Adjournment Debate

Housing Estates

Deputy David Cullinane

This Adjournment matter concerns a housing estate in Kill in County Waterford, where serious fire safety defects have been found in recent times. It is one of the many housing estates built during the Celtic tiger period, where fire safety defects were found because of problems with the development, poor and lax planning and regulation laws, and a lack of enforcement and compliance.

I will give the Minister some background on this issue. The housing estate in question was built during the Celtic tiger years. The local authority got some stock under the Part V mechanism so there were some social and affordable housing units in the possession of Waterford City and County Council. A portion of the houses were sold so there are some private home owners. The remaining unsold housing units ended up in NAMA because the developer went into receivership. It was only when NAMA sold on a number of the unsold units to a voluntary housing association, which got a surveyor in to survey the properties, that serious fire safety defects were found in a number of their homes. Luckily for the voluntary housing association, it was able to renegotiate the price it was to pay for the houses to cover the costs of remediation. The local authority then had to be notified that this could be a problem in all the houses in the estate.

The local authority, which is Waterford City and County Council, was made aware of the defects and employed a chartered fire engineer to carry out a survey. The fire safety compliance survey carried out by the council highlighted areas of concern in the dwellings with regard to internal fire spread between dwellings. I have the survey here and I will give the Minister some examples of areas of deficiency. The survey noted that on the attic party wall the plasterboard was not properly jointed, reducing the integrity of the party wall. Cavity barriers, where provided, were not fixed properly or were loosely fitted causing sagging and gaps. The cavity closers were missing to the top of external walls. The firestop was missing at the top of the party wall between the cavity closer and roof felt.

It goes on to make five priority recommendations which it asks the local authority to implement in the carrying out of remedial works on the properties. The local authority implemented those at a cost to the taxpayer. The problem is that the private home owners have been left high and dry, as has happened in many of the high-profile cases we have seen in Dublin and elsewhere in recent years. That is unacceptable.

The difficulty in this instance is that the developer is in receivership. There is no legal recourse for these private home owners. They are being told that all they can do is notify the receiver. The local authority has engaged with them but they have been told that all it can do is give them advice. It cannot carry out remedial works because they are private houses.

I have a number of questions for the Minister of State. Does he agree this highlights a lack of standards, regulation and enforcement of regulations in the building of houses? How is it that Waterford City and County Council did not identify these defects when it gained possession of the social and affordable units under the Part V mechanism? That is extraordinary as well. Is it the Minister of State's intention to move towards fully independent mandatory planning inspections such as we have in the North of Ireland? We do not have those here. Why not? Will the Minister of State amend legislation to ensure that if it transpires that developers have not met their statutory obligations, they are held fully accountable and liable? Where a developer is found not to be in compliance and goes into receivership in terms of one company with respect to one housing estate but then sets up a different company and engages in further development, will the Minister of State ensure they cannot hide behind a corporate veil?

The response of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to a parliamentary question on this issue was extraordinary. He stated, "As Minister I have no function in assessing, checking or testing compliance or otherwise of specific works or developments." It is an embarrassment that the Minister has no function whatsoever in these areas. Does he want functions in these areas? Does he want to have responsibility? He should want to have responsibility. What action will the Government take to ensure mandatory inspections take place, that we approve the regulations and that in the future the Minister will have responsibility to deal with these issues?

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Damien English)

I thank Deputy Cullinane for raising this issue. I acknowledge the extremely difficult and distressing situations that certain home owners in Waterford are facing on account of defects in their homes. I understand that Waterford City and County Council is liaising with the residents of the Ceol na Mara development on an ongoing basis in an effort to be of support and assistance to residents at this difficult time.

Part B of the building regulations sets out the statutory standards of fire safety that apply when a new building is constructed to ensure the safety of persons in and about the building. Compliance with the building regulations is first and foremost the responsibility of the owners, designers and builders of the building concerned. As the Minister, Deputy Coveney, has stated previously in an answer to the Deputy's parliamentary question, which he did not like, we have no function in assessing, checking or testing the compliance or otherwise of specific works or developments in this situation.

Remediation of defects is a matter between the parties concerned, the current owners and the builder-developer, their agents and their insurers. This applies also where the owner is a local authority or an approved housing body, both of which are relevant in the context of a number of properties at Ceol na Mara. In this regard, I understand that appropriate measures are being put in place by the local authority and the approved housing body to address any defects within the development's social housing units. If a satisfactory resolution cannot be achieved through dialogue and negotiation, the option of seeking civil legal remedy may be considered. It is understood that the builder-developer in this instance is in receivership and it is therefore important that the receiver is notified of any liabilities at the earliest possible opportunity, which I understand from the Deputy may have happened already.

The local authority's overriding concern in these matters is one of public safety, and its statutory functions under planning, building control, fire safety and housing legislation relate to the enforcement of compliance with statutory obligations. The local authority is not responsible for undertaking remedial works in private dwellings. Nevertheless, its advice and support can be helpful in such situations and, as Minister, I expect Waterford City and County Council to continue to do whatever is reasonable and appropriate to support the residents at Ceol na Mara. I would also urge all concerned to co-operate fully with the local authority in carrying out its statutory functions.

The development at Ceol na Mara in Kill, County Waterford, was completed in 2008, and that developer is currently in receivership. The development consists of 50 semi-detached timber-framed houses of which 28 are privately owned and 22 are social houses. My Department understands that the dwellings may have a range of defects, including inadequate fire stopping. Public meetings and information sessions were arranged by Waterford City and County Council in April 2016 and home owners were given advice on fire safety and provided with smoke alarms and other information.

The Deputy will recall that last year the Minister's predecessor, Deputy Alan Kelly, in the interests of supporting the owners and residents living in developments where concerns regarding non-compliance with fire safety requirements have arisen, announced that a review would be undertaken by an independent fire safety expert to develop a framework for general application in such situations. It is intended that the framework will facilitate local authorities, residents associations and individual home owners who may be in such situations to assess properly the risks they face and to put in place practical and sensible measures to minimise any potential risks in advance of remediation. The independent fire safety expert has completed this task and the report on the matter is currently being considered in my Department with a view to publication shortly. I hope we will discuss that report in the House in the near future.

To answer some of the specific questions the Deputy asked about the standards and regulations that were set, as he knows, this development was constructed in 2008 under a previous set of regulations and enforcement procedures. The previous Fine Gael and Labour Party Government put in place a new range of regulations, mechanisms and standards to control and monitor the situation in respect of the building of houses. That will change the type and standard of houses that will be built and, as a result, people will be provided with a much better house. It is a shame those standards were not in place in the past, but they are in place now and it is hoped situations such as the one raised by Deputy Cullinane will be prevented from arising in the future. I understand that does not help the residents referred to by the Deputy, but I am answering the specific question he asked about new regulations. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government did a lot of work on bringing forward the changes that took place in the past four or five years and it is hoped they will help to raise the standard of houses built in the future.

Dairy Sector

Deputy Jackie Cahill

I congratulate the Minister on his appointment. We worked together when he was the Fine Gael shadow spokesperson on agriculture and I look forward to working with him in this Dáil term. The Minister has taken over responsibility for the agriculture sector when it is facing its worst crisis since the Economic War. Every sector of agriculture is under extreme economic pressure. The producers in the pigmeat and beef divisions are looking with trepidation at the possibility of a British exit from the European Union and the world trade deals that are being negotiated.

I want to concentrate on the immediate problems facing the dairy sector. Last weekend, farmers received their milk statements for April. Unfortunately, very few of them received a milk cheque. To take our two largest processors, Dairygold and Glanbia Industries Ireland, GII, they returned to farmers a net price of 20.9 cents per litre of milk, with 3.6% butterfat standard and 3.3% protein standard. I do not need to explain to the Minister that this price is significantly below the cost of production and is unsustainable in the future.

Looking at the market predictions from Ornua, there is no sign of improvement on the horizon. We are basing our premise on the survival of the fittest and that our dairy producers can withstand this storm. That theory will be put to the test this summer. With the level of grain prices currently, the production trends on mainland Europe will put that theory to the test. I have serious concerns that our producers will stand up as the lowest cost producers. It is a premise on which we have based many of our growth predictions, and I am concerned that will not come to pass.

The only practical way to increase milk prices in the short term is to increase the intervention price. There are many pros and cons in doing that. Some commentators say we will prolong the agony by having an increased intervention price, but is it better to try to prolong the agony and let the patient survive or terminate the agony and see many producers going into bankruptcy?

I suggest that at the next Council of Ministers meeting a dairy cow premium should be considered for the first 50 cows, and that it should be triggered when milk prices drop below 28 cents per litre. That is a practical suggestion to provide some much needed cashflow for European dairy farmers.

Co-operatives, private merchants, silage contractors and artificial insemination, AI, companies will have to carry debt from their customers into 2017.

We must examine a mechanism whereby they can get interest-free loans from the Government to enable them to deal with the large merchant debt that will be carried over due to the 2016 milk price. With bank repayments and farmers' other commitments, we must ensure farmers can be allowed a holiday from repayments without financial penalty. Many of our 17,500 producers have invested very heavily in the past two to three years in anticipation of the abolition of quotas and we must ensure they can come through this price storm.

At my clinics in Tipperary last weekend, I met three farmers who are being put under pressure to sell parcels of land in order to reduce their financial commitments to banks. I have written to the Minister for Finance already and there is a mechanism in place whereby if a person is consolidating a farm holding, he or she may sell and purchase land free of capital gains tax. I suggest that the Minister might push at Cabinet the notion that farmers forced to sell parcels of land in an attempt to restructure bank debts would be allowed the same exemption from capital gains tax. It would only affect a minority of farmers but it would be of great help to them if they could go with a full sale price of land to the banks in order to restructure debts.

Our industry still has much potential. Our 17,500 milk producers can contribute greatly to the rural economy but we must put a structure in place to ensure that those farmers survive this current and major income crisis. If we are to meet the targets we have put forward in Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025, we must have practical suggestions such as those I have put to the Minister in order to ensure that we come out of this calamity. We must allow rural Ireland and its economy benefit from the milk expansion as we had hoped.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Deputy Michael Creed)

I congratulate Deputy Cahill on his election to the House. I worked with him in the past during his leadership of the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, ICMSA, and I have always found him to be very practical and straightforward. His contribution in this debate is very welcome and I respect his voice in the context of the crisis faced by the agricultural community. He raised some very practical and sensible suggestions that will feed into our consideration as we work to ensure that we bring the agricultural sector through this crisis so it can be in a position to capitalise when markets pick up.

I am pleased to address the House on the issue of dairy markets, although it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the price paid by any individual processor. Nonetheless, I am fully aware of the pressures faced by dairy farmers. I am committed to working with all the players in the sector and colleagues both in this House and at a European Council of Ministers and Commission level to address these issues and ensure we can continue to have a sustainable dairy sector.

Food commodity markets, including dairy markets, have been characterised by significant levels of volatility for a number of years. This trend has continued throughout 2015 and into 2016. Factors contributing to this in recent times include the Russian ban on agricultural imports and the softening of Chinese demand. It is interesting to remember that China is about to become our second largest market for dairy produce. From a standing start only a few short years ago, it is now the second most important destination for our dairy products. There has also been increased production among key global producers, including the European Union. The longer-term global demographic and demand perspectives remain positive but 2016 will be an extremely challenging year for the dairy sector in Ireland and elsewhere. Market volatility provides extremes at both high and low prices. The challenge for the dairy sector is to ensure that farmers are equipped to deal with downward price volatility when it occurs. There is no magic bullet on this issue. The reality is that a combination of measures, both public and private, will be required to protect farmers from the worst impact of this volatility.

Farm efficiency is one element of the solution. In Ireland, we are blessed with a cost-efficient grass-based production system and my Department will - through Teagasc, knowledge transfer groups and bodies such as the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation and Animal Health Ireland - continue to invest significant resources in providing farmers with advice and technology designed to improve farm efficiency and reduce production costs. The objective is to make farm businesses more resilient in times of downward price pressure and more profitable and competitive in good times. I have also called on the European Commission to temporarily suspend anti-dumping tariffs on imports of fertilisers from third countries in order to reduce input costs for Irish farmers. We estimate that this would save approximately €14 per tonne of fertiliser, which would be significant for any holding.

The single farm payment provides some measure of income stability and EU market support measures also have a role to play. At EU level, Ireland has been to the forefront in calling for the deployment and extension of market support measures. This has resulted in the extension of measures such as aids to private storage and intervention for skimmed milk powder and butter. It has also resulted in additional direct payments of €27.4 million for Irish farmers, which were co-funded by the Exchequer and the European Union.

With respect to direct payments, I have asked the Commissioner to make the maximum possible provision for advance payment of the €1.2 billion in direct payments to Irish farmers. The latter would be a particularly useful measure to improve cash flow for farmers at this time. We should seek EU funding for further direct targeted aid for dairy farmers. I acknowledge that finding these funds within the European Union budget will be a real challenge but in light of the very difficult circumstances in which our farm families now find themselves, I am determined to exert the maximum possible pressure on this point. With regard to intervention, I recently asked the Commissioner, Mr. Phil Hogan, to increase the volume of skimmed milk powder that can be purchased into intervention at a fixed price. I understand he has now signalled his intention to increase the skimmed milk powder volume from 218,000 tonnes to 350,000 tonnes, which is a welcome development.

These measures are not enough on their own and the dairy sector must look at the development of new tools, including fixed price contracts, futures markets and more flexible financing arrangements for farmers. Many processors are using fixed price contracts and some are working on the development of the market price indices needed to support futures trading. Others have developed imaginative bonus payments and financing solutions. I would like to see more of this. As I have explained to Deputy Cahill, I will be meeting representatives from the pillar banks in the coming days in order to discuss the issue of the financial pressures faced by farmers.

As one of the proposers of the dairy forum, my goal is to ensure it continues to provide a vehicle for constructive engagement on relevant issues of concern for farmers and others in the sector. In this respect, the forum has come forward with some good initiatives for farmers already, including an initiative on improving cash-flow planning at farm level that will be rolled out shortly. I can assure the House that I will continue to engage constructively with all the stakeholders in the sector to ensure Irish dairy farmers are well positioned to deal with the current market difficulties and take full advantage of opportunities when the markets recover.

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Bernard J. Durkan

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording us the opportunity to raise this particularly important issue for County Kildare. I refer to the tendering process relating to the replacement of buildings and facilities for Maynooth post-primary school. The school is to be moved to a new campus on the Moyglare Road and the tendering process has been completed. Unfortunately, in recent times a statement was issued by the Department of Education and Skills outlining future work programmes that did not include this project, although it has been included in the capital programme from last year. We strongly support any effort to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.

We understand a value-for-money or similar evaluation has been carried out on the project and that some trimming had to be effected. Further information was sought by the Department. The analysis raised these legitimate issues and we understand the response has been submitted. However, the project seems to be stuck at a particular juncture.

It is in everybody's interest, particularly the children in the local feeder schools. The project now encompasses two buildings in two schools, the Maynooth post-primary school replacement and Maynooth community college, on the same campus. If it were any help, I am sure we would all agree that the original suggestion, which was one school with a junior and a senior cycle, might bring about some economies even at this stage. The local community and the public representatives, who are at one on this, would be more than happy to agree to that, if it could be done. It is important the Minister reassures the House as to the availability of the funding which has already been provided for.

Deputy Catherine Murphy

In 2009, the board of management wrote to the Minister requesting an extension to the school. In 2010, that was refused and it was told it would get a new school. The school was regarded as fit for purpose for 800 pupils but, in fact, it was catering for 1,000. Obviously, that is a growing number in a developing area. The board of management wrote requesting, as Deputy Durkan said, a junior-senior system as opposed to two schools. The patronage was subsequently granted to the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board, KWETB.

The design and planning began and in December 2015, the tender report was submitted to the Department. Four months later, the Department responded to the school with ten questions and some reductions were sought. That was responded to and there appears to be some confusion in the Department about whether a full response has been made. The KWETB said it has but the Department said it had not received it. Alterations to traffic signals in the town have been requested. The KWETB would only be a contributor to that because there are many other things happening, plus a traffic management survey. The KWETB is happy to give a letter of guarantee, so that there is no ongoing issue in that regard.

We are trying to find out whether the funding is secure, when the tender will be issued and when the project is expected to commence because the tender lasts for a year and that would be up to about October of this year. There is a critical timeline in that if the school is not delivered by September 2018, the Department will then incur expenses in the form of temporary accommodation because there is not adequate accommodation. The timeline is critically important. The key issue is that there are rumours circulating that there is doubt about the timeline for the project and that needs to be responded to. I hope the Minister will be able to do that today.

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Richard Bruton)

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter, which they mentioned to me yesterday evening. I assure them that I know Maynooth very well and I am very committed to ensuring this project is delivered. I know the parents are very anxious about the situation and are keen that their children will receive their education in the best facilities possible. This project was tendered by Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board, KWETB, late last year. Acting with appropriate diligence, an examination of the KWETB's tender report was carried out by Department officials. Unfortunately, this examination showed a number of technical issues with the tender process. Arising from this, officials asked the KWETB for certain clarifications. While the KWETB has addressed some of these matters, others are still outstanding.

The specific issues of concern include: an unexplained cost overrun; the absence of an acceptable schedule of proposed reductions both to address this cost overrun and to meet the approved budget; the inclusion of an additional 700 sq. m of floor space; and the exclusion in the tender documents of significant additional works relating to planning permission conditions. Indeed, the extent of these works has not been fleshed out with the local authority which, in and of itself, is a planning condition. It is also a planning condition that the new schools cannot open until these works are carried out. The cost of the works involved is substantial and unquantified.

These are all very significant issues for the project. In the Department's experience, works that were not properly specified or quantified at tender stage constitute the greatest source of overruns. It is the intention of the Department to advise the KWETB to now retender the project. Given the length of time since the original tender process, as well as the need to address construction inflation, which is running at between 5% and 6% per annum, the Department has determined that this is the most prudent approach to minimise risk for the taxpayer. I should note that as Minister, I have no role in relation to the decision to award a tender or to retender a project as the case may be. That decision is taken by the Department.

While the decision to retender may result in some initial delay in getting the project to site, I am advised by the Department that this would be the most sensible way to ensure that neither KWETB nor the project itself is compromised in any contract awarded and that the project is delivered as quickly as possible. Critically, this approach would ensure that all aspects of the project, including those in relation to planning conditions, are included in the works tendered to avoid the possibility of the school not being able to open when built. This approach would also allow for a phasing of the project to make one building available somewhat ahead of the other to deal with the continuing growing demand for pupil places in the area. This would not be possible under the tendering process carried out late last year.

I assure the Deputies that my Department is completely committed to the delivery of the new school buildings for Maynooth and it is as anxious as KWETB and the wider community in Maynooth to get the project to site as quickly as possible. There is no issue in relation to the availability of funding. My Department will continue to work with the KWETB to achieve this and I want to reinforce the position that the Department's decision to retender the project is being taken solely to arrive at a positive outcome for the local community in the shortest timeframe possible. I thank the Deputies again for raising this matter and I hope I have assured them of my Department's commitment to deliver these two schools as quickly as possible.

Industrial Relations

Deputy Thomas Byrne

I thank the Minister for being here and the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue. The industrial relations problems that seem to be bubbling up in the education sector are of significant concern to parents and students alike. There are threats and counter-threats and meetings and preconditions to meetings. I thought I would offer the Minister the opportunity to set out the Department's position on a range of issues to give some reassurance to those affected - the pupils, parents and teachers - that the Department is taking a lead role in this, that it is doing something about it and is not going to allow this situation to fester until September, with potentially serious consequences for the education system.

The Minister has threatened to take a range of measures if, for example, the ASTI repudiates the Lansdowne Road agreement and does not do what is required and yet page 305 of the briefing he received states that it is determined that ASTI and TUI members could not be excluded from the legislation and they will therefore benefit from any pay improvements which are brought about through legislation. There seems to be a bit of a difference in approach there. Is the Minister on solid legal ground in these threats? More importantly, what is he doing to try to resolve the situation so that these threats are not necessary and the education of our children and students does not suffer? What sanctions does he believe can be put in place?

Last week I raised the issue of junior certificate reform. That is another issue that needs to, and can, be sorted out if the will is shown by the Department, the Minister and, indeed, the unions - I will not exclude any side from this - to sort it out and to ensure the issue is addressed and put to bed so that we can get on with the main job which is required to be done.

Another issue relates to allowances. In the last days of the outgoing Government, allowances were restored for firefighters. Is it possible that this opens the way for post-2012 teachers who lost out on similar allowances to reach similar deals? The TUI seems to believe a precedent has been set. Is it correct? Is this something the Minister has given consideration to?

The Minister will also be aware that newly qualified teachers are now starting to organise themselves, and they are right to assert their anger and to highlight the inequality and the unfairness, which they are doing in increasing numbers. I have met some of them at their meetings and they are looking for equality. Perhaps the Minister could outline the steps he is taking in this regard. Fianna Fáil believes that future pay agreements should focus on equalising pay for new entrants and we are committed to restoring equality of treatment for teachers. However, what is the Minister doing on this matter? It is now beginning to cause considerable upset within schools because in many cases these teachers are settling in to their jobs, achieving permanency and now feel more secure to be able to speak out on the issue. A range of issues has landed on the Minister's desk. I will write to him privately to seek a meeting on other issues. We need to get a grip on this situation or there will be serious consequences for education and for our students.

Deputy Richard Bruton

I thank Deputy Byrne for raising these issues and I assure him I would be more than happy to meet him on these or on any other issues he wishes to discuss. The purpose of the wider framework of public service agreements is to balance the rightful ambition of public servants to see improvements in their pay and conditions after a long number of years of pressure with the needs of the public to see improvements in the services. The Deputy has outlined the pressures as they applied to the teaching profession but the pressures apply right across the public service. We have seen very difficult times in many public services and there are pressing needs in many areas, not just in education but also in health and housing etc., as the Deputy is aware.

These agreements, in particular the most recent, the Lansdowne Road agreement, and its predecessor, the Haddington Road agreement, bring important benefits for public servants generally and teachers in particular, including increments, supervision and substitution payments, protection against compulsory redundancy and the alleviation of the FEMPI pay cut for higher earners. The agreement has been endorsed by the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The agreements also bring significant benefits for users of public services, which benefits in the education sector include the so-called Croke Park hours - the additional 33 hours that teachers work under the agreement - which help ensure parent-teacher meetings, staff meetings and other activities can proceed without schools being closed during the school day.

Just as being inside these agreements bring benefits, it is also important to point out that being outside these agreements brings risks for both public servants and for the wider public who use the services they provide. ASTI members voted at ballot last autumn not to accept the Lansdowne Road agreement. However, they have continued to abide by the Haddington Road agreement which has an original expiry date of 30 June 2016. Following a recent ballot, ASTI members have now voted to withdraw from the Croke Park hours upon completion of the Haddington Road agreement. The Croke Park hours are a valuable resource within the school system that allow certain essential activities involving the entire teaching staff or groups of teachers to take place. These include staff meetings, parent-teacher meetings, school planning, subject planning and mandated continuing professional development. Except for an element of parent-teacher and staff meetings, prior to the Croke Park agreement these essential activities took place within tuition time, meaning that schools closed for full or half days to carry them out. Pupils did not attend the school during these closures, resulting in interruption to tuition, additional child care costs and significant inconvenience for parents, particularly the parents of primary school children. Under the Croke Park agreement, teachers agreed to provide one hour of additional time per week in order that these essential activities could be carried out without school closure and the consequent interruption to tuition for pupils and inconvenience for parents. This time commitment continues under the Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road agreements.

It is important to note that many public servants committed significantly more hours than this under the public service agreements. In withdrawing from these hours, the ASTI is thereby repudiating the Lansdowne Road agreement. In opting to withdraw from the Lansdowne Road agreement, ASTI members are also opting to forgo a series of benefits and protections, as communicated by my Department previously. These include avoiding an increment freeze, continuation of the alleviation of the FEMPI Act 2013, pay cuts for higher earners, the supervision and substitution payment of €796 due to be paid on 1 September and protection against compulsory redundancy. A further significant consequence will be the withdrawal of the benefits introduced for new teachers under the Ward report, which enable them to gain permanent employment and full hours more quickly than before.

I am aware of union concerns regarding the usage of the Croke Park hours. In response to those concerns, my Department recently agreed with the INTO and the TUI that the usage would be reviewed, having regard to teacher professional judgement, system and school requirements and experience to date of best practice in the utilisation of the hours. As an immediate first step in that review, the maximum period of time available for planning and development work on other than a whole-school basis will be increased from five hours to eight hours from the beginning of the 2016-17 school year and to ten hours from the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. TUI members are balloting on acceptance of this agreement and implementation of the review will be contingent on such acceptance. If the agreement with the TUI is endorsed by its members at ballot, this will also enable the implementation of other measures, including the re-use of flex hours and the implementation of the Cush report recommendations for fixed-term and part-time lecturers at third level.

The ASTI was invited to discussions with my Department on the same basis as the INTO and the TUI. Regrettably, the ASTI declined to take part in such discussions and instead decided to ballot on a withdrawal from the Croke Park hours. My Department’s invitation to the ASTI to discuss issues of mutual concern remains open. It demonstrates that the Lansdowne Road agreement is a framework within which genuine progress can be made.

Separately, the ASTI continues to operate a directive of non-co-operation with the new junior cycle programme that is being implemented in all schools. This is creating a disadvantage for their students and is unfair as well as denying their own members essential professional development and support. This needs to be addressed and I have written to the ASTI to arrange for an engagement on this following its indication that it would be willing to do so.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 31 May 2016.

Dáil Éireann debate - Thursday, 26 May 2016