I am glad of the opportunity to come before the joint committee and outline my priorities in the Department of Education and Science.
Our education system has served us well and it is important to recognise its overall success. The quality of the system is recognised internationally and reflected in the results achieved in various international benchmarks. However we need to do more. We must continue to improve the standard of education available throughout the system. We need to ensure the system continues to adapt and respond to the needs of society and the economy. We also need to ensure a response to the needs of the wide range of individual learners, which means increasing the flexibility and diversity of provision and ensuring quality across the system. We are faced with many challenges in this task. In recent times attention has focused on the challenges of our current economic and budgetary situation. While this sets a difficult framework for addressing priorities, the challenge for all of us in the public service is how we can deliver improved outcomes within a constrained public finance framework. In view of the range and diversity of issues in education which contribute to our overall objectives, I will address some of these in my opening remarks and be happy to deal with others in the ongoing discussion.
One of my key priorities is to ensure a focus on the quality of teaching in our classrooms. The educational outcome for the student is crucially dependent on the quality of learning in the school. In 2009 the inspectorate of my Department will continue to support schools and promote improvement through the whole-school evaluation and inspection programme in primary and post-primary schools. Through its school evaluation work in the period ahead, my Department will maintain a focus on promoting best practice in school development planning and self-evaluation. This continues to be an important objective for the system and I am encouraged by the many examples of leadership in this area highlighted in the evaluation reports. In a very small number of schools where serious weaknesses arise, my Department will undertake appropriate follow-through activity. Its administrative sections are working closely with the inspectorate to ensure the schools engage with recommendations for change and are enabled to improve their leadership and the quality of education provided for students. My Department's administrative sections are working closely with the inspectorate to ensure that schools engage with recommendations for change and that they are enabled to improve their leadership and the quality of education provided for students.
Numerous influential reports have highlighted the fact that teacher quality is the single most important factor in improving outcomes. It is vital, therefore, that we not only continue to attract the right people into teaching but that we provide them with the continuum of professional development opportunities they need to be effective educators. The teaching profession in Ireland is highly regarded and continues to attract from the top quartile of students. This is a key ingredient in the provision of quality education.
The Teaching Council has been given a key statutory role with regard to ensuring that the teaching profession operates to a high standard and it is aware of the priority that I and my Department attach to improvements in areas such as pre-service and induction in particular. The Department has a responsibility to ensure that teachers have access to appropriate support and training. Teachers also have a responsibility to update their knowledge and skills and maintain a good standard of instruction throughout their careers.
Curriculum is another important contributor to quality outcomes. There have been significant developments in recent years across primary and post-primary curricula. In the coming period I wish to highlight the reform of the mathematics curriculum at post-primary level. This is an innovative project using a model of curriculum reform that has never been applied before. Project maths is designed to encourage greater take up at higher level and to provide a solid foundation that prepares students for careers in science, technology, engineering, business and humanities options. The 24 project schools started the cycle in September 2008 and will complete the final phase in 2010-11. The mainstream phasing will begin in September 2010, prefaced by a programme of professional training for teachers starting the previous year.
Project maths will be supported by intensive investment in professional development for teachers. A maths support team has been appointed and is currently supporting the project schools, as well as preparing for mainstream in-service development, which will start in September 2009. As well as the maths support team, teacher training in a number of areas will be prioritised in 2009, including special education related programmes, training for language support teachers and training for ICT co-ordinators.
Significant progress has been made since the ICT in schools programme was first launched ten years ago. However, the ICT strategy group report and the ICT in schools report set out a substantial agenda to be pursued to integrate ICT fully into teaching and learning in our classrooms. Although we face significant challenges in implementing some of the recommendations made in these reports because of the current economic situation, I am committed to investing in this area as resources permit.
As recommended by the strategy group, the role of the individual school ICT co-ordinator will be prioritised, with support for school principals. The National Centre for Technology in Education will collaborate with the various school support agencies to integrate ICT into the delivery of all support services. My Department will shortly issue a tender for the next round of the schools' broadband programme and the range of services available to schools will be expanded. The technology industry strongly advocates greater integration of ICT into teaching and learning in our schools and I am anxious to explore with the industry how it can work with my Department to achieve this common goal.
With regard to school staffing and funding, my priority in the immediate period ahead is to sustain the existing level of service to the greatest extent possible. At its most simple, the priority in respect of schools is to survive the current challenges with as much intact as possible of the substantial gains made in recent years. In terms of current expenditure for the school system, this comes down to what we can reasonably afford to spend on teachers and other support staff, with what we can provide for day-to-day running costs.
This will not be easy given that the demographics mean we will see further increases in the number of pupils, with continued growth at primary level. Furthermore, the pressure that is evident at primary level in recent years will increasingly be reflected in the numbers attending at second level. At primary level, we have made substantial investment in providing extra teachers and special needs assistants for those with special needs but we recognise that as pupils transfer to second level many will continue to need support and create pressure for additional teaching and SNA resources. A further key part of policy has been to target resources towards educational disadvantage. We have also sought to address the language needs of newcomer children. My priority and that of my Department will be to do the best we can to balance these competing needs within the overall limits on the number of teachers and other support staff that can be provided within the resources available.
I know that the measures to be implemented next year will present challenges at school level. However, as I have said repeatedly, I cannot accept the extreme claims being made about their impact. It is simply not credible for the INTO or others to present this as having a potential catastrophic impact on education outcomes or, for that matter, as prejudicing the capacity of schools to enrol pupils. Schools at primary level will be resourced as they were in the 2006-07 school year and parents should expect that their children will be educated to no less a standard in the coming year. Similarly, second level schools will have to make choices about how they structure classes in terms of size and subject and level options. Although it is not desirable that we have had to bring second level schools back to the staffing position that applied up to 2000, I have made the point, and will make it again, that those who have graduated successfully from third level colleges throughout most of the last decade spent some or all of their years in second level schools staffed at the same level as they will be in the coming school year.
I am also very aware of the pressures on schools in meeting day-to-day running costs and while the recent reductions in the price of oil are welcome I know that meeting all the different ongoing costs can be challenging for schools. Although I made improvements to the capitation grants this year, I had to cut other grants. Faced with the overall funding limits and the pressures of providing extra money in 2009 for pay and pensions, amounting to approximately 80% of overall current funding, I had to make difficult decisions in this regard. Ultimately, I want to work to a position where the main funding instrument for schools is the capitation payment rather than a plethora of grants requiring separate budgeting and accounting by my Department or schools. Apart from being more efficient, such an approach in the future will allow schools to allocate funding according to their plans and priorities.
Meeting the needs of children with special educational needs has been and continues to be a key investment priority for my Department. This is evident in that over €1 billion of my Department's €9.6 billion education budget is allocated across services for special needs. Over the past decade, there has been a complete transformation in educational policy in this area. Today there is a real choice of educational placement in our primary, post-primary and special schools available for children with special educational needs.
Despite the pressure to reduce expenditure across the public sector, the Government has allocated an additional €20 million in funding to the education and health sectors to further enhance and strengthen the services available to children with special educational needs. An integrated approach between the education and health sectors will target these additional services to areas of greatest need. The additional funding to be allocated to my Department will provide for an expansion of the national educational psychological service permitting all schools in the country to be covered by the service. The additional funding available to NEPS, which represents a 33% increase over the 2008 allocation, will facilitate the recruitment of up to 50 further psychologists. This investment will significantly enhance the capacity of our educational psychologists to support schools directly in the development and delivery of appropriate interventions for children with special educational needs.
Pending the full implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, services will continue to be provided by my Department on a non-statutory basis, including the allocation of resource teachers and SNAs through the National Council for Special Education. My Department is also involved in a value for money and policy review of the special needs assistant, SNA, scheme. The review is examining the SNA support allocated to children with care needs in schools. As part of the review 100 schools, randomly selected, will be visited by Department representatives and the National Council for Special Education during the 2008-09 school year. The review will also include engagement with parent representatives, schools, education partners and other representative groups. It is envisaged that the review will be completed in 2009 and the recommendations will feed into policy development in this area. There are also important issues concerning the role of all schools, including primary and post-primary, in meeting their share of responsibility for accommodating children of various backgrounds and needs. Proposals on enrolment policies generally are being developed.
Ensuring there is appropriate provision in all areas to meet demographic needs has been and will continue to be a significant challenge. I prioritise the development of improved capacity within my Department in the area of forward planning. While substantial work will continue on the immediate delivery of schools building projects, it is vital that we prepare for medium-term and longer-term needs.
While any projection into the future is tentative and dependent on many factors, it is highly probable that enrolment at primary level will increase by at least 20% in the coming decade. That implies an increase from last year's level of approximately 486,000 pupils at primary level to approximately 563,000 by the academic year 2015-16. In other words, by 2015 enrolment will regain the level recorded in 1989.
Through ongoing innovation and streamlining of processes, my Department has strengthened its planning capabilities and I intend that this will continue in 2009 and beyond. It is vital we position ourselves to deliver the 100,000 extra school places that will be required in the coming years in the areas where these places are needed and when they are needed.
While existing patron models at primary level have served us well, changing needs make it opportune to examine additional models. A new model of community national school is being piloted in two locations for this purpose. The pilot phase of this new model provides an important learning opportunity and will enable informed decisions on a possible roll-out of this new model of patronage in other locations in the future.
Recently I announced a review of the procedures for the establishment of new primary schools. Given the rapid growth in population and changing demographics in recent years, it is an opportune time to re-examine the criteria for the establishment of new primary schools.
The programme for Government contained a commitment to review the school transport system, including the catchment boundaries. Proposals for the review are being finalised. The terms of reference include a review of the eligibility criteria for primary, post-primary and special needs children, financial aspects, administrative structures and good practice. A detailed analysis and review of the main cost drivers is required with a view to achieving efficiencies and value for money in the scheme. The aim is to complete the review by the end of 2009.
The higher education sector has undergone very significant growth and change and this has been matched by sizable increases in public investment. Higher education delivers important national goals in teaching and learning, research, promoting social inclusion and through provision of opportunities for life-long learning. The growth of the sector is well recognised as a very significant factor in the Irish economic success story of recent years, with the availability of a highly educated workforce serving as a key attraction for inward investment.
The challenge to ensure our higher education system continues to be responsive to and leading change in the world around it remains key to Ireland's future economic success.
My Department is working closely with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment under the guidance of the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Haughey, to address skills needs in an integrated way across the further and higher education sectors and in collaboration with the enterprise and training agencies. I expect to bring proposals to Government shortly on the process to develop a new national strategy for higher education. The strategy will aim to provide a vision and strategic direction for the future development of the higher education sector in contributing to Ireland's economic and social development in the 21st century. The process will provide an opportunity to review the environment for higher education and the challenges and changes that impact on the sector as we seek to increase participation levels and access, foster innovation and develop the workforce skills needed to help Ireland remain competitive in the global knowledge economy.
In the international arena, higher education institutions are grappling with the challenges of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning and responding to the needs of learners for more flexible provision. The strategy process will also examine how higher education is evolving in other countries and seek to ensure that the Irish system ranks effectively against relevant international comparators. An examination of the overall operational, governance and resourcing framework will be important elements of the strategy review. The Government is investing unprecedented levels of public funding in higher education and to identify future development objectives for the sector. It is also appropriate to establish the effectiveness of the use of current resources. It is expected that the scope for greater collaboration and co-operation between institutions will also be addressed.
I have asked my officials and the Higher Education Authority to examine the range of policy options available for the introduction of a form of student contribution. There are obviously complex and competing considerations related to this topic but, as I previously stated, this is an appropriate time to examine and debate this issue. It is my intention to report to Government in the coming months in this regard.
The Student Support Bill 2008 is due to be taken on Committee Stage shortly and it is an integral part of the overall reform of the student grants system. The principal objective is to create a more coherent system for the administration of these grants. This will facilitate consistency of application, improved client accessibility and improved customer services for students and their parents.
The allocation for investment in educational infrastructure reflects the Government's continuing commitment to investment in educational infrastructure. In 2009 capital investment in primary schools will amount to €369 million, for post-primary schools it will be €212 million and for higher education, including research, it will be €265 million, while expenditure on other capital issues, including the PPP programme will be €42.35 million. The investment in the school building programme in 2009 will build on the achievements of the National Development Plan 2000-2006, under which an aggregate total of well in excess of €2.6 billion was invested in upgrading the existing school infrastructure and providing new school accommodation at first level and second level. This programme delivered more than 7,800 building projects in addition to investment in site purchases, the annual minor works grant to all primary schools, the asbestos and radon remediation programmes, science and technology initiatives, emergency works and grants for the purchase of furniture and equipment.
The priorities for the schools capital programme in 2009 are the completion of construction on 26 major capital projects at first and second level which are currently on site and which will deliver 7,000 school places; the commencement of construction on approximately 50 major capital projects at primary level and 12 major projects at second level on a phased basis throughout 2009; the completion of approximately 100 smaller capital projects already on site under the permanent accommodation scheme and the small schools initiative and allow a further 80 projects previously approved under those schemes to progress to completion; the delivery of permanent accommodation and small schools initiative schemes; and the delivery of a programme of rapid delivery accommodation in developing areas to help ensure there are sufficient school places to meet September 2009 demand.
The planned programme of investment in school building will offer opportunities to all potential building contractors to submit tenders for projects via the e-tenders website. My Department has already sought preliminary expressions of interest from contractors for the 2009 rapid delivery programme. It is my hope that, as well as providing employment in the construction sector, improved competition within the sector will provide increased value for money that will maximise the capacity of the State to address accommodation deficiencies across the educational sector. There is already evidence that tender prices are reducing, in some cases by as much as 15% to 20%. In addition, my Department will continue to use the PPP model as appropriate to supplement the programme of school construction under the traditional route.
The higher education sector will see increased capital spending in 2009 as funding is set to rise to €265 million, or an increase of 44% relative to the allocation for 2008. This investment will enable me to continue a programme of upgrading undergraduate facilities at a number of institutes of technology, universities and other higher education colleges, including works at Athlone, Dundalk, Tralee and Galway-Mayo institutes of technology, DIT and Mary Immaculate College of Education in Limerick. On the research side, the increased investment will allow continued progress in delivering previously approved projects under the programme for research in third level institutions.
While much of our focus is on the education system, there are also significant cultural, economic and academic benefits in building international education links and promoting European co-operation in education and training. Significant progress has been made in recent years, in particular in the recognition of qualifications. I intend to ensure we build on this progress in the coming years. I am also committed to working with Minister Ruane in Northern Ireland on common issues and challenges. We can benefit from sharing our experiences, learning from one another and co-ordinating our efforts in a way that is both practical and meaningful.
The overall priority for me as a member of Government is to secure Ireland's future at a time of global economic downturn. The work of the Department of Education and Science and my priorities for the education sector cannot be looked at in isolation from the economic realities facing the country. Economic and fiscal stability is essential if we are to sustain employment, which means not just ensuring the employment prospects of our children but the employment prospects of their parents now. In the current financial context, therefore, my immediate priority has to be to consolidate as far as possible and within the finite resources available to me the progress made in recent years.
We will continue to target and prioritise our resources to maximum effect for everyone. I am committed to ensuring the resources available to me are used in the most efficient and effective manner. This will ensure we deliver the best possible outcomes for all learners. By doing this we will be well positioned to enable the country to take full advantage when the economic situation improves. I will be working with all the education partners to ensure we get the best possible return from the investment in education.
