Vol. 643 No. 3
51 Deputy Brian Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Science the action she will take in order to help schools pay for the considerable price increase in water following the implementation of the water framework directive; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33876/07]
Schools receive funding by way of per capita grants to meet their day-to-day running costs and enable them to pay for services such as light, heat, water and waste disposal. The value of the capitation grants have improved significantly over the past few years and are set to increase again by €15 per pupil in 2008.
As the Deputy will be aware, the water framework directive requires that the "polluter pays" principle be applied to the provision of water and waste services to all non-domestic users. I am concerned about the considerable variance in the rates being applied by different councils, which has left some schools with significant bills.
As the Deputy may be aware, the programme for Government contains a commitment to examine the provision of waste and water allowances to schools, with charges becoming effective after these are exceeded. The implementation of this commitment is primarily a matter for my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. My Department will have an input to and support the examination to be conducted by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and I have already discussed the issue with the Minister.
In the meantime, we are anxious to enable schools to conserve water and keep their bills as low as possible. New school buildings are being designed with that goal in mind and measures such as the use of low-pressure spray taps on wash hand basins, dual flushing units on toilets and push button type shower controls are generally used. These will be of major benefit to the users of new buildings and resources have also been made available to assist those in existing facilities in considerably reducing their water bills.
How?
The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government launched a Conserve Water in Schools resource pack last month in association with Dublin City Council. The materials, which are available for download on the council's website, www.dublincity.ie, show children how they can get involved in conserving water and put a stop to water wastage. The campaign is also aimed at school management and lists actions to reduce water consumption in the schools.
Steps are being taken to help schools reduce their water bills, give them extra funding to meet unavoidable costs and examine in the context of the programme for Government the introduction of a new system of water allowances.
I thank the Minister for her reply, the effective message of which is that she will go around the country handing out new taps to schools which will face an approximate 800% increase in water charges from the local authorities. Does the Minister accept the lamentable response to the question means the Government's answer is to establish a committee to look at the issue?
A committee between the Minister and her colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is her only substantive response to the schools in the country. Does the Minister not accept that what is now required is for her Department to either fund the cost of the massive hike in water charges or ask somebody else to do it?
Why is it the case that at no stage did the Minister's Department or the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government seek a derogation from this framework directive under the EU? Schools are now being treated as businesses and it is happening under the Minister's watch. She is responsible for it and, effectively, asking parents to put their hands into their pockets to pay for these essential services. That is unacceptable.
There is no committee and I did not even mention setting up such a committee. Since last year we have been in discussions with the former and current Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to see how we can reduce this burden on schools.
When this was being introduced in 1999, the Department of Education and Science sought a derogation for schools but at that stage the country as a whole was fighting in Europe to seek a derogation for domestic water uses, which other countries do not have. The only derogation given for Ireland was for domestic homes, as in all other circumstances the polluter must pay.
For that reason, it is eminently sensible to be able to work with schools to reduce the amount of water charges. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle might be interested in one pilot scheme in Gorey introduced by the local authority and the Department for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. It succeeded in reducing the usage of water by up to 9,000 litres per day. The use of meters can ensure that they conserve water.
The increases in capitation will continue in coming years. I would like to see some agreement with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on water conservation. It is quite unfair on schools that they have to do this. All they are doing is transferring their domestic use into a school situation. In a school of 300 children, they must wash their hands and use the toilets. It is not as if they are wasting water all the time. However, because the only derogation available to Ireland at the time related to domestic use, we were not allowed to extend it to school use.
The Minister had a particularly difficult week last week as her broken promises were exposed for all to see. It is continuing this week. She has said this is an unfair system. She has said that schools are polluters, when effectively they are users of a system. Now she is asking schools to make up the deficit. Is the Minister aware that the capitation grant the Department gives to a 100-pupil school is €17,800? Independent assessment suggests it costs €31,000 to run those schools. The deficit will grow next year when the bills from the local authorities hit the desks of school managers. Is the Minister telling the House that she has no new measure or Supplementary Estimate to give those schools to allow them to meet the excessive hikes in water charges?
I had a very good week last week. Any day a Minister responsible for a Department gets €9.3 billion——
They are not promises though.
——of taxpayers' money to be spent on education is a very good week. It enables us to do many of the things in the programme for Government. In future years we will continue to meet those commitments. At second level a school of 500 students gets €307,000 and at primary level a school of 300 pupils gets €100,000.
What about small schools?
We made those increases because of the needs schools have. The Water Framework Directive uses the terminology "the polluter pays". It is just a general term indicating that those who use the water should pay for it. The charges applied to schools by different local authorities are inconsistent. We are working with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to ascertain whether the same charge can apply so that the capitation grant can go towards it.
The problem is that the bills are now hitting the desks of the school managers.
52 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science, further to her reply to Question No. 56 of 13 November 2007, if the promised developing area unit has not yet been established; if so, when it will be set up; the staff structure and numbers it will have; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33450/07]
Further to my reply to Question No. 56 of 13 November 2007, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department's developing areas unit has been established.
To date, 11 members of staff have been redeployed to the unit, comprising one principal officer, one assistant principal officer, one senior architect, one architectural assistant, three higher executive officers and four executive officers.
As some of these staff would have been looking after developing areas anyway, the consolidation of effort in the new unit will ensure that they are more effectively deployed. The process of filling some of the vacancies arising from the redeployment of staff to the new unit from other areas is in train. A further five additional posts, including a professional planner, have been approved for the unit. The necessary recruitment arrangements are being put in place. The staffing of the unit will be kept under review in light of the evolution of its work programme.
My Department has already taken a number of steps to improve provision for developing areas in recent years. More effective forward planning has been put in place through greater co-operation with local authorities and the publication of ten-year area development plans. Innovations such as the use of generic repeat designs, and design and build contracts have been introduced to ensure that new buildings can be delivered much faster. Greater authority has been devolved to local school management to manage and deliver small building works, thereby freeing up my Department to concentrate on larger projects.
All these developments have facilitated the provision of extra school places in extensions and new schools in developing areas all over the country. The Government is very conscious of the need to ensure timely provision of extra accommodation for the estimated 100,000 extra children who will enter our primary schools over the next seven years or so. To that end, an additional €95 million, an increase of 30%, is being provided for primary school buildings in 2008, bringing total capital expenditure on the building programme to nearly €600 million next year.
The €4.5 billion included in the national development plan for school buildings will enable my Department to continue to take a proactive approach to the provision of modern school accommodation across the country, but particularly in developing areas, over the coming years.
I note what the Minister has said and I gather from her reply that vacancies have been advertised and some people have been moved from one part of the Department to another. The unit as promised in the programme for government has been established, a point to which I will return later.
Regarding the other information the Minister gave, can she confirm that schools were told last September that no further money was available for capital projects in the calendar year 2007, that 30 schools were informed by telephone by the Department that they could not proceed to tender, that her Department is now engaging through a consultancy firm, KSN Project Management Limited, in inviting tenders dated November from would-be contractors to provide by 2 January proposals for schools that would be built and operational by 1 September next year, that she has taken no steps to provide for planning permission for these schools, that it is a blind tender for either a 16-room——
That does not relate directly to the question.
I am asking whether the Minister can confirm this. Is it true? With this massive amount of money, will we have a whole new generation of tin boxes, similar to the prefabs built when free secondary education was introduced in the 1960s?
Regarding the schools contacted by the Department, in January we will notify the schools that will be allowed to go to tender. We will do it over a phased basis during the year. Quite a number of schools are at various stages in the process — design, architectural planning, ready to go to tender, etc. Regarding greenfield sites for the fast developing areas, a tendering document was advertised in September of last year seeking companies to build offsite and then construct onsite. I am probably not using the right terminology. It is a kind of "drop-in" facility.
They are called prefabs.
No, it is not. It is permanent accommodation that will last 25 to 30 years. The buildings constructed in the 1970s have lasted 30 to 35 years. It is a speedy, efficient and good quality way to deliver accommodation. I have always outlined that the timeframe we have for many developing areas is extraordinarily tight. The tenders are due to be opened on 2 January, at which point we will move ahead. In parallel, sites are being identified and purchased through the various local authorities and in co-operation with the local authorities, and planning permission will be sought then.
In her reply the Minister has confirmed that we will get a new generation of state-of-the-art prefabs — there is no other word for it. They will have a life expectancy of 25 years, which could be extended further. The others had such a life expectancy, but some are still being used. Can she explain what steps her Department has taken to obtain planning permission for those schools? Will these buildings be temporary structures, exempted under the requirement to apply for planning permission, thereby confirming that she is engaged upon, as is happening in Laytown, a whole new generation of prefabs to be filled with pupils whose own children will not see the permanent schools that should be built in the first place?
What the Deputy is referring to is a very modern efficient way of construction. It is important that we should have accommodation as efficiently and as speedily as possible. The one in Laytown is not exactly what we are talking about. However, Laytown is a good example of very good quality accommodation and the people there are very pleased with it. However, that is not the one about which we are talking for future needs.
The Department is paying €60,000 per month in rent on it.
We need planning permission for the accommodation on these sites.
53 Deputy Brian Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Science if she will make a statement on the report on the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 as submitted to her on 1 October 2006. [33877/07]
The National Council for Special Education was required by the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to make a report on the implementation of the Act. This report is essentially advice to the Minister on the steps the council considers should be taken to implement the Act within a five-year period from the establishment date of the council, which was in October 2005. I appreciate the work of the council in preparing this report.
The report sets out an action plan, which envisages implementation of the provisions of the Act over a four-year period. The council report acknowledged that further work, analysis and discussion, especially with the key stakeholders involved, needed to take place given the extensive and fundamental developments required to implement the Act. The council further acknowledged that it would not be appropriate for it to be prescriptive nor definitive in many areas and it has put forward its views and recommendations to stimulate the necessary discussions and debate.
As the Deputy will know, when passing the Act, the Legislature also recognised that implementation would require a considerable change agenda to develop and support inclusive schools to deliver on the provisions of the Act. For this reason, the EPSEN Act 2004 specifically refers to a five-year implementation period.
I accept the core thrust of the principles and recommendations set out by the council in its implementation report and I am anxious to implement the Act in full in the quickest time possible. However, following consideration of the issues raised in the council's implementation plan and the consultations to date with the education partners, I consider that the five-year timeframe acknowledged in the legislation is the appropriate period in which to implement the provisions of the Act.
The key to implementation of the Act is investment in the system to enable it deliver the services envisaged in the Act. Our focus must be to deliver the best outcome for the student and to ensure that schools are not overly burdened with paper and process to the detriment of the student. I am determined to put the necessary policies and programmes in place and my priority is to ensure that the education system has the necessary supports and capacity to function in accordance with the EPSEN Act.
A considerable amount of progress has been made in this regard. As I stated, a series of consultations have been held with the education partners, at which a range of issues were explored in the context of delivering the provisions of the Act and some of these groups have made further submissions in recent weeks. Arising from this process and taking account of the council's implementation report, a working group in my Department has been developing proposals for implementation of the Act and this work will be completed shortly. In this context I am satisfied that effective progress is being made to advance development of the necessary policy and supports to enable formal commencement of the remaining provisions of the Act.
The National Council for Special Education, as it is obliged under the Act, submitted an implementation programme to the Minister on 1 October 2006. Is the Minister telling the House that this programme is not the Minister's programme? Is the Minister also telling the House that the various 50 proposals are not now to be implemented within the timescale? Will the Minister accept that her effective rejection of the advice from the national council leaves her open to the charge that no progress will be made in the implementation of the EPSEN Act to help young school children with special needs?
The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, when first introduced, envisaged a five-year implementation period. The report from the council on its studies and recommendations also outlined that it needed further work and analysis and further discussion with the partners. For this reason I will stick with what was originally in the legislation because we cannot move more speedily if the schools are not ready for it. However, key elements have already been introduced. The National Council for Special Education has been established, as has the inclusive approach in schools. A total of 17,000 adults work in schools with young people with special educational needs. This includes a total of 6,500 teachers instead of the previous 1,500 teachers and a total of 8,800 special needs assistants instead of the previous 300. The sole duty of these 17,000 adults is to work with young people with special educational needs.
The Special Education Appeals Board has been established. The cross-sectoral group which includes different Departments has been established. The individual education plan guidelines have been issued to schools and many had already been following these guidelines as part of best practice in schools. The standards for assessment and the work which will be undertaken by HIQA in overseeing these assessments have begun. The council is also developing a database.
I draw the attention of the House to the funding of €900 million this year. I do not think anybody can question the commitment to the education for young people with special needs.
I will allow a brief supplementary question.
I am questioning the commitment. In the implementation report given to the Minister on 1 October 2006 the council outlined 30 separate actions that should have been implemented by December 2007. Will the Minister inform the House how many of those actions have been implemented? It is my understanding that various sections of the Act have not yet been implemented, specifically with regard to assessments, education plans and a co-ordinated approach. When will the Minister implement section 10 of the Act which is essential in terms of enrolment policy? She spoke on this subject quite passionately in recent years. Does she accept that unless progress is achieved on the implementation plan which the professionals have outlined, we will not meet the target of 2010?
I have outlined the considerable progress which has taken place in a very short period of time. I referred to the number of people working in the area, the guidelines, the cross-sectoral group, the appeals board, the standards for assessment and the investment of €900 million. This is what is happening every day. The remaining sections of the Act will be implemented within the five-year timeframe, as outlined in the legislation and this will be done with the full co-operation of and consultation with the people who must implement it on the ground. They are the people who are in the schools every day and it is happening as we speak. I will not tolerate anybody casting scorn on what is being done for young people with special needs, considering the commitment that exists.
May I ask a brief question?
I must move on to the next question.
54 Deputy John O’Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary and post-primary schools here that do not have recourse to physical education and sports facilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33878/07]
The PE curriculum has been designed on the basis that facilities in schools may vary. Many primary schools have a general purpose room and practically all schools have outdoor play areas which are used for teaching different aspects of the PE programme. A similar situation with sports halls and outdoor facilities applies at second level. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. My Department does not have a comprehensive inventory which would indicate the facilities available to each school.
I assure the Deputy that the Government is committed to promoting strong levels of exercise for our children and young people, both in their community and at school.
The extent and quality of local sports facilities has been improved dramatically in recent years, with more than €450 million invested by the Government since 1998 in over 5,000 projects through the sports capital programme. At the same time, PE, general purpose and outdoor play facilities have been provided for schools all over the country through the school building programme. More than €2.6 billion was provided for school building infrastructure between 2000 and 2006 and a further €4.5 billion is to be invested under the new National Development Plan 2007-2013. New curricula for PE in primary schools and at junior certificate level have also been put in place.
Primary schools received €2,000 each in PE equipment grants last year, at a total cost of €6.5 million. A similar grant of €4,000 per pupil, at an overall cost of approximately €3 million, issued to post-primary schools earlier this year. Since 2000 my Department has provided in excess of €5.5 million in grant-aid to primary schools to facilitate the provision of coaching or mentoring in connection with physical education or to purchase resource materials associated with the provision of physical education. Such materials and equipment would normally have a useful life of several years.
Through an increased focus on exercise in school and in the community, the Government is working to encourage more children and young people to become active. The report, The State of the Nation's Children, which was published by the Minister of State with responsibility for children, found that children in Ireland are doing well on physical activity. They are ranked second across the 32 WHO countries for being physically active for at least four hours per week.
I thank the Minister for her reply but I would have preferred if she had answered my question which was to state the number of primary and post-primary schools that do not have access to physical education facilities. I will quote a statement from her Department which appeared in today's newspapers.
I remind the Deputy that quotations are generally not permitted during Question Time.
I will paraphrase what was said. It seems that the implementation of the physical education curriculum in schools depends on the meteorological service rather than on the Department of Education and Science. When will the Minister give serious consideration to the provision of physical education facilities? The recent INTO report stated that 80% of schools in County Donegal have no PE hall and the same applies in 63% of schools in County Clare and 70% of schools in County Kerry. This does not tally with what the Minister just said. I do not wish to be negative in my comments. The Department stated that the physical education curriculum can be implemented when these indoor facilities are provided, such as in Tuam, County Galway. The evidence is there. We all know about the money that needs to be spent on dealing with drugs but money spent on PE facilities is money spent on prevention. Has the Minister further plans to improve physical education facilities? When will PE be included as a subject in the second level curriculum, as has been promised for the past 15 years?
All new school buildings and major refurbishments have PE halls as a matter of course. With 4,000 schools and more than half of primary schools having four teachers or fewer, we will not provide PE halls for very small schools. Last week I opened an extension at a school with 19 children. We did not provide a PE hall in that case but, as it happens, the school in question has adequate space both inside and outside for PE classes. I am sure the Deputy is well aware from his own involvement that grants for sports facilities provided under the sports capital programme are awarded on the basis that the facilities will be made available to youth groups and schools. We are seeing more co-operation in this regard.
In addition to the building fund which I specifically outlined, under the dormant accounts fund, in excess of €6 million was spent on 447 projects for outdoor play areas. In a show of co-operation between my Department and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, significant funding has been provided in recent years for outdoor play areas in schools in CLÁR programme areas.
Deputy O'Mahony inquired about a PE exam. The NCCA has drawn up a syllabus in that regard but two issues still require serious consideration, one of which relates to how assessments would be carried out. The second is that if one were to introduce PE as a subject, one would have to ensure equity of facilities. In addition, regarding PE in schools, it is necessary to take into consideration the pressures on the curriculum, given the length of the school day.
It must also be borne in mind that children spend 20% of their time in school. It is much more important that communities and families consider whether children are walking or cycling to school, sitting in front of the television or playing with their Gameboys or Nintendos and whether their only exercise is imitating playing tennis or another sport.
55 Deputy Brian Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Science her views on the establishment of a new secondary school in Lucan south, County Dublin, in view of the considerable demand for post-primary education in this rapidly growing area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33879/07]
My Department is conscious of the extent of housing developments in the Lucan area and the consequences which this has for school provision. Because of this, substantial additional accommodation has been provided in the area by my Department at both primary and post-primary level in recent years and this is set to continue for the foreseeable future.
Based on current demographic trends, my Department anticipates that there will be a need for a further post-primary school in Lucan in the medium term and has asked South Dublin County Council to identify a site for this development. A timeframe for the delivery of the school will be known when a suitable site has been identified and acquired. The local authority has a number of local area plans in train and it is likely that we will be able to secure a site under this process. My Department is conscious of the lead-in period for the delivery of a post-primary school and is anxious to conclude the site issue as soon as possible. It will continue to engage with the local authority until this matter is resolved.
In the meantime, my Department has increased capacity at the four existing post-primary schools to 3,000 places overall. The current combined enrolment is 2,500 which means that there is spare capacity for some 500 pupil places. A building project which is in train for Lucan community college will further increase capacity by 200 pupil places. In addition to this, a building project for St. Joseph's College has been assessed and the project brief which will provide an additional 200 pupils places has been agreed.
The combined total of extra places which will be available when these projects are completed will be 900, equivalent to the size of a post-primary school in its own right. These measures will assist in reducing pressure for pupil places in the short to medium term, while the process of advancing the project for a new school continues.
What is the timescale in advancing the new project? Most people in the Lucan south area will be encouraged to hear the Minister's comment that the Department will finally take this issue seriously. In 1996 this community had a total population of 7,500; ten years later in 2006 there were 7,500 children under the age of 14 years. I am sure the Minister accepts this is an unbelievable expansion of the population in this ten-year period. Will she be more specific about the timeframe involved, given the crisis in terms of the latent demand? There is a huge cohort of young children in the area who are finding it difficult to get into primary school, let alone secondary school. This is a problem that needs to be addressed urgently.
The Deputy is correct in so far as he talks about the population of the area. In fact, that is why the expansion in the number of primary school places was so significant. Twelve primary schools now operate in the Lucan area. This has served to meet the needs to which the Deputy referred.
Site acquisition is the first issue to be addressed. We have asked South Dublin County Council to identify a site for us. Once that is done, we will be able to proceed with the planning of the school. The building projects for the other schools will progress also. I refer to the expansion of Lucan community college to provide 200 extra places and St. Joseph's College. I thank, in particular, the principal of St. Joseph's College, Siobhan Corry, who agreed to increase the number of student places to 1,000. I also thank the principal of Lucan community college.
The extensions will not address the huge population cohort. Given the positive remarks made by the Minister, will she agree to meet the Lucan south secondary school action group which has been seeking a meeting with her for some time?
The Lucan south action group will be encouraged when it receives the reply. I am not in a position to give any further information, other than to say South Dublin County Council will identify a site for us. We will move on it and the other extensions also.
Will the Minister agree to meet the group?
I am sure the Deputy will have told it before the evening is out.
It is not of any interest to me, as it is not in my constituency. I raise the matter as a general one. Will the Minister agree to meet the group?
That concludes Priority Questions. We will now take questions in ordinary time. Members will be aware that it is open to every Deputy to speak but there will be a one minute time limit after the Minister's initial reply.
