Adjournment Debate.

School Placement.

Deputy Brian Hayes

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter. It is unusual to refer to the case of a specific individual on the Adjournment. However, such is the frustration of the family of the child in question and the complete failure on the part of the Department of Education and Science to meet his needs that I am compelled to raise it in this manner. Karl Frawley's ninth birthday is today. A constituent of mine from Springfield in Tallaght, he has had no recourse to any educational institution for the past year.

When Karl was six years old, he was diagnosed with autism. Last year, he was diagnosed as a sufferer of Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, which is an acute and rare form of epilepsy. Sufferers of this condition can experience up to 100 seizures per day and it takes a considerable amount of time before a proper balance of medication can be found to meet their needs. As a result of his condition, this 9 year old spent in excess of four months in hospital from June to December of last year. Up to that point, he had been attending an autism unit. Before his diagnosis with autism, he had attended his local national school in Springfield, Tallaght.

The child's family is concerned that Karl has not attended school for the past year and has not received a placement with an educational institution which could meet his particular needs. While home tuition has been provided by the Department of Education and Science for two and a half months this year, Karl's needs can only be met by his placement in a school which can provide educational opportunities for autistic children. Karl needs a school where his educational and medical needs can be properly addressed. To date, despite the best efforts of his family, the three schools in Dublin which could cater for his needs have been unable to provide a place for him. Unless such a place is found, his situation will deteriorate.

This case is not unique. I am well aware that there are other children in a position similar to that of Karl Frawley. However, it is the legal responsibility of the Department of Education and Science to find an appropriate school place for this child, an obligation which it has completely failed to honour in the past year. This case is particularly urgent given that an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act 1998 is before the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science in regard to the recent refusal of a school in Dublin to accept Karl. The Secretary General has three weeks to determine this appeal on behalf of Karl's parents. In the event that this appeal is not upheld, will the Department of Education and Science indicate the placement it will provide for this nine year old child and when will it be available? The three schools in Dublin which can meet Karl's needs cannot take him and I understand he is not allowed to apply for a place in any school outside Dublin. He and his family are caught in a bind.

Karl's parents have requested that I ask the Minister for Education and Science directly what they should do. Should they sit back and wait for another year, with limited home tuition, no speech therapy and no occupational therapy, or should they rightly demand a place for their child within the State education system? This child cannot reach his full potential by being stuck at home, even with the provision of respite care. His placement within a classroom environment with other children would greatly help Karl's development. The most maddening aspect of this case is the complete failure of anyone within the Department of Education and Science to take responsibility and to chart a plan for this child. What will happen in September? Will Karl and his family have to wait another year, effectively exiled from the educational system? I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, to explain what the provision for this child will be from 1 September next.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Deputy Michael Finneran)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who cannot be here. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to clarify the current situation in regard to the range of support structures available where, for a variety of reasons, assistance is required in securing a school placement.

Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 provides for an appeals procedure whereby a student who has been permanently excluded, suspended or refused enrolment from a school may appeal that decision to the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science and that appeal shall be heard by a committee. The parents of the student in question, with the support of the National Education Welfare Board, NEWB, lodged such an appeal, and the hearing was held last Friday, 20 June 2008. Under the legislation, appeals are dealt with within a period of 30 days from the date of their receipt by the Secretary General. I am advised that in this case, the outcome will be known in approximately three weeks' time.

The home tuition scheme provides funding to facilitate the provision of education at home for children who for various reasons, such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting an educational placement. An allocation under this scheme has been made in respect of the child in question and this will continue until he is suitably placed.

A range of support structures is available where, for a variety of reasons, assistance is required in securing a school placement. One of these structures is the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which is responsible, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, to schools to support children with special needs. SENOs operate within the policy outlined in the Department of Education and Science circular for allocating such support. School authorities typically liaise directly with SENOs in regard to their needs for such classes. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 established the NEWB as the national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework for 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.

Educational welfare officers are appointed and deployed throughout the country to discharge the board's functions locally. They employ a welfare orientated approach in the interests of children and young people who do not attend school regularly, working collaboratively with schools and other agencies in meeting their needs. The NEWB will continue actively to support the parents of the child referred to by the Deputy in finding a suitable school for their son. When a placement is secured, the NCSE will resource appropriately.

Deputy Brian Hayes

I appeal to the Minister of State to bring my comments to the attention of the Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science, who will have to determine this appeal in the next 30 days. This is a child who cannot obtain a school placement. It is not the case that he has been absent from school; he has no school to attend.

Deputy Michael Finneran

We await the outcome of the appeal, which will be available in three weeks' time. In the interim, I assure the Deputy that I will convey his concerns to the Secretary General and the Minister.

Schools Building Projects.

Deputy James Bannon

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me time to raise the need for the Minister for Education and Science to provide an update on a new school building for Athlone Community College. This project should be well into the detailed planning stage, as per a letter of 16 November 2006 from the planning and building unit of the Department and another dated 8 November 2006 from the Office of the Minister for Education and Science. However, the project has been shockingly sidetracked into a further status assessment.

In a letter of 16 November, Athlone Community College was invited to enter the architectural design process during 2006, as one of 80 schools with an application for major development work. The letter goes on to state: "Your school is one of those selected to proceed with immediate effect." The Minister of State will agree that this was stated in black and white. The college is in his own backyard. This letter had been preceded on 8 November of the same year by correspondence to a local representative from his predecessor's office stating that Athlone Community College would be authorised to commence the architectural planning with immediate effect. Some 18 months later, far from having advanced to any stage, let alone architectural planning, the development at Athlone Community College has been at a standstill. This has been the case for far too long to be. Is this a mere coincidence? The key to this delay lies in the words I used earlier. This application is for major development work which, in line with the cutback in all areas since the general election, is a negative factor in its advancement.

If I am on the right track I can only condemn such cost-cutting forcefully. That a Government which wasted so much of the hard-earned money of the Celtic tiger years should make good the Exchequer deficit at the cost of the education of our people is not only a shocking indictment of the Government but it is also extremely short-sighted. The future of this country rests firmly on the shoulders of our students. They not only deserve a good education but a built environment designed to support essential learning.

Despite repeated correspondence from the Athlone Community College committee, the Department of Education and Science has failed to give the chief executive officer a substantive response to his queries. That he was told in April 2008, almost two years after the matter appeared resolved, that the project was currently being assessed is akin to trampling on the promises made to this school, its principal, the board of management, the staff, pupils and parents who have collectively worked so hard to secure this much needed development for their school.

In support of my theory as to why this project has been put on the back boiler, the then Minister's reply of 9 April states: "The project is being assessed, as is the case of all large capital projects." Had this matter been dealt with on an urgent need basis as the situation demanded, the costs would probably be considerably less. Promises prior to the 2002 general election virtually saw schools being built on the spot, but post polling day they failed to rise above the ground. By the 2007 general election, the sky was the limit but unfortunately the financial lining had fallen from the heights and the resources were not available to back up the spin.

A new broom sweeps clean. I respectfully suggest that the Minister of State should start working, clear the dust of indecision and honour the commitment to Athlone Community College. I await a positive response given that the college is in his backyard, just a few miles down the road from where he lives on the Athlone-Roscommon border. I plead with him to deliver for us and the people of Longford-Westmeath and Roscommon.

Deputy Michael Finneran

I am taking this matter for the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who cannot be in the House. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to this House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and also to outline the current position in regard to the building project for Athlone Community College.

Modernising facilities in approximately 3,200 primary and 730 post-primary schools is not an easy task given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, the Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of school buildings and to ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. The Government has dramatically increased investment in the school building programme from just over €90 million in 1997 to approximately €600 million this year. Under the lifetime of the national development plan approximately €4.5 billion will be invested in schools. That is an unprecedented level of capital investment, which reflects the commitment of the Government to continue its programme of sustained investment in primary and post-primary schools.

As the Deputy may be aware, a developing areas unit was set up recently in the Department to focus on the school accommodation needs of rapidly developing areas, including Athlone. The main emphasis in 2008 is on providing sufficient school places in those developing areas, as well as delivering improvements in the quality of existing primary and post-primary school accommodation throughout the country. Regarding Athlone generally, the developing areas unit of the Department of Education and Science has identified the town as an area of rapid development. In that regard, a decision has already been taken to replace and expand the existing Athlone Community College. The new building, when complete, will cater for 1,000 pupils. The project has advanced to the point where the next step is the appointment of a design team. While the Minister is not in a position to give a timetable for the progression of this project, I reiterate that the need for a new building for the school in question is acknowledged. As is the case with all large capital projects currently on hand within the developing areas unit, their progression will be considered in the context of the multi-annual school building and modernisation programme.

I again thank the Deputy for affording me the opportunity to outline to this House the current position regarding Athlone Community College. He can rest assured of my knowledge of and involvement with Athlone Community College. I hold it close to my heart and will continue to take a personal interest in the development in question.

Deputy James Bannon

The Minister said he is not in a position to give a timetable for the delivery of the project. He promised the delivery of it in the run up to the general election in 2007. People will be very disappointed with his negative response. I am disappointed with it. I have to go back and tell my constituents that the Minister will not deliver on this project on time.

Schools of Music.

Deputy David Stanton

I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for selecting this matter. I and a number of Deputies, including Deputy Ciarán Lynch who is present, attended a meeting in the Cork School of Music last Thursday. Some 250 to 300 people, mainly parents and children, attended that meeting. There were concerned about proposed cutbacks in the school of music's programme. The Minister may not be aware of this school of music but it has long tradition of music teaching and it part of the cultural heritage of Cork city and county and of the country.

The school was transferred from Cork city VEC to the CIT in 1992. Having been scattered across the city for five years, it is now located in a fantastic new building which was opened in 2007 at a cost of €80 million. It is a magnificent building that is architecturally splendid. I congratulate everyone involved in the construction of it.

We thought that the school would go from strength to strength and would expand, but now we have been told that the budget allocated to the CIT will be cut by €140,000, which I am sure the Minister will agree is a relatively small amount of money. We were told last Thursday the impact of this budgetary cut will be major. Part-time teaching hours will be reduced by 2,000 and first and second level students will bear the brunt of the cuts. This will affect primary and secondary students. I am sure the Minister will appreciate that where music is concerned the earlier students begin the better. If one curtails students at a young age one is, in effect, cutting off one's nose to spite one's face at a later stage. I am told the cutbacks will mean cuts of 50% in violin, viola and piano intake and also the permanent loss of some instruments such as the organ, and that the flute, oboe and harp intake will be curtailed, in addition to the elimination of intake to two junior choirs and two musicianship classes. There will also be cuts in accompaniment, class concerts and a reduction in the number of adjudicators. Cuts will mean places cannot be guaranteed in some of those areas in September. Where will the students go? The cuts may also have implications for the university sector because children feed into the third level. If one does not have children in the system, one will not have a third level.

I remind the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, that many national and international stars have come from the Cork School of Music. I will not name them here but I am sure the Minister knows who they are. The school has had great success and the students are very committed. Some of them have a 30-mile round trip to get to the school of music. Many other schools in the city and county have curtailed music teaching because much of the teaching has become concentrated in the Cork School of Music. The Minister of State will be aware that music is very good for confidence building in young children. Some parents at the meeting the other night said that they know where their children are and the children develop a love of music through their lessons.

The last thing we should do is curtail the work of the school. I said the other night at the meeting that we should be expanding the school, not curtailing it. I urge the Minister to re-examine the matter and to have discussions with the Cork Institute of Technology. I received a letter from the president of the CIT on 10 June in which he said there was no question of not providing the full range of music tuition currently available, but he went on to say that with respect of the Cork School of Music and its small contribution to the overall request for efficiencies — that means the budget is being curtailed — there would be some reduction in new, part-time student intake. That is the crux of the matter. I want other avenues of funding to be explored. We do not want the funding to be reduced. A colleague of mine who was abroad recently told people in other countries about the Cork School of Music and they were interested in sending students to it. At a time when people are talking about the big R word — recession — we should not cut back on such a facility, we should expand it. We should develop the talents and the unique heritage that exists for the benefit of all.

I am told there is a need to examine funding for music at a national level. We do not appear to have a national scheme for funding music; it is done on an ad hoc basis. I urge the Minister of State to consider that point. VECs, the ITs and other institutions get their budget half way through the year, which makes it is difficult for them to plan ahead. I urge the Minister to ensure that in future such schools will get their budgets in January so that they can make plans and work out their schemes properly.

More than 200 parents and students attended the meeting last Thursday night. They are anxious, committed and serious and they want the Government to assist to ensure this fantastic facility achieves its full potential for everybody concerned.

Deputy Michael Finneran

I am taking the Adjournment debate because the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, cannot attend the House this evening. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter on the Adjournment.

As the Deputy is aware, the Cork School of Music represents a constituent part of the Cork Institute of Technology, CIT. As institutes of technology are autonomous institutions, the Department of Education and Science has no role in their operational affairs. The institutes of technology receive a block grant from the Higher Education Authority and it is a matter for each institution to determine how it is allocated internally. In the case of the Cork School of Music, the Cork Institute of Technology will determine the level of funding to be allocated to the school.

I am aware of the annual demands for additional resources for the higher education sector and have afforded significant priority to investments in this area. Spending on higher education has increased dramatically in the past decade. When all higher education funding is taken into account, the overall provision by the Department of Education and Science for the sector amounts to approximately €2 billion for 2008. That is an increase of approximately 25% since 2005, when the provision amounted to €1.6 billion, and an increase of approximately 135% on the €850 million provided in 1997.

Deputy David Stanton

Will the Minister give way for a question?

Acting Chairman

I am sorry but I cannot allow supplementary questions on the Adjournment. I call Deputy Sherlock.

Deputy Michael Finneran

I indicated in the reply that there would be no cutbacks for first and second level students.

Housing Grants.

Deputy Seán Sherlock

I am sharing time with Deputy Ciarán Lynch and I propose to speak for two minutes.

Cork County Council announced last week that it would be cutting a range of grants designed to help people to make modifications to their homes, namely, the essential repairs grant, the mobility aids grant, the housing adaptation grant and the housing aid for the elderly grant. The reason is that it is not in a budgetary position to deal with the number of applications being made. The county council has stated that where possible it will try to process the disabled person's grant. That specifically relates to Cork County Council's northern division.

We are asking that the Minister consider an increase in the funding stream. The Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, will tell the House there has been an increase year on year in the overall allocation for 2008 and the total amount disbursed in 2007. The announcement in February by the then Minister of State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, caused the other schemes announced to become so successful that hundreds of people applied for them. That created an expectation. We now find in the northern division of Cork County Council that there is a lack of funding to meet the schemes of which many vulnerable and older people are in need to carry out necessary modifications to their homes. I call on the Minister to see if there is any way to provide an increase in the funding stream.

Deputy Ciarán Lynch

I seek from the Minister an assurance in response to the genuine concern that the housing aid for the elderly programme is about to collapse because it is a victim of its own success. There is real concern among people who are old, ill or disabled that the badly needed stair lift, bathroom conversion, downstairs toilet or extension will not happen because the money is not with the local authorities. At this stage a number of local authorities have spent their allocation and the budget has been exhausted. This is a scheme that provides for the most vulnerable in society. It is incredible that half way through the year elderly people, disabled people and people with illnesses should be told they will have to wait until 2009 in the middle of an economic downturn. This needs to be seriously addressed in the House tonight.

The budget for Cork City Council has gone from €1.827 million to €1.855 million, an increase of almost €30,000, which is the equivalent of perhaps three stair lifts or a bathroom conversion and a stair lift. It would not be enough to cover a ground-floor extension. Should we really accept that the measurement of the increase would not even cover the cost of a downstairs extension? I hope that the Minister of State will indicate this evening that these costs will be met this year. These schemes allow elderly, disabled and sick people to continue living in their homes. It is a scheme that works and provides a long-term benefit. It is an efficient scheme when measured against the cost of elderly and disabled people not being able to live at home.

Deputy Michael Finneran

I thank the Deputies for giving me the opportunity to speak about the housing adaptation grant schemes for older people and people with disabilities. The Government is very much aware of the critical role that the adaptation grant schemes play in the context of the overall continuum of care for older people and people with a disability.

In order to facilitate the continued independent occupation of their own homes by older people and people with disabilities, and following a comprehensive review undertaken by my Department, a revised framework of adaptation grant schemes to assist older people and people with disabilities with their accommodation needs was implemented in November 2007. The revised grant framework streamlines the administrative and operational procedures governing the schemes, provides a more targeted and integrated response to the housing needs of older people and people with disabilities, and ensures the most efficient and cost effective outcomes from the funding available, through the targeting of available resources to those in most need. The administration of the schemes is a matter for individual local authorities within the framework laid down in statutory regulations, which as far as practicable is designed to give an appropriate degree of flexibility at local level.

The housing adaptation grant schemes are funded by 80% recoupment available from my Department, together with 20% contribution from the resources of the local authority. A combined capital allocation of €71.4 million has been made available to local authorities for the operation of the schemes in private houses in 2008. Individual allocations were notified to local authorities based on their estimated requirements as notified to my Department and expenditure trends in previous years. It is a matter for each local authority to decide on the specific level of funding to be directed towards each of the schemes from within the combined allocation notified to them and to manage the operation of the schemes in their area from within this allocation.

The funding provided to Cork County Council has not been cut. A combined capital allocation of €5.516 million was notified to the council for the operation of the schemes in 2008. Past expenditure trends were taken into account in finalising this year's allocations and the €5.516 million allocation to Cork County Council for 2008 is in line with the expenditure recouped by my Department to the council in 2006 and 2007, which was €5.499 million and €5.433 million respectively.

Requests for additional funding for the operation of the schemes are dealt with in the context of the reallocation of surplus resources from other local authorities. Allocations provided to local authorities are generally revised during the course of the year where expenditure is higher or lower than anticipated.

Deputy Ciarán Lynch

I ask the Minister of State——

Acting Chairman

Allow the Minister of State to speak.

Deputy Michael Finneran

In this context, and to ensure optimum effectiveness from the funding available, my Department has advised all local authorities to monitor very carefully their expenditure under the schemes. Applications for additional funding from a number of authorities, including Cork County Council, will be considered by my Department in the light of any savings emerging later in the year in other local authority areas.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 24 Jun 2008