo and Letterkenny. In addition, the board will follow up on urgent cases nationally.

It is recognised that the difficulties experienced in disadvantaged areas cannot be solved by one agency acting alone. Education is but one of the many needs of the people living in these areas. The board is working in close co-operation with other services from the education, health and justice areas so that children in need of special support are identified very early in their lives and followed up in a multi-disciplinary way. I have no doubt this service will help prevent children and young people becoming involved in delinquent and anti-social behaviour in the future.

There are a range of schemes, initiatives and services dealing with educational disadvantage at primary and post-primary level. These include the school completion programme, the visiting teacher service for Travellers and the home-school-community liaison scheme. Each of these schemes contributes in a positive way to promoting the education of children and young people.

The board consults schools, teachers, parents and others in regard to its services and has established a school implementation group to advise on its working arrangements with schools. The board has also moved to provide a service for families who decide to have their children educated in places other than recognised schools. The first assessments of education provided in places other than recognised schools have been carried out by three assessors appointed for this purpose. Work is continuing on the establishment of the register for 16 and 17 year olds who leave school to enter employment. The board also ensures that information concerning the Act and the work of the board generally is made available to schools, parents and others as soon as possible. An introductory letter was issued to all schools in March 2004.

Guidelines were issued by the NEWB to all primary and post-primary schools on 26 January 2005 on reporting student absences. The guidelines provide step-by-step advice on how and when school attendance returns should be made and how the new website, www.schoolreturn.ie, can be used by schools to comply with their legal obligations to report student absences to the board.

The budget which has been allocated to the National Educational Welfare Board for 2005 is €7.8 million, an increase of €1.3 million, or 20%, on the 2004 allocation. The percentage increase allocated to the board for 2005 is more than double that for the education Vote as a whole and this provision will enable the board to continue to develop its services during the year.

In the summer of 2004 the board received the first comprehensive data returns from the schools which are assisting it to keep the level of need for the new service in certain areas under review. I will outline the principal findings of the report. Attendance is lower at post-primary level than at primary level. At primary level every student misses 11 days, on average, of a total of 183 days. At post-primary level every student misses 15 days, on average, of a total of 167 days. One in ten students is absent for 20 days or more at primary level. Almost one in five students is absent for 20 days or more at post-primary level. The rates I have outlined are similar to those in England.

I appreciate that the reply I am giving to the Deputy is of a general nature.

Mr. Costello

It does not address the issue I have raised.

Mr. S. Power

I will bring the serious and specific issue the Deputy has raised to the attention of the Minister for Education and Science and report back to him in that regard.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 12 April 2005.