Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 26 May 2011

Vol. 733 No. 3

Adjournment Debate

School Staffing

Deputy John O’Mahony

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me raise this matter on the Adjournment which is to do with the smooth running of secondary schools. We all acknowledge the difficult economic times for the country and the moratorium on appointments. However, when these measures were introduced some years ago it was found that they had an effect on the functioning of schools with regard to the appointment of assistant principal teachers or "A" posts. The Government at the time introduced alleviation measures. For instance, a school with a normal complement of eight assistant post holders was reduced to a complement of four or whatever. Without notice, the previous Government withdrew these alleviation measures in a particular school. The functions of these post holders include year head teachers who oversee a year class, are in charge of pastoral care and examinations. A reduction in the number of posts is understandable in the economic circumstances but what has happened in some schools is that with the retirement of teachers, schools are left without any assistant post holders to help run the school. The only management person is the principal of the school.

Many schools have contacted me on the issue but I refer to Mount St. Michael school in Claremorris in my constituency. According to the alleviation measures as this school had between 400 and 500 pupils it would have been originally entitled to eight posts but this has been reduced to four by the cutbacks. A teacher retired on 31 December 2010. Because of the alleviation measures the principal was under the impression that the school would be entitled to replace the post. The first indication of the change was in a letter from the Department which stated that the alleviation measures had been withdrawn and therefore sanction for the fourth appointment could not be granted. Schools need a minimum number of post holders. Teachers do much extra voluntary work in schools such as training teams or extra-curricular activities such as debating. These posts are needed so that the school can function efficiently. Some schools are at breaking point as a result of the cutbacks.

This Government had neither hand, act nor part in taking away the alleviation measures as this was done by the previous Government. I appeal to the Minister to consider the situation. Whole school evaluation inspections cost thousands of euro and they are necessary. However, in the case of some schools, the whole school evaluation report will state that they are not fulfilling the policies stipulated by the Department. The reason is that they cannot carry out these policies because the appointments have not been sanctioned. I appeal to the Minister to examine this situation to see if there is a way to alleviate it. I have referred to the school in question in Claremorris with the full agreement of the school in order to illustrate the point.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy Róisín Shortall)

I am taking this adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, the Minister for Education and Skills who regrets he is unable to be present today. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it affords me the opportunity to outline the position with regard to the issue of posts of responsibility in post-primary schools.

When the moratorium was introduced, the Government exempted principal and deputy principal posts in all secondary schools and these continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium is therefore limited to the director of adult education, assistant principal and special duties allowances payable to teachers on promotion. Vacancies at this level arise due to retirements in the specific grades and typically also from the knock-on effect of filling principal and deputy principal posts. Some further limited alleviation was introduced for post-primary schools most acutely affected by the impact of the moratorium and these alleviation arrangements are set out in Circular 42/2010. This provided some delegated sanction for post-primary schools to fill assistant principal vacancies if they fall below certain minimum thresholds.

Most of the limited alleviation focused at director of adult education and assistant principal level. I am conscious that the impact of the moratorium on middle management posts has applied unevenly in post-primary schools and the limited alleviation measures were aimed at helping those schools that have been significantly impacted by the moratorium. It is a matter for each school authority to re-organise and prioritise the appropriate duties for holders of posts of responsibility in the context of implementing the moratorium. Given the current budgetary position there is a public service-wide challenge about how to deliver public services with a reduced level of resources.

The Department will liaise with the Department of Finance regarding a limited alleviation of the moratorium on the filling of posts of responsibility for the 2011-12 school year.

This Government will endeavour to protect front-line education services as best as possible. However, this must be done within the context of bringing our overall public expenditure back into line with what we can afford as a country. The challenge will be to ensure the resources being provided are used to maximum effect to achieve the best possible outcomes for pupils. I thank Deputy O'Mahony for raising this issue.

Deputy Seán Crowe

The loss of 250 English language teachers from September is double the cut that schools had expected and the Minister needs to explain how he can implement these measures which will impact on an education system that is already failing the literacy needs of many of its children. The extent of the cut came as a surprise to many in the education system as it is double the reduction expected. It is a decision that will have the most profound impact on primary schools. The timing of the announcement last Friday was clearly an attempt to bury bad news when the media focus was on the visit of the English Queen, President Obama and the death of a former Taoiseach, Dr. Garret FitzGerald.

At present, 1,400 posts are dedicated to supporting children whose English is weak and 80% of these posts are in the primary sector. The loss of 250 posts represents a cut of 18% to the number of language support teachers currently working in the system.

How can any Minister for Education and Skills justify cutting of 250 English language teachers when just last year an OECD report found a dramatic fall in literacy standards in Irish schools across this State? Has the Minister and his Department considered the impact this decision will have on children from international backgrounds who cannot speak English or whose English is too weak to enable them to thrive in the classroom? It also affects other children within the classroom. For example, I am aware of a school in my area where at one stage 50 countries were represented in that school. The reduction will create major problems in the school.

I am aware that the Labour Party's "Plan for Fairness in Education" pledged to reintroduce up to 250 teaching posts of the 1,200 posts being taken out of the system under the four year plan proposed by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I challenge the Minister to explain how he can implement these cuts after making this commitment, while accepting the difficult situation in respect of finances. The Minister does have an envelope and it is up to him how he spends it. I do not think this is the correct approach to move forward.

The Irish National Teachers Organisation rightly pointed out that these cuts by a Labour Minister are yet another attack on disadvantaged and marginalised children. It raises serious questions about the Government which claims it is committed to improving literacy standards in schools yet it cuts vital resources needed to achieve these aims.

Many of the children are in schools in areas which are deemed disadvantaged, areas where their parents can get rented accommodation. The cut does not affect many of the middle class areas but it is a further attack on the disadvantaged children, particularly the cuts in SNAs and the Traveller education support service. The cut is a double whammy for many of those schools and will seriously affect outputs and the proper running of those schools.

Deputy Róisín Shortall

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, who unfortunately cannot be present.

As was recently announced, the numbers of students staying in the education system as a whole will be significantly higher than expected in the 2011-12 school year. The increase meets the objective of this Government to reduce the incidence of early school leaving nationally.

However, this also raises a challenge for us, as approximately 160 additional mainstream teachers are required, primarily to facilitate these additional numbers. In view of the restrictions on numbers employed in the public service imposed by the employment control framework, it is not possible for us to simply recruit more teachers. This is a reality within which we all have to operate.

At present there are about 1,125 language support posts in primary schools and 275 such posts at second level. These 1,400 posts are in addition to mainstream classroom teachers. They allow schools to withdraw pupils for varying amounts of time to concentrate on the teaching of English.

The previous Government announced that this number would be reduced by 125 from September, and by the same amount annually over the next three years. In other words a reduction of 500 posts over four years. Regrettably, we have now had to take a decision to speed up this process.

The result is that the number of language support teachers will be reduced by a further 125 posts from this September, leading to a total reduction of 250 posts this year. This will impact in two main ways. First, schools where less than 25% of pupils need language support will limit that support to two years. This change will affect about 2,500 students, all of whom have already received two years support. Second, schools that missed the deadline for applications of 5 May will not be told until the autumn what support, if any, they will get. In previous years, applications have been permitted all year round but this year it will be very difficult to meet demand from any applications received after the deadline of which all schools were notified.

The change will have little or no impact on schools with high concentrations of pupils in need of language support, that is, greater than 25%. A reduced number of positions will also be made available to the primary staffing appeals board for some additional language support posts. These positions will be reserved for schools with more than 25% of their students in need of language support.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

Community Projects

Deputy Robert Troy

I thank you, a Cheann Comhairle, for facilitating my request to raise this matter. This is a matter I have submitted on a number of occasions with a view to bringing it to the floor of this House. It is an important issue for me but it is much more important to the people of Multyfarnham and Milltownpass. Both community groups are extremely hardworking and have put many hours of voluntary work into these projects. The projects have received the unanimous support of Westmeath Community Development, of which I was a board member. I had the pleasure of proposing one project and seconding the other. The projects received unanimous support at Westmeath County Development Board level in January 2011. We referred them to the Department and were advised it would take, at best, six months before we would have a response. Four months on the deliberations are still going on. That is unacceptable.

Perhaps I can give the background on both community projects. Planning permission was received for the Milltownpass project in October 2010 and funding was sought from Westmeath Community Development. Millltownpass community group has worked for the past 20 years to bring about a communal facility for this much expanded village. There were various difficulties such as land disputes, a change in the village plan, and a zoning change. However, it now has a piece of land, a project for which planning permission has been received and 25% of its resources in place. Milltownpass needs this community building which will be used by the local schools, the young at heart, the ICA, keep fit, active retirement groups as well as many other community groups.

Multyfarnham is a village close to my home. Last week the President visited the village where she opened a new cancer care centre. In 2008 the village won a national pride of place award. In recent years this community group developed a park, a playground and a football pitch through voluntary work and communal effort.

The two projects will cost approximately €900,000, which in bad times is a good deal of money to have circulating in the local community. Apart from the social benefits they will deliver to the local area, the projects will generate economic benefits and employment, including during the construction phase of the two facilities.

We are not seeking fresh money to pay for the projects as money has been committed and Westmeath Community Development Limited has a budget of €7.5 million. The Government cannot blame the previous Government, as it has done in respect of every other issue, because funding has been allocated. I call on the Department to remove the red tape and complete its deliberations. Both of the community groups in question have responded to every request from the Department for information.

I know from first-hand experience that the community groups in question are dedicated and of a high calibre. They have proved that they are not fly-by-night groups, having worked on the relevant projects for many years. I ask the Minister of State to request that the relevant Minister intervene to determine what is delaying a decision. We were informed it would take four to six weeks to complete deliberations. We have now been waiting for almost five months. What is causing the delay?

As I stated, €7.5 million has been allocated and fresh money is not required. Let us spend this money and support community groups whose members are putting in long hours on a voluntary basis. The Government's jobs initiative was launched to great fanfare two weeks ago. The project in question would immediately create dozens of jobs in this rural community. I ask the Minister of State to contact the relevant Minister to ensure a decision is taken and communicated without further delay to the community groups in question.

Deputy Róisín Shortall

I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan. I thank Deputy Troy for raising the matter.

Axes 3 and 4 of the Rural Development Programme Ireland 2007-2013, which are known as the Leader axes, provide substantial support for the diversification of the rural economy and activities to enhance the quality of life in rural Ireland. The rural development programme is designed to address directly many of the challenges facing rural communities, including the need to increase economic activity and stimulate job creation, improve access to basic services for rural dwellers and encourage rural tourism based on sustainable development of natural resources. It is critical for all areas, both rural and urban, to ensure the maintenance of vibrant communities not only for the people living in such communities, but also to create attractive environments where people want to live and work and where enterprise initiatives can thrive.

The rural development programme will see the investment of €427 million in rural areas over its lifetime. In keeping with the bottom up philosophy of the Leader methodology, the local action groups delivering the programme on behalf of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government are the principal decision makers on the allocation of project funding. In general, an overall ceiling of €150,000 grant aid per project applies to projects under the Leader axes of the programme. In certain circumstances local action groups may award grant aid in excess of €150,000 where they secure the approval of the Department to do so. It is in this context that the Department is examining the projects to which the Deputy referred.

Given the level of funding involved and the need, in our current economic climate, to ensure value for money for every cent spent, I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that a full and detailed assessment of such projects is vital. It must also be remembered that the Leader activities are co-financed by the European Union at a rate of 55% and, accordingly, come within the remit of a strict regulatory regime which requires that each project must be compliant before any funding is awarded.

The assessment of projects usually involves detailed consultations with the relevant local action group. It frequently necessitates the provision of further documentation or clarifications and may in some instances result in modifications to the project proposed to ensure best value for money and compliance with all the necessary regulations, both national and European, governing the activities funded under the programme. These assessments also consider whether the project as proposed addresses the needs of the local community in the best possible way.

Regarding the projects referred to by the Deputy, a number of issues had to be considered internally by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and subsequently queries were raised with the local action group. I assure the Deputy that when all of the required information has been received, a decision will be made on the projects without delay.

Mental Health Services

Deputy Dan Neville

I thank Amnesty International for its interest in mental health and the programmes, documents and advice it recently provided in its briefing pack for Members of the Oireachtas, which is extremely helpful and well written. The organisation will be 50 years old on Saturday, on which I congratulate it and thank it for the work it has done throughout the world. It has been of great assistance to me and other Members of the Oireachtas who believe mental health is a human rights issue.

Successive Governments have called for fundamental reform of the mental health system. The Planning for the Future report published in 1984 was followed in 2006 by the expert report, A Vision for Change. However, progress on implementing reforms has been painfully slow. A Vision for Change set out a policy framework for the mental health of the whole population. In addition to recognising the importance of mental health promotion and primary care, it called for a person-centred, recovery orientated and holistic approach to mental health services. It also called for a shift from the current system, which is excessively reliant on institutional care and medication, to a system centred on community-based care provided by multidisciplinary mental health teams. These teams would include psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and service users who would work alongside psychiatrists, mental health nurses, psychotherapists and counsellors. Such services allow people with mental health problems access to the services and supports they choose while continuing to live and participate in their community, as is their right.

Ireland is more reliant on institutional mental health care than any other country in Europe. While there are examples of good practice in certain areas, notably County Monaghan, implementation of the plan to which I referred has been inadequate overall. Services remain widely deficient with few complete multidisciplinary mental health teams in place and limited access to community care for the full range of psychological supports that should be part of a modern mental health service.

In 2009, only one in five staff in the mental health service was working in a community setting. Inpatient facilities remain completely unsuitable, with 15 of the 63 approved inpatient centres dating from the Victorian era or earlier. The Inspector of Mental Health Services has described some of these facilities as entirely unacceptable and inhumane. The position in respect of older people and people with intellectual disabilities is even worse as specialist mental health services in these areas are almost non-existent.

Non-capital expenditure on mental health services was cut radically from €1.1 billion in 2008 to €770 million in 2009. These cuts continue an historical trend in which expenditure on mental health services declined from 13% of the overall health budget in 1986 to only 5.3% in 2010. A Vision for Change recommends that 8.4% of health expenditure should be allocated to improving mental health services. The public sector staffing moratorium has also disproportionately impacted on mental health services which account for just 9% of the health care workforce but for 20% of the 1,500 posts lost as a result of the moratorium last year.

The programme for Government contains a welcome commitment to establish a cross-departmental group to ensure good mental health will be a policy goal across Departments. In addition, under the programme a sum of €35 million will be allocated each year, which will be ring-fenced to introduce the reforms outlined in A Vision for Change. This sum has been ring-fenced because when the former Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, allocated funding, it was hived off for other purposes. During the two-year period 2007 and 2008 some €50 million was allocated but only €27 million was spent on what the then Minister wanted the money for. In 2009, when I asked her if she was going to allocate further funds for that purpose, her reply at a Dáil committee was: "Why should I give it to them when they are not going to spend it on what I want them to spend it on?" That has shades of the fair deal scheme.

The commitment given needs to be implemented as a priority by the Government in order that it can build on the good work already done by the Office for Disability and Mental Health which has a cross-departmental remit. The group should include representatives from the following Departments: Health and Children; Education and Skills; Social Protection; Justice and Equality; Defence; the Environment, Community and Local Government; Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht; and public expenditure and reform. The group should outline how responsible Departments will progress the social inclusion recommendations made in A Vision for Change, as well as reporting publicly on progress. It should also ensure mental health issues are adequately reflected in the work of other Government structures such as the national disability strategy and the Office for Social Inclusion.

Deputy Róisín Shortall

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of the implementation of A Vision for Change on the Adjournment.

The Government has prioritised reform of the mental health service in line with A Vision for Change and is committed to reforming our model of health care delivery in order that more and better quality care services are delivered in the community. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is committed to this model. As the Minister of State with responsibility for primary care, I subscribe to the principle of moving services, to the greatest extent possible, from the institutional setting to the community.

It is the intention that over time access to modern mental health services in the community will be significantly improved. It is proposed to ring-fence a sum of €35 million annually within the health budget to develop community mental health teams and services to ensure early access to more appropriate services both for adults and children. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, is working with officials in the Department of Health and Children and the HSE to achieve further progress in this regard.

In 2006 A Vision for Change was universally welcomed as a progressive, evidence-based and realistic document which proposed a new model of service delivery that would be patient-centred, flexible and community-based. Progress on implementation has been slower than anticipated when the report was launched. However, it is also important to recognise and acknowledge that in many parts of the country services are pressing ahead with implementation of A Vision for Change. Progress to date includes: a 17% decline in the number of patients resident in psychiatric facilities since 2006; fewer admissions, including involuntary admissions; while the number of patients readmitted to hospital has shown a year on year reduction since 2001. This reduction points to an improvement in community-based services.

The child and adolescent mental health service has seen a significant improvement. There are now 61 multidisciplinary teams in place around the country and further teams will be developed in line with A Vision for Change. In-patient bed capacity for children and adolescents has increased from 12 beds in 2007 to 52 at present. Through the See Change campaign, we are attempting to positively change social attitudes and behaviour in order to encourage people in distress to seek help.

Work on the capital programme is continuing. Acute admissions to St. Brendan's Hospital, Grangegorman, have ceased following the opening of the Pine Unit in Connolly Hospital. During 2011 and 2012 HSE South will complete the process for the closure of St. Senan's Hospital, Enniscorthy, with the implementation of a €16 million capital investment programme. A residential unit is under construction in Clonmel which will allow for the closure of St Luke's Hospital. In addition, work is progressing on the development of a new 60-bed unit at Beaumont Hospital to replace the existing facility at St. Ita's Hospital, Portrane.

Implementing A Vision for Change will involve using existing resources more efficiently and effectively. It will require the reallocation and remodelling of existing resources to move away from the provision of care in institutions to providing it in alternative settings or an individual's own home. We need to be in a position to provide care in the best interests of the individual concerned.

There is no doubt that we are experiencing unprecedented challenges, not just in mental health services but also across every walk of life — challenges that, in turn, may impact on people's mental health. As 90% of mental health needs are dealt with at primary care level, the Government is committed to developing closer links between mental health and primary care services, a key recommendation in A Vision for Change. The focal point of modern mental health services in the community and the development of community-based facilities which house both primary care and mental health professionals will represent a significant step forward for service users and their families. Having a community mental health team in the same building as a primary care team will help to build and cement closer relationships which will benefit everyone, including service users and their families, carers and professionals alike. It has also been shown that people with a severe mental illness have poorer physical health than the general population. Having primary care services available alongside mental health services will ensure the physical health needs of those persons with mental health problems can be dealt with effectively.

I assure the House of the Government's unwavering commitment to improving mental health services and the implementation of A Vision for Change. We will continue to engage closely with the service user movement, one of the most significant reforms to have taken place in mental health services in recent years. We will work tirelessly to change attitudes to mental health, place the service user at the centre and embed the recovery approach in the delivery of mental health services.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I join him in commending Amnesty International for its outstanding work.

The Dáil adjourned at 4.10 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 31 May 2011.