Seanad Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 13 Feb 2007

Vol. 186 No. 1

Adjournment Matters.

Disadvantaged Status.

Mr. U. Burke

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach for selecting this matter. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to the House.

Many schools in County Galway have recently lost the designation of disadvantaged. People at the coalface in those schools recognise they are being penalised for their excellence. This is true in the case of Mercy College, Woodford, County Galway, a second level school with an extraordinary commitment from staff, parents' association, board of management and students to achieving the highest possible educational standards. The school is in a CLÁR area which is in itself a recognition of this being a disadvantaged area and initiated by the Minister for Community, Gaeltacht and Rural Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív. It is also an area of declining population.

Under the old scheme of designated disadvantaged schools there were no indicators as to why certain schools were included, other than the fact that they were in disadvantaged areas. The benefits that those schools received and which they used with great effectiveness were extra capitation to spend at the discretion of the school, home-school community liaison officers, some teaching hours and extra guidance and other ancillary services.

In changing the criteria under the new DEIS scheme, the Minister has withdrawn some of those valuable support mechanisms and resources from the schools. If she is serious about commitment to the disadvantaged in education she has lost the plot in this instance. She stated that she has not written to the schools involved, but neither has she confirmed by letter that she is not withdrawing those supports. A home-school liaison officer in a school can be the means of keeping children at school and the withdrawal of this service is a serious blow to school management, teachers and students. It can be seen in no other light than that they are being penalised because of their super endeavour to help disadvantaged students by keeping them in second level education and helping them attain better results at both junior and leaving certificate level.

The Minister and the Department cannot stand over such extreme folly. If some of those students in urban areas drop out, the results are very serious in many cases. It is clear that under the criteria of the new scheme, DEIS, there is a bias towards major urban areas as against rural areas. It would be difficult to find an example of a similar secondary school in a rural disadvantaged area. The results of the support mechanisms in that school were obvious at both junior and leaving certificate level and in the retention rate.

The Comptroller and Auditor General in his recent report referred to the board with responsibility for supervising school attendance, the National Educational Welfare Board, and the HSE. He stated that the board had failed in dealing with the case where a child in a disadvantaged area missed more than 20 school days per year. The board has been ineffective in following through when children are absent from school for more than 20 days.

I ask the Minister of State to indicate to those schools included in the former disadvantaged status system that they too will retain their support mechanisms and resources and that the obvious imbalance between the urban and rural schemes will be eradicated. The new scheme introduced on 30 May 2006 was supposed to ensure equality within the education system but there is no equality in this new scheme. The scheme will be welcomed by certain schools because they have been included for the first time, but the 140 second level schools that have lost this designation feel aggrieved because they are being penalised for their excellence.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science (Mr. Haughey)

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the House about these schools.

Ensuring that children from the most disadvantaged communities in Galway and elsewhere receive the support they need to succeed at school is a key priority for this Government. To this end, we have significantly increased investment in tackling educational disadvantage in recent years. In 2007 we are providing nearly €730 million for targeted initiatives at all levels. This is an increase of nearly €95 million on the comparable 2006 figure. This investment supports the roll-out of additional supports under the DEIS action plan, through which 51 primary schools and 11 second level schools in Galway city and county will benefit from a comprehensive package of extra supports. Galway schools are well represented in the list of DEIS schools, making up nearly 12% of all the rural schools in the programme.

It is important to note that an independent review process was available to schools which did not qualify for the new programme. Additional schools were added to the programme as a result of making successful review applications. The Department of Education and Science is satisfied that all schools have been assessed on the basis of the best information available, ranked in terms of the correct criteria and given a fair opportunity to appeal.

Unsuccessful schools were advised at an early stage that they would be allowed to keep the supports they have under pre-existing schemes for the current school year. The Department of Education and Science is in the process of informing these schools that they will retain additional teaching resources for the duration of the DEIS action plan. The effectiveness of these posts will be reviewed in line with the ongoing review process in place for DEIS schools. It will be a condition of the retention of such posts that schools comply with any reasonable requirements of the review process.

Schools currently participating in the home school community liaison scheme will not be excluded from the scheme and, from the commencement of the 2007-08 school year, they will continue to avail of home school community support liaison services for the duration of the DEIS action plan. The level of service will be commensurate with the size of the school and its relative level of disadvantage.

Many schools retain additional capitation from previous schemes which have now been subsumed into DEIS. From the beginning of the 2007-08 school year this capitation will be offset against increases in the rate of general capitation. This process will take four years and will ensure that no school will experience a reduction in annual capitation as a result of this measure. Changes may arise from other factors such as enrolments.

I am satisfied that the Government has not only provided for a major increase in supports to our most disadvantaged schools through DEIS but has also addressed the concerns of schools which did not qualify for the new initiative. I thank Senator Ulick Burke for raising this matter.

Mr. U. Burke

Will the Minister of State confirm that home school community liaison supports will continue to be available to schools which were informed they would lose such supports as and from January 2007?

Mr. Haughey

Schools currently participating in the home school community liaison scheme will not be excluded from the scheme and, from the commencement of the 2007-08 school year, will continue to avail of such services for the duration of the DEIS action plan.

Institutes of Technology.

Ms White

I wish to share time with Senator Kenneally.

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Haughey, to the House. Waterford Institute of Technology has been in receipt of major capital investment and its main campus can now support more than 6,000 students. For this reason, as Dr. Edward Walsh, president emeritus of the University of Limerick, stated in January 2005, "The challenge for the State in establishing a university in Waterford should not be significant, either in financial or organisational terms."

We hear daily about the knowledge economy and the importance of producing more graduates and developing strong research skills. The industrial base in the south east relies on traditional manufacturing and agriculture. Upgrading the designation of Waterford Institute of Technology to university status would attract new, high-tech skills to the south east region.

Mr. Kenneally

I thank Senator White for sharing time.

The upgrading of Waterford Institute of Technology's designation to that of university is an important issue for Waterford and the entire south east, which is being fought at regional rather than county level. One of the weaknesses of the region in the past was its failure at times to pull together. While Waterford has the largest population in the south east, counties Kilkenny, Wexford and Carlow also have significant regional towns. Clonmel and Carlow, for example, are experiencing rapid development. Traditional rivalries have been set aside and the entire region and public representatives from across the political divide have united in support of Waterford Institute of Technology's case.

Prior to becoming mayor of Waterford and joining the board of governors of University College Cork for a year, I believed one could build a university on a green field site. I quickly learned from educators and the eminent members of the board that universities are built on reputation rather than bricks and mortar. Waterford Institute of Technology, as any educator in Ireland will testify, has enjoyed an excellent reputation for many years.

Mr. Browne

The same can be said of Carlow Institute of Technology.

Mr. Kenneally

I do not dispute that, but Waterford Institute of Technology offers a much broader range of degree courses than any other institute of technology. Carlow has its place.

Mr. Browne

Where should the university be located?

Mr. Kenneally

Of the five cities in the State, Dublin has three universities, Cork, Galway and Limerick each has one, while Waterford does not have a university. The city and the south east region suffer as a result. This issue must be addressed.

Today, the Urban Forum criticised Dublin's urban sprawl and the manner in which the city has developed. It called for a regional balance and proposed developing Galway, Cork, Limerick and Waterford. Leinster now accounts for 54% of the population, most of whom live within commuting distance of Dublin. This is not good for Dublin or the economy and must change.

Some in the university sector do not want the status of Waterford Institute of Technology to change to that of university because they believe such a move would create greater competition for funding. While Senator White is correct that the institute of technology has done well financially in recent years, specifically in terms of capital projects, it would have access to a much greater range of funds in the university sector.

I am pleased the Government has appointed an eminent person to examine the strong case the institute made almost 12 months ago. I hope a report will issue soon. It is vital to the economy of the south east that the region should have a university. As predicted, the manufacturing sector is struggling as Ireland develops into a high skill economy. If the current third level deficit is not addressed, the south east will continue to suffer.

The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, is well aware of the case for upgrading the status of Waterford Institute of Technology because the case has been made so often in the past. She will hear much more in future as we continue to fight our cause. I hope the demand to designate Waterford Institute of Technology as a university will be granted soon.

Mr. Haughey

I thank Senators White and Kenneally for raising this matter on the Adjournment. As they will be aware, the Minister for Education and Science has commissioned a preliminary independent examination of the submission made by the governing body of Waterford Institute of Technology seeking university status.

In February 2006 the governing body of Waterford Institute of Technology wrote to the Department of Education and Science requesting a review of its status under section 9 of the Universities Act 1997. The provisions of section 9 state that the Government may appoint a body, which will include international experts, to advise the Higher Education Authority on whether, having regard to the objects and functions of a university, an educational institution should be established as a university. On the advice of the body and the recommendation of the authority, the Government may, by order, provide that the institution shall be a university for the purposes of this Act.

Aside from the detailed statutory review process that is required in progressing an application, there are also significant wider issues that need to be considered in advance of any statutory review. For example, there have been wider policy developments in the overall higher education sector that are important in this context. In particular, it is important that account is taken of the significant recent changes in the overall legislative framework governing Irish higher education, with the passage of the Institutes of Technology Act 2006, as well as wider Government policy on foot of the review of Irish higher education carried out by the OECD in 2004, the broad thrust of which was endorsed by the Government.

A central purpose of the OECD review was to support Ireland's strategic ambition of placing our higher education system at the front rank of the OECD in the context of the wider national objective of developing as a world-leading knowledge economy and society. A key recommendation in the OECD's report to the Government was that Ireland should retain the differentiation in mission of the university and institute of technology sectors, which it identified as a key strength of our system, and that there should be no institutional transfers into the university system for the foreseeable future. The report also recommended that universities and institutes of technology should be brought together under the remit of a single authority for the purpose of achieving a unified higher education strategy. It further recommended that the extent of external regulation of the institutes of technology should be lightened, giving them greater managerial freedom in responding to the opportunities and challenges of supporting regional and national social and economic development.

The Institutes of Technology Act 2006 addresses significant elements of these recommendations and marks a major milestone for the sector and for the development of higher education in Ireland. The Act provides for greater autonomy for the institutes to fulfil their missions. The institutes are now within the remit of the Higher Education Authority, which will support an integrated and cohesive strategic approach to the development of higher education in line with national priorities. The Act means that, in practice, the HEA and the institutes of technology will engage and relate in a way that is similar to the way the HEA and the universities engage.

There are a number of areas where the operation of the institutes has changed as a consequence of the role of the HEA. On budgets and finances, the HEA determines an institute's budget in line with the funding relationship that exists between the HEA and the universities. The HEA assumes the role in establishing formal arrangements to permit institutes to borrow or to underwrite borrowings in a manner similar to that prevailing in the university sector, allowing a greater level of institutional flexibility and responsiveness. The Department's role concerning the approval of research, consultancy or development work or the acquisition of land has devolved to the HEA. Similarly, specific approval from the Department to run individual courses or programmes is no longer required.

The new arrangements provide for a more autonomous and strategic relationship with Government, through the HEA, reflecting the dynamic and competitive nature of the environment in which the institutes are now operating. The new legislation will transform the Irish higher education landscape and needs to inform our consideration of the case being made for university status for Waterford. In order to achieve the best outcome, a preliminary independent examination of the governing body's submission has been commissioned from Dr. Jim Port, a UK-based independent consultant on higher education issues. In requesting the independent advice, Dr. Port has been asked to conduct a thorough assessment of the submission made by the governing body of Waterford Institute of Technology having regard to national strategy for the development of Irish higher education, implications for regional development in the south east in the context of the national spatial strategy and any likely implications for the overall structure of higher education in Ireland.

While no specific deadline has been set for the completion of this report, it is expected that Dr. Port's advice will be received in the first half of 2007. Once completed, the independent expert report will be used to guide the Government's decision on whether a formal statutory review process should be initiated to consider the application, as required under the Universities Act.

The Minister for Education and Science is aware of the strong support that has been built in the south east region around the application from Waterford IT for university status. However, the wider policy developments that I have outlined are also fundamental to her consideration of the appropriate steps concerning the application.

I thank the Senators again for having raised this matter.

Mr. Kenneally

I wish to ask a brief question. When is it expected that the Government will receive that report and any recommendations that Dr. Port may make?

Mr. Haughey

While no specific deadline has been set for the completion of this report, it is expected that his advice will be received in the first half of 2007.

Ms White

I wish to put on record the fact that the Minister of State's father appointed me to the Higher Education Authority in the 1990s. I appreciated the appointment very much and I was honoured to serve in that capacity.

Competition Authority Ruling.

Ms O’Meara

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, for attending the House to reply to this important Adjournment matter. With the agreement of the House I wish to share time with my constituency colleague, Senator Coonan.

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

Is that agreed? Agreed.

Ms O’Meara

I am pleased to be able to raise this important issue. There is an urgent need to ensure that the result of the Competition Authority's ruling on Premier Foods' recent merger with RHM does not result in job losses in Thurles. I will briefly review the background to this matter. Thurles and other north Tipperary towns have been hit by significant job losses in recent years. Premier Foods is considered to be one of the backbone industries in Thurles. Like Erin Foods, Premier has evolved from the original Irish Sugar Company whose closure some years ago was a major local and national story. Last August, Premier acquired Erin Foods as part of its takeover of Campbells, which itself had acquired Erin Foods in 2002. Therefore, Erin Foods' operation in Thurles forms part a series of branded food products currently being produced in the town.

Last Friday, the Competition Authority ruled on the merger and there was a similar ruling by the authority's British equivalent. The impact of the Competition Authority's ruling is that Premier has been told to dispose of Erin Foods. This is a source of considerable anxiety in Thurles because Erin Foods forms a huge part of the lines being produced in Premier Foods plant there. The situation is best set out in an e-mail from a woman in Thurles — I will not reveal her name as I do not have permission to do so. She settled in Thurles ten years ago when her husband was offered a position with GMX, which is one of the plants that has since closed. They settled very successfully in the town but have watched with disbelief and dismay as industry after industry has closed, with no replacement — all during our supposed boom years.

The woman's e-mail states "last month came great news", when Premier Foods, which last year acquired Erin Foods, announced an increased investment in the plant, particularly in the next two years. There was obviously a positive reaction to this news as it was felt to be a vote of confidence in the operation, and would mean it would move forward. The Competition Authority's ruling last Friday was met with great dismay.

The number of jobs at Premier Foods is approximately 150 to 160, which includes sales staff and so on. There is a concern that these jobs are at risk because of the need to dispose of Erin Foods. Senator Coonan and I, and the Deputies from north Tipperary, had a meeting today with senior management of the company. We voiced our concerns and put it to them that the best possible outcome would be that the entire operation in Thurles would be sold as a going concern, and as a single unit rather than breaking it up into its separate component parts, which we feel would be difficult and dangerous. We do not know if that will happen but Premier Foods is a very successful commercial company which offers much in employment and economic terms to the town of Thurles.

There is great bewilderment that the ruling of the Competition Authority, which seeks to protect the consumer in the overall, could have the impact of undermining and possibly endangering jobs in a town which has already seen considerable job losses and needs jobs like these maintained. The woman who wrote to me, and who has possibly written to others also, beseeches me to at the very least investigate this decision and use the resources available to do everything I can to avoid the loss of yet another 130 jobs. I do not consider the jobs are lost, by any means. I have every confidence that this situation can been resolved. It is a matter of considerable importance. I thank the House and the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise it.

Mr. Coonan

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Killeen, to the House. I thank Senator O'Meara for raising the matter and for allowing me time to speak on it. It is a very important issue for north Tipperary, in particular the town of Thurles and its surrounding area. I appeal to the Minister of State to leave no stone unturned in seeking a resolution to the difficulties in which the company finds itself as a result of the decision made by the Competition Authority. As Senator O'Meara stated, the 150 or 160 workers who are employed directly at the company are our first concern. However, we also have a concern for the greater community of Thurles, where industry has been based on the food industry and has suffered its share as far back as the closure of the sugar factory. Many of those jobs have never been replaced.

To take up where Senator O'Meara finished, from a positive perspective, there is every hope that the factory and the jobs can be saved. The workers at the plant and their unions must be commended on the way they have approached this difficulty and on the decisions they have taken in order to operate better practices. If this factory is compared with a similar factories in Britain or elsewhere, it can be seen there is much room for production there.

With regard to Government intervention, I appeal to the Minister to get involved and to sort out this difficulty. We want the factory retained as a viable unit. It is very important it is not sold off or divested of some of its brands, such as Erin gravy rich, oxtail soup, or a brand which is doing well at present, McDonnells curry sauce. There is huge potential and room for further development at the factory. The public and the workers are concerned, arising from the Competition Authority's decision, that if the factory is sold off and the new company can divest itself of those brands, in a few years we will left with nothing but a ghost factory.

We in the area are positive and believe the factory can be saved. Politicians are working as a unit in this regard. We appeal for help from the Minister of State and the Government, which we have no doubt we will receive. For the greater benefit of the community in Thurles, it is essential this happens.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. Killeen)

I thank my mid-west colleagues, Senators O'Meara and Coonan, for raising this important matter. The Competition Authority on Friday last announced its determination that the proposed acquisition of RHM plc by Premier Foods plc may be put into effect. The Competition Authority is required under the mergers and acquisitions section of the Competition Act 2002 to determine whether the result of the proposed acquisition will substantially lessen competition in the markets for goods and services.

The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has no role or function in non-media mergers under the Act, nor is the Minister entitled to access any commercially sensitive information on which a decision of the authority is based. It would be inappropriate for the Minister to comment in any manner, shape or form on the authority's determination in this case or any other case. However, since the announcement, Enterprise Ireland has been in contact with the company, which has stated that Premier Foods will dispose of the Erin brand to address the Competition Authority's concerns. It has not, however, made any decision yet about the plant or the jobs therein. It will commence a review and Enterprise Ireland has offered to assist in every way possible. I assure the Senator that the Government, through the agencies, will do everything it possibly can to secure the jobs.

The Government's strategy for Thurles and north Tipperary involves driving the transition to the knowledge economy by winning new foreign direct investment in the innovation-driven, high value, high skills sector, and by working with the existing company base to expand its presence in Ireland by the addition of increased strategic functions. The Government recognises the need to achieve high value employment in Thurles and is committed to marketing the area as part of its national goal of achieving balanced regional development. The attractiveness of Thurles for inward investment has to be seen within a regional context, with the national spatial strategy providing a framework for the achievement of this goal.

The IDA has five supported companies in north Tipperary employing 610 people, one of which is in Thurles. Gilbert and Mellish, a pharmaceutical distributor, has purchased rights to a BSN Medical product and employs eight people in the Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles. In addition, investments by Taro Pharmaceutical Ireland in Roscrea and Taylor Made in Templemore will result in significant additional employment for north Tipperary generally and the surrounding towns.

Shannon Development works closely with IDA Ireland in the development of, and the promotion and marketing of, tailored property solutions to potential investors throughout the mid-west, including the development of Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles. Shannon Development's sectoral emphasis in the mid-west region is on attracting new knowledge-intensive projects in information communications and technology, globally traded businesses, medical technologies and life sciences. The agency has completed first stage development of Tipperary Technology Park, which includes 25,000 sq. ft. of state-of-the-art accommodation to facilitate the attraction and development of knowledge-based enterprises. Associated with these activities, a major Government-funded marketing effort is underway, which involves Shannon Development, IDA Ireland, the local town council, LEADER, the North Tipperary County Enterprise Board and the Tipperary Institute, to promote the advantages of the town as an industrial location. There is confidence this effort will be successful in the medium term. In addition, Shannon Development continues to support the existing industrial base in Thurles.

Since the new building at the Tipperary Technology Park in Thurles was completed in August 2002, Shannon Development has been promoting space and facilities to the indigenous entrepreneur who wants to develop his or her own business. The facilities cater for "knowledge age" enterprises in the various stages of development — from the feasibility study stage to the venture capital stage and beyond. There are currently seven businesses operating from the incubator InnovationWorks Tipperary. The seven businesses currently operating in the incubator are involved in software development, marketing services, customer service call centre, back office operations, health and safety training materials and custom-designed burn garments respectively. Shannon Development, the North Tipperary County Enterprise Board and the Thurles Marketing Group also operate offices at the park. Three further companies occupy the larger expansion spaces on the park, namely, Digital Cinema, which is involved in a project to convert all the nations cinemas into digital cinemas; C&C Wholesale, which operates a customer service operation; and the vetting unit of the Garda Síochána. From a base of zero in 2002, there are currently over 100 people employed on the site across ten companies.

IDA Ireland and Shannon Development, as well as other agencies, are partners in the Thurles Marketing Group, which was established in 2002 with a view to developing a pilot marketing initiative in north Tipperary as part of the implementation of the County Economic and Cultural Strategy 2002-12. The focus of the marketing initiative is to promote Thurles as a location for business investment, both foreign direct and indigenous.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.05 p.m. until10.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 14 February 2007.