Vol. 1052 No. 4
59. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Education for an update on the minor works grant; when she expects this to be paid this year for schools in Carlow; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16156/24]
I am looking for an update on the minor works grant. When does the Minister expect this to be paid for schools in Carlow? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?
Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested in the region of €4.5 billion to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities around the country for the almost 1 million students and, importantly, the 100,000 staff who learn and work in our schools. The minor works grant is one important element of a record level of capital investment in school infrastructure.
The Department recognises the importance of the minor works grant to primary schools. This funding provides good flexibility at local level to assist schools to manage and undertake works that support the operation of the school. Under Project Ireland 2040, a commitment has been given that the minor works grant will be paid in either December or January of the school year to all primary schools, including special schools.
In recent years the Department's approach has been to pay the minor works grant to primary schools in advance of the start of the following school year in order to facilitate a better lead-in period for schools to plan any maintenance or minor works during the summer period. The minor works grant for the current school year 2023-24 was paid in April 2023. I recently announced that a minor works grant of €29 million for the 2024-25 school year would issue to all primary schools, including schools in Carlow, in the coming weeks.
Between 2018 and 2023 in the region of €310 million in minor works grants and enhanced minor works grants was allocated to schools. This includes the additional support in the context of Covid-19 of the payment of an enhanced minor works grant totalling €45 million for primary schools and special schools, plus a once-off Covid-19 minor works funding of €17 million for post-primary schools. The enhanced minor works grant allowed schools that identified inadequate ventilation in a room to utilise their minor works grant or apply for emergency works grant assistance to address issues.
Under the minor works grant scheme, funding is made available to all primary schools on the basis of a €5,500 basic grant plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil enrolled in the school on 30 September of the year prior to the issue of the grant.
All schools have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. Given that each school setting is different, the individual schools are best placed to decide how best to use this funding to address their needs.
I thank the Minister. As she knows, the works that can be undertaken under the minor works scheme include maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. However, many schools are finding that the costs have risen substantially and they are seeing a huge shortfall. The Minister has seen in areas such as housing, and in regard to all grants, that the costs of buildings and materials have now gone up by so much. I am asking her if she will now allow this extra funding to go towards this. I speak to a lot of schools. I want to welcome the grant she has announced for 2024 and 2025. That is very important. Yet, given the scale of things, we really need more funding, because of the costs of materials and the works that need to be done.
There is also a school in Carlow that built a sensory room. It was funded by donations that came from the school’s own community. It is in County Carlow and it is a very small community. It cannot keep going back to the community to look for funding to finish it. Is it being considered and included in the minor works grant? We need a lot more communication.
In terms of the funding that has been made available to Carlow schools, from 2018 to 2023 schools in Carlow received in excess of €4.5 million under the minor works grant. The grant for the 2024 to 2025 school year, which is, as I said, due to issue later this month, will provide more than €400,000 in additional funding to Carlow schools. On the point of funding being issued to schools, I also recently announced the ICT grant of €50 million to all primary, special and post-primary schools for the 2023 to 2024 school year. In respect of that, schools in Carlow will receive in the region of €750,000 in ICT grants in the coming weeks.
I recognise that we all live in a challenging environment, and I know how important this funding stream is. This is notwithstanding the fact there has been an increase in capitation going into the schools. Equally, there is a unit in the Department, namely, the financial support services unit, FSSU, which deals with difficulties that might arise and with schools that might be having specific challenges. We invite schools to deal directly with the Department. In terms of special education, specific funds are being made available to schools for the development of their special classes and the ancillary requirements.
This funding is really welcome. It is so important. I note that it is planned to go to nearly 90 school building projects, which are currently at tender stage. The Minister announced that in the last few weeks. I welcome that. There are two capital projects for schools in County Carlow. One is, as the fellow said, "shovel ready" and ready to go. When will the announcement be made for these new capital projects?
The other issue is the delay. How can we look at things differently when I contact the Minister and the Department? I must contact the Minister every week, particularly regarding one school in County Carlow. I get on to her about all the other schools as well. Could we have more information and communication? When will these 90 planned school building projects that are currently at tender stage be authorised? When will we receive news about them?
There is one more thing. My little grandson is going to Monaleen National School in Castletroy in Limerick. I never bring up anywhere that is not in Carlow, but they have put in for a new school. I am wondering about that, too.
I thank the Deputy. In terms of the information that is being made available, the Department deals directly with the patron bodies on the ground, whoever they may be. To be fair, there are 4,000 schools in the system, so I think it is an appropriate mechanism. Of course, there is always a mechanism through which the Deputy can ask a parliamentary question in the Dáil, etc. I want to acknowledge that it is important to have a line of open contact with the schools. That is being done between the Department’s planning and building unit and the management of patron bodies that represent the schools.
Specifically, in terms of the ambitious project that is going forward, in the last number of years under this Government, more than 800 projects were completed. There are currently 300 projects at various stages of construction at this point in time. The Deputy is quite correct that I announced €800 million, which will facilitate an additional 90 projects, moving on to construction stage. They will be announced at different times. Some have now been announced and more will be announced. It depends on the stage they were at regarding the valuation of the tender project, etc. That will all happen in due course.
60. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education for an update on when construction will commence on new school buildings (details supplied). [16349/24]
My question is about when construction on a new school building in Scoil Íosagáin, Buncrana, will finally commence. The school has been waiting approximately 20 years now for this to happen. I cannot stress enough how appalling the conditions within the school buildings are. The Minister has been sent an email from the board of management containing more than 100 pages of documentation, and the photographic evidence is really shocking. This is where they have to provide an education every day.
At the outset, I will say that I am very familiar with this particular school. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has raised this with me on a number of occasions, so I am very invested in bringing this over the line. I know that is the Deputy’s view also.
The project that has been referenced by the Deputy is included in the Department’s construction programme, which will be delivered under the national development plan as part of Project Ireland 2040. The project for Scoil Íosagáin in Buncrana is a large-scale project which will provide a new 25-classroom school and all associated ancillary accommodation. The building will also include a further eight classrooms and three specialist rooms for children with special educational needs. These will include a sensory and play suite, a home studies room and an art and music room.
Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested more than €4.5 billion in schools around the country. Approximately 800 school building projects have been completed and 300 projects are under construction. Schools in County Donegal have received €123.5 million in investment since 2020, when this Government came into being, with 35 school building projects being completed and a further 25 currently in construction, including modular accommodation.
School building projects under construction involve an overall State investment of more than €1.2 billion, with most of these projects due for completion in 2024 and 2025. This is a record level of investment and highlights the Department’s strong track record in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities. I recently announced €800 million in funding for 90 school building projects that will move from tender stage to construction. Some of these have now been announced. They will all be done by degrees in the coming weeks and months.
The projects moving to construction in this next phase will add in the region of 200,000 m2 of additional and modernised permanent capacity across the school estate. They will involve 28 new school buildings and 61 extensions of existing buildings. This level of construction roll out recognises the priority that the Government puts on investment in education, including responding to the increased requirement for special education provision. New medium-term capital allocations for the Department of Education were confirmed in the recent review of national development plan allocations. The Department’s planning and building unit is now reviewing its programme plans in the context of this allocation.
I am struggling to find words here. I have just told the Minister that a 114-page document has been sent to her. I have seen it and it contains photographic evidence of the absolutely appalling conditions that teachers and children have to endure. Planning permission was lost because two contractors did not proceed to tender stage. There has been a lack of urgency in the Minister’s Department. I have read some of the emails from the school's board of management. It makes for harrowing reading to see the correspondence it gets from the teachers and parents. My question is very clear: when will the Minister's Department issue a letter of intent to the proposed contractor and when will the construction commence? I am really hoping the Minister can give assurance now here on the floor of the Dáil about when that will happen. It is straightforward. There is a trail of correspondence and contact from the board of management with the officials in the Minister’s Department and the lack of urgency is simply unacceptable. I am expecting good news here tonight.
There is no lack of urgency here; I want that to be very clear. This project has moved at pace under the last four years of this Government. As I have said, under the next phase of the school building programme, individual school building projects will be authorised to proceed to construction, subject to an assessment of tender reports and relevant due diligence by the Department’s planning and building unit.
The large-scale specific project for Scoil Íosagáin in Buncrana is currently at stage 3, which is tender stage. The tender report was received from the Scoil Íosagáin board of management and the design team by my Department in January 2024. The analysis and review of same is at an advanced stage.
The next step in the project will be the authorisation to issue the letter of intent to the successful tenderer. My Department will be in contact with the school authorities shortly with regard to the next steps involved in the project. The Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has confirmed the letter will issue shortly. Once a contractor has been appointed, it is expected it will take approximately 27 months to complete the project. It will be delivered at pace.
As I have said, more than €127 million has been invested in Donegal. Schools such as the Gaelscoil in Moville have been opened. Moville Community College is under construction. The three-school campus in Buncrana, for which I initiated the compulsory purchase order, CPO, is now going to design.
I will come back to the Minister on the three-school campus on another day. In respect of the issue before us, she mentioned the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, but she is the Minister for Education. I want to be clear. Is she saying that in the days ahead, her Department is going to issue a letter of intent to the proposed contractor? Will that be followed very quickly by the signing of a construction contract? She is the Minister for Education, with all due respect, so I am asking her to confirm that to me in the Dáil tonight. We have waited patiently. This proposal has been developing for 20 years. We are at a serious point now. I cannot stress enough that we are at crisis point for the teachers and children in that school. The mouldy conditions are making them unwell. Those conditions are unacceptable. Some of the buildings in which they are trying to teach are approximately 100 years old. It is urgent that she gives us the clear, good news that the project is finally moving to construction and those kids can have the education and facilities they deserve.
I thank the Deputy. I absolutely understand and appreciate the importance of the provision of a new build for a school. I recognise the importance of such provision in the interests of the school community, including the staff, students and the wider school community, comprising parents and the wider community. It is for that reason this project has moved, as I said. We received the required documentation in January. I made it clear that the project was being moved as a priority. I also said clearly, and I am happy to repeat, that the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, has engaged with me on an ongoing basis in respect of this project. I confirmed to him that the letter of intent will issue shortly. I believe he also referenced that on foot of his engagement with me. I give that confirmed commitment again. The letter of intent will issue shortly. It is a priority that we get the project moving. It has moved at pace under this Government and I look forward to the letter of intent issuing shortly.
61. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education if she will engage with a school (details supplied) regarding the urgent need for an ASD unit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16186/24]
What has been the extent of the Minister of State's engagement with Scoil Eoin in Ballincollig regarding the urgent need for an ASD unit and will she make a statement on the matter?
I thank the Deputy for the question. Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government. It is also a key priority for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. My Department engages intensely with the NCSE on the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This forward planning work is well under way ahead of the 2024-2025 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in respect of forecasting demand for special class places, an analysis of available school accommodation, consideration of improved data-sharing arrangements, and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.
Along with two new special schools opening this school year, 391 new special classes - 255 at primary level and 136 at post-primary level - have been sanctioned by the NCSE. Of those, 76 are in Cork, 52 at primary level and 24 at post-primary level. This brings to 496 the number of special classes in County Cork, comprising 351 at primary level and 145 at post-primary level.
In respect of the school referred to by the Deputy, I confirm that my Department received an application in 2021 under the additional schools accommodation scheme. The application was for funding for the provision of three special education classrooms. The Department's school building technical team carried out an in-depth review of the school site in 2021. The review confirmed that the school and the site are at maximum capacity and that it would not be possible to provide the required accommodation on site unless vast amounts of existing accommodation were to be demolished and replaced with two-storey accommodation. At that time, considering all the relevant impediments to delivering the brief of accommodation and the site constraints, the Department was not in a position to provide funding for the significant demolition of the school building. In light of this, officials in my Department contacted the NCSE to advise it of same and to establish the special classes in other schools in the area.
In January 2024, the NCSE confirmed the need for special classes in the area. I will come back in again and add to my reply.
I acknowledge the presence of Deputy Aindrias Moynihan to my left. He has worked on this issue for a number of years. The Minister of State's response is no different from the previous response that was given on 9 April in respect of this school. Traditionally in Ballincollig, ASD classes have been outsourced to villages, such as Ovens, Berrings, Farran and other surrounding rural county towns. I have spoken in the past about Ballincollig in particular and referenced the deficit in special needs classes in the area to serve the population of the town and the greater region, which amounts to approximately 20,000 people.
Many people here are slow to acknowledge the fact there has been a considerable increase in the number of special needs assistants, special education teachers and ASD classes in general. I would like to put that on the record. At the same time, however, this project is a matter of urgency. The technical team to which the Minister of State referred in her response met the principal on site in 2021 and, three years on, we are no further in progressing that project.
As the Deputy stated, in January this year, the NCSE confirmed the need for special classes in that area. The NCSE and the Department are working to identify suitable locations for those classes to ensure the children who require access to this provision can avail of it as soon as possible.
Separately, the board of management of the school subsequently submitted a new engineer's condition report to the Department in support of the proposal to knock and rebuild a portion of the school building. My Department's technical team will review the contents of the report and officials from my Department will consult the school authority on completion of the review.
As the Deputy knows, budget 2024 provided funding for up to a further 400 special classes. The NCSE has a significant number of new classes sanctioned ahead of the coming school year, and it is expected that further classes will be confirmed in the coming weeks. Parents will be notified as special class placements become available and are sanctioned for the school year.
As I said, the Department's technical team will review the contents of that report and consult the school authority.
I welcome that. I need to stress again, as Deputy Moynihan will, the urgency around the technical team submitting that report. As the Minister of State knows, those things take time and often require planning permission. It is not just a case of landing a modular unit or building. There are considerable planning requirements from the school's point of view as it arranges resources and so on. This project has been ongoing for a number of years and I reiterate the urgency around the technical team submitting that report as soon as possible.
I also reiterate that Ballincollig, which is a great town or suburb of the city, is playing catch-up in respect of the number of special needs classes it is providing to its population. It is imperative the classroom is given the utmost priority. The officials visited as long ago as 2021 and acknowledged on site the difficulties that exist. It is about time the parents in the area were given the reassurance that their children will be accommodated in the near future.
There is considerable need for ASD services in Ballincollig schools, and Scoil Eoin has been keen to provide classes for people in their own community so they do not have to travel outside to places such as Farran, Berrings and elsewhere. Finding a location to fit these classes on the site has been challenging, and the option of replacing an existing building, the section beside Station Road, needs to be seriously considered. There is a real win-win opportunity because there are issues in that part of the building. Perhaps the Minister of State could clarify if the costings have taken into consideration the requirements of the building as it stands and the work that might be needed to maintain it. That would play a significant part in influencing the decision.
You cannot leave the building as it is because there is work needed on it.
Also, has the Minister looked at other options, and has there been serious consideration given to doing that work and going up an extra storey on that section of building beside Station Road? It really is an option to be considered.
I thank both Deputies. The NCSE has confirmed the need for special classes in the area, and it is working with Department to identify suitable locations. There are 14 special classes in Ballincollig already. I very much welcome and think it is really positive that the schools want to provide these services for children in the area. We are open to more coming into it, and how that is rolled out is what is being considered at the moment between the Department and the NCSE. They will be reporting back to or consulting with the school when that review is completed.
I want to add that my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Foley, announced plans last week for the roll-out of the next phase of investment in the school capital building programme. This additional funding of almost €800 million will support more than 90 building projects in 2024 and 2025, including 138 additional rooms for children with special educational needs.
62. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Education the reason no counsellor is available to a school in north Leitrim under the Counselling in Primary Schools pilot (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16346/24]
Why, after nearly one year into a two-year pilot programme entitled Counselling in Primary Schools, no counsellor is available to schools in the north Leitrim area, even though Leitrim is one of the counties in the pilot area? I have sent the Minister details of one of the schools. Obviously, I do not want the name of the school to be mentioned because of confidentiality but it is one of a number of schools in north Leitrim that have not been able to access this highly valuable and badly-needed scheme.
In June 2023 - the Deputy is correct - I was very pleased to launch a €5 million pilot of counselling and well-being supports in primary schools in selected counties. This further supports the range of mental health and well-being supports already provided by my Department and the excellent work already happening in schools in respect of well-being. All of this supplements the mental health supports that are offered by the HSE throughout the country.
The pilot has two strands. Strand 1 sees direct counselling supports being provided to primary schools for the first time. The Department has set up county panels of pre-approved private counsellors providing one-to-one counselling in primary schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary. In total, 733 blocks of counselling have been allocated to schools across the pilot counties, which provides an allocation to 733 children in these counties. To date, 33 counsellors have been recruited across the seven pilot counties. Strand 2 involves the introduction of education well-being teams to provide enhanced in-school supports for a cluster of primary schools in Cork, Carlow, Dublin 7 and Dublin 16.
Some 15 education well-being practitioners have been recruited to the four cluster areas. They have undergone an intensive training programme provided by NEPS and have commenced visiting and supporting schools in recent weeks. The supports being offered are to pupils, parents, and school staff to support well-being and resilience at a whole-school level.
Separately, to supplement support for the post-primary sector, I recently announced a tender to procure services to further support well-being and mental health in post-primary schools. The tender will invite suitable providers to work with the Department to develop and deliver additional supports to complement existing systems and structures in post-primary schools for well-being and mental health.
As the Deputy knows, the provision of counselling to children is a serious and a sensitive matter. As there is no single recognised counselling qualification and no national regulatory body for counselling in Ireland, at this point in time, we are accepting applications from counsellors accredited with six accrediting bodies for counsellors in Ireland, who met the requisite criteria for this pilot project. This is to ensure that the counsellors have the appropriate training and skills to engage ethically, professionally and effectively with this vulnerable age group.
Counsellors are available to work in all seven counties of the pilot and my Department continue to accept applications from counsellors on an ongoing basis. We are hoping that more counsellors will be added to the panel in the coming weeks. Two counsellors were available to work in Leitrim. I am delighted-----
I am sorry, Minister. We are way over.
As the Minister said, this scheme came into being last May 2023. That is almost a year ago, and Leitrim is one of the seven counties in this scheme, along with Cavan, Laois, Longford, Tipperary, Mayo and Monaghan. This is a very valuable scheme. It provides counselling outside of the NEPS scheme. You do not need a full assessment from teachers etc. in order to get access to the scheme. It is a much more agile scheme. Teachers have to make a judgment through their interactions with the students and it really is very beneficial. However, it is no good if it is not available to those students. There is nobody on that panel as of now that will travel to north Leitrim to provide the service as announced, and I know four schools that are looking for that service. There is a lot of advertising of this service on social media and all of that, yet when schools go looking for it, it is not there. Parents are contacting schools asking what is happening, and I hope I can get a positive response from the Minister this evening.
I can confirm in fact that 733 blocks of counselling have been allocated, benefiting 733 children. What I can say is that is has been difficult to recruit in certain areas. As I said, two counsellors were available to work in Leitrim, and I am pleased to say that on 11 April, an additional counsellor was added to the panel who is available to work in schools in Leitrim. The Department is actively recruiting counsellors to work on this pilot, and I encourage all counsellors who are accredited by the accrediting bodies to make themselves available for this important work. This is a first in the area of primary schools. There is, as the Deputy has said, an absolute need for it. It is working, and it is working very successfully in areas where there are two types of pilots. As I have said, one is where there is one-to-one counselling. It has been easier in some areas to access the counsellors than in others but I am pleased to say we now have the third counsellor in place for Leitrim, and the 15 well-being practitioners that are working under the guidance of NEPS.
The school about which I gave the Minister details, which we are not mentioning here, contacted the Department in February, and again in March it submitted what I think is called the appendix 1 form. It has not heard back from the Department. It would be very useful if the Minister's Department could contact the school to let it know the situation. As the Minister knows, if a principal thinks a child needs this service, it is quite a difficult conversation to have with a parent, and then if they apply for the service there is nothing there. The Minister has told me there is another counsellor available - I think she said from 11 April - to work in Leitrim. I do know that when a counsellor was contacted, they said they could not travel the distance as it was approximately 60 km. I hope that will not be the case in this circumstance, and that whoever this counsellor is will be able to travel to the various schools in north Leitrim that need this service. It is not the schools that need it; it is the children. As the Minister said, it is a good service but it needs to be accessible for students in north Leitrim.
I thank the Deputy. I reiterate that 733 blocks of counselling have been provided to 733 children. It is new and innovative, and it will take time for it to take root. There have been challenges - I would be the first to say it - with regard to recruiting counsellors. The Deputy has specifically referenced her own area there. I am pleased, as I said, that from mid-April we have been fortunate to allocate a third counsellor, and we will continue to recruit in that space. It is interesting that there are two pilots because it will give us greater learning going forward as to whether a combination of the two, or one or the other is the most appropriate with which to move forward.
With specific regard to those who are training under the NEPS psychologists, they can come from a variety of backgrounds, whether it is education, social care or psychotherapy. Some within that field are currently being trained under the NEPS psychologists and they are actually out working in the clusters as well. There will be greater progress going forward but again, I would encourage people working in this field and who have this expertise to consider becoming involved as part of the primary school programme.
64. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education her plans to establish a new second level school in the east Cork area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16461/24]
What plans does the Minister and her Department have for another second level school in east Cork? This is probably one of the fastest-growing areas in the country at the moment, with thousands of houses planned but many of the schools there are already at capacity, even though they have got fantastic extensions. I would be interested in the Minister's response.
Requirements for school places are kept under ongoing review in the context of available information on population, enrolments and residential development activity. In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. A geographical information system is used to analyse data drawn from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data. This analysis enables the Department to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary levels. The school planning areas in east Cork include Midleton, Carrigtwohill, Fermoy, Cobh, Youghal and Mitchelstown.
Major new residential developments have the potential to alter the demand for school places at a local level. In that regard, as part of the demographic demand analysis, the Department of Education also monitors planning and construction activity in the residential sector. This involves the analysis of data sources from local authorities and the CSO along with the engagement with local authorities and the construction sector. In this way, up-to-date information on significant new residential developments is obtained and factored into the demographic analysis exercise. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes at a local level, where there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development.
Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested over €544 million across 104 projects of various scales in County Cork. This includes a number of significant projects in east Cork, as the Deputy referred to, such as the recently completed project at Carrigtwohill post-primary school, which delivered a new, modern 1,000-pupil permanent school building. An extension to St. Colman's Community College in Midleton has also been recently completed to cater for up to 1,000 pupils. Other projects being advanced in east Cork include expanded capacity at the Christian Brothers Secondary School and St. Mary's High School in Midleton. In addition, St. Aloysius College, Carrigtwohill will expand to cater for 1,000 pupils, while Pobalscoil na Tríonóide in Youghal will cater for 1,200 pupils, and Coláiste Mhuire and Carrignafoy Community College, both in Cobh, will cater for 600 and over 700 pupils respectively.
I thank the Minister for her response. I visited the Carrigtwohill second level school recently where the Minister turned the sod a while back. It is absolutely magnificent and amazing. It did take 12 years to open from the time the initial decision was made to build it. Has the Minister seen the two-year progress report on the Cork county development plan that was published last Friday? She probably has not. It indicates that in Midleton there are plans to develop 2,647 housing units and 2,173 of them have got planning permission already. In Carrigtwohill, the number is 1,700 houses and almost 1,000 have got planning permission already. I could go on to all the other hamlets and villages around in a similar vein. My concern is that thousands of houses are being planned. There will be huge numbers of houses, which is fantastic to see. Many of the schools the Minister mentioned already are at capacity as it is, however, so what plans are there to develop a further second level school in east Cork? I would put it to the Minister that an Educate Together school would be worth looking at in this regard.
I thank the Deputy. Where demographic data indicates that additional school places are required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through a variety of different circumstances. This could include utilising existing unused capacity, which I know, as the Deputy said, is not an easy thing to do in east Cork because such capacity may not be available. Another option might be extending the capacity of a school or schools, or, as the Deputy has requested, the provision of a new school or schools.
If additional accommodation is required, the aim is to try and facilitate this, as much as possible, by way of expansion of existing schools rather than establishing new schools. This is the preference in this regard. The expansion of existing schools is consistent with wider Government objectives under Project Ireland 2040 for an increased emphasis on compact growth. In respect of post-primary schools, new post-primary schools must have a student enrolment capacity of 600 to 1,000 students. A lower threshold of 400 students may apply to Gaelcholáistí, having regard to the alternative of establishing an Irish-medium aonad in an English-medium school.
Given the level of existing and planned provision, the Department is satisfied that the provision of a new school entity at post-primary level in the east Cork area is not required at this time. We will, however, keep it under review. I will specifically refer, going forward, to the plan the Deputy mentioned.
I thank the Minister for her response. I would be interested to know if she could forward to me information on the school planning areas. She mentioned there are 314 of them, and I ask her to forward the details of the east Cork one to me at some stage. We know that many schools now have got extensions to extensions, and they are at capacity. My concern is that in five, six or ten years' time we will be in real trouble because of the massive and very welcome growth in housing in the area. I ask the Minister to ask her officials to look at this situation again in light of the recent progress report I mentioned, which Cork County Council published only this week. It makes fantastic reading in the context of the development and building of houses and so on, which are so badly needed, but in parallel with this endeavour we need schools. The existing schools are full. They have got extensions to extensions in some of them, while at the same time the population is growing. If we have 5,000 houses and if each of those were to have one child, then that would be 5,000 extra children. This equates to a lot of school places.
To be fair, as the Deputy will appreciate, I know this area and I am aware that it is growing. I also know that, to be fair, there has been inordinate and richly deserved investment from the Department into this area. We have seen this across a whole variety of schools, whether this concerns the Carrigtwohill post-primary school, St. Colman's Community College, the CBS and St. Mary's in Midleton or St. Aloysius College in Carrigtwohill, as well as the schools in Cobh. The Department, as I said earlier, does engage with the local authority. We do look at a variety of different data under the GIS, but we do specifically engage with the local authorities. I think it is important that we have an openness at all times to keep an open mind and look at changing trends as they alter and evolve over time, so I will ask the officials to make reference to the latest information that is coming from Cork County Council, with a view specifically to east Cork.
66. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education for an update on the proposal to introduce a DEIS plus scheme for the most acutely disadvantaged schools in the country. [16367/24]
The Minister will know that I have raised this next matter probably more than any other issue in my capacity as the Labour Party's spokesperson on education. I refer to the need for a new designation of what is called DEIS plus for the most acutely disadvantaged schools. It is an initiative that was started in Dublin 17, in schools in Tallaght and Ballymun. The estimate is that about 100 schools around the country would benefit from extra therapeutic support. I ask the Minister if she has considered this matter and if she will move on it.
The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of the Department to address specifically concentrated areas of educational disadvantage at school level. The Department now spends over €180 million annually providing additional supports to just under 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme. This includes an additional €32 million allocated following the announcement to extend the programme from September 2022. This means that approximately 240,000 students, or one in four of all our students, are now availing of DEIS supports.
Within the DEIS programme, 306 primary schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage are included in DEIS urban band 1. In my time as Minister, I have provided three improvements to the staffing allocation for these schools. DEIS urban band 1 schools receive access to an enhanced staffing allocation of one teacher for every 17 pupils for junior schools, one teacher for every 19 pupils for combined schools and one teacher for every 21 pupils for senior schools. This means that children in DEIS urban band 1 schools have more contact time with their teachers. DEIS urban band 1 schools also have access to the support of home school community liaison co-ordinators, access to the school completion programme and receive additional funding by way of a DEIS grant.
The National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, provides priority access to its services for schools in this DEIS band. School leaders and teachers in these schools also receive priority access to professional learning through Oide to support them to meet the needs of their pupils. Evidence shows that the DEIS programme has been successful in improving the outcomes for students in schools with higher concentrations of educational disadvantage. For example, the number of children completing the leaving certificate in DEIS schools has closed significantly on the number in non-DEIS schools since the DEIS programme began.
However, I am aware of the proposal referred to by the Deputy and I have met with a selection of the principals of the schools involved. I recognise that more work is required to ensure that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to achieve their potential in education. That is why the Department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage.
When I raised this matter before, the Minister said there would be no OECD review of the DEIS programme until the second quarter of this year. This is why I have been relatively patient in trying to find out if the Minister will listen to what the principals have said. The Minister has said she has met them. The need in these schools is absolutely profound. Making one child out of every four a DEIS pupil does not really deal with the profound levels of acute disadvantage that are in our most deprived schools. The principals have said the impact of Covid has compounded things profoundly.
The rates of self-harm and suicidal ideation that resulted from the Covid pandemic were highly problematic. We are talking about intergenerational trauma. Principals are advocating for specialised trauma support. The schools in question represent the life chance for these children. It is the best chance they have. DEIS works; it is a success. The Minister has acknowledged that, and I know she believes it. The INTO has estimated that about 100 schools would greatly benefit from further additional support.
I do not disagree with the Deputy. It is important for the Department to have an independent assessment of the work of DEIS and then we will have an opportunity to see where we can go forward. The OECD Strength through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project is currently engaged in a review. It has been here, and was here last summer. It is reviewing the entire DEIS area. It met the schools involved in DEIS, schools that are not involved and DEIS schools that believe they require more from the programme. It is an enormous body of work. The OECD review is being complemented by a programme of work within my Department to develop a future policy for resource allocation to address education disadvantage. This work also involves consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. Officials involved with this work recently held consultations with more than 200 principals of primary and post-primary schools. This included a number of principals from those most acutely disadvantaged schools and provided rich data for the team to inform its work.
I am not in any way suggesting that the Minister does not appreciate the severity of the issues at hand. I have shared stories of my time teaching. The stories of people now on the front line are harrowing. We are losing children because of interventions which could take place and which, as has been acknowledged, would make the difference. It is very upsetting and very emotional to speak to principals who say if an intervention had taken place with a child when she was seven, she would not be having the issues she has now at the age of ten. I appeal to the Minister. I know she is having a review. I know that she has to stand over every cent spent by the Department and that there has to be some kind of scientific analysis as to why these allocations are made. There will never be a better investment in these 100 schools because that actually improves the life chances of these children. The school provides the most routine; it is the safest space they ever enter. That is why I will keep making this call until it is delivered upon.
I welcome the DEIS initiative for schools in areas with the highest deprivation, which is really important. However, I see this even in County Carlow in schools that I am working with now. For example, some of the schools have hot meals but they have no funding for snacks or breakfast. The supports are vital. There is the added struggle for the same students to access the public health system. They are often forced to wait years for initial assessments with therapists. While the work is great and DEIS status for schools is excellent, some schools really need more funding in that area. I know of schools in my area that I believe really need extra funding.
I really believe there is unanimity in the Chamber on the value and importance of DEIS and on the difference that DEIS makes to the life of the student. The DEIS programme has provided a range of supports, such as reduced class sizes, additional resources, school completion and home-school-community liaison officers. Very importantly there are two things. There are schools in DEIS whose principals firmly believe that they would benefit from even more DEIS resources, even though they might have the highest band of DEIS. There are also schools not in DEIS at all. We need to be very clear that there are children and young people at risk of education disadvantage and they do not attend DEIS schools; they are in other mainstream schools. We are trying to do a root-and-branch review. We have the OECD review and the work that is ongoing within my Department to ensure that to the maximum of our ability we will be able to raise all boats for all children, namely those who require additional supports within DEIS and those who are not in DEIS but who also require support. We hope to have that shortly.
We are almost out of time. Deputy Clarke will not have the full time for this question.
76. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education if she plans to remove the Catholic certificate that is required to teach in most schools in Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16253/24]
I ask the Minister if she plans to remove the Catholic certificate that some schools require of teachers.
The certificate of religious education is required as a condition of employment in Catholic schools. As an employment matter, it does not fall within my Department’s remit. Some of the higher education institutions offer an optional certificate in religion programme that is separate from the bachelor of education.
The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority. In accordance with Department circulars 31/2011 and 44/2019, schools are required to ensure that individuals appointed to teach are registered teachers with qualifications appropriate to the sector and suitable to the post for which they are employed.
The Teaching Council, which is responsible for the maintenance of standards in teaching and registering teachers, does not require a separate qualification in religious studies for registration as a primary school teacher. Schools and other educational institutions are required to comply with anti-discrimination and other employment legislation, such as the Employment Equality Act 1998. Section 37(1) of that Act, as amended, requires relevant employers in schools with a religious ethos to show that any favourable treatment of an employee or prospective employee is limited to the religion ground and action taken against a person is objectively justified by reference to that institution’s aim of protecting its religious ethos. This provision raises the threshold for discrimination so that schools are precluded from discrimination on any other equality grounds and that any action taken is reasonable and proportionate.
For historical reasons, most primary schools are State-aided parish schools, with the local bishop as patron, although this pattern is changing. At present, 89% of primary schools have a Catholic ethos. Approximately 5% have a multidenominational ethos. The remaining approximately 6% of primary schools have a religious ethos other than Catholic, mainly Church of Ireland. It is recognised, including by the Catholic patrons, that more diverse provision is required to cater for our changing society.
The schools' reconfiguration for diversity process, supporting transfers of schools to multidenominational patrons in response to the wishes of school communities, aims to facilitate more availability of multidenominational schools across the country. The programme for Government reflects the Government’s objective of continuing to expand the plurality of schools to reflect the full breadth of society.
I do not want to look at this from the perspective of multidenominational schools. That is a very valid conversation for another day. However, teachers should be hired on their skills, their ability, their experience and their qualifications to actually impart learning to the students in their classrooms. As there is a constitutional right for a learner to opt out of religion, why is this restriction still being placed on some teachers to be able to deliver that? The cold hard fact is that the 2022 census found that Roman Catholics accounted for 69% of the population. That represented a drop from 84.2% in 2011. Regardless of the factors that influence the latter, my opinion is that people who are not identifying as any religion at all play a large part in that. If we truly want our teachers to reflect the children who are sitting in their classrooms, we need to look at this. The saying that "You can't be what you can't see" applies to more than just what is visually obvious.
Regarding the point the Deputy raised, it is not a requirement for registration with Teaching Council. There is no requirement for any religious certificate. It is not a requirement for entry to any teaching college. However, section 37(1) of the Employment Equality Act 1998, as amended, requires relevant employers in schools with a religious ethos to show that any favourable treatment of an employee or prospective employee is limited to the religion ground and action taken against a person is objectively justified by reference to that institution’s aim of protecting its religious ethos. This provision raises the threshold for discrimination so that schools are precluded from discrimination on any other equality grounds and that any action taken is reasonable and proportionate. It is a reference to all schools, not just Catholic schools, including Church of Ireland schools, Muslim schools or whatever other types of schools.
I want to be very clear. Where it is associated with the Department through the Teaching Council, it is not a requirement. Equally, it is not a requirement with the teaching colleges.
