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Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 21 Feb 2007

Vol. 186 No. 5

Adjournment Matters.

Schools Building Projects.

After the end of a very long day we very much appreciate that the Minister is present. I rise to inquire about the current situation in regard to Wilson's hospital school in Multyfarnham, County Westmeath. This school was mentioned last week when the Statute Law Revision Bill 2007 was debated. Many schools, particularly the ERASMUS trust schools, had asked that the legislation setting them up would not be removed from the Statute Book as, I understand, it would affect the trust under which they were set up.

Be that at it may, this school is one of great renown and tradition. It is a boarding and day school for boys and girls. Many years ago the management came to me with a request for a new building and they got the famous Preston Building. On that occasion it opened its doors to day pupils from the rural Multyfarnham area. Heretofore it was a boarding school for boys and girls. It is a very good school with a huge tradition behind it but with a modern curriculum. It is a well-run school. I know it well and am a great supporter of it. It provides a niche type of education where it is needed but it does so in a modern democratic way.

I urge that the decision to go ahead with the expansion programme be granted and I look forward to hearing what the Minister has to say.

I thank the Senator for raising the matter of Wilson's hospital school, Multyfarnham, County Westmeath. The Senator will be aware that Mullingar has been identified as an area of rapid development and such areas get priority within the Department of Education and Science for our building programme. The building programmes this year comes to €540 million with €4.5 billion set out over the term of the national development plan. This year 1,500 schools building projects will be delivered.

The school planning section of the Department of Education and Science is looking at the future educational requirements of Mullingar and the wider area at primary and post primary level. Factors being considered include population growth, demographic trends, current and projected enrolments, recent and planned housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places into the future. That examination will be completed shortly.

In regard to Wilson's hospital school an examination of the school's long-term projected enrolments is being carried out by staff in the school planning section of the Department. Once the long-term projected enrolment is established and agreed with the school the Department will draw up a schedule of overall accommodation for the proposed additional accommodation and it will then be possible to progress it further. It is important that the long-term projected enrolment is signed off with that school. I thank Senator O'Rourke for raising the matter.

Special Educational Needs.

I thank the Minister for being here at this late hour to hear this matter on the Adjournment. I will not delay the House too long. While I accept that much has been done in the lifetime of this Government in respect of special needs education and additional teachers, I have raised this matter to get an update on the area of north Dublin in particular. Many people come to me who are distraught because their children have special needs. They are looking at where they go from primary to secondary school and fear the assistance that might be available to them at primary school level may not be in place at secondary level. I look forward to hearing the Minister's reply.

I thank Senator Morrissey for raising this issue on the Adjournment. While the Department of Education and Science does not hold the specific information about areas like north County Dublin, there are more than 200 special classes for children with special educational needs in Dublin city and county. Of these, approximately 40 cater for children on the autism spectrum. In addition, the Department has sanctioned four stand-alone facilities providing an applied behavioural analysis, ABA, methodology response on a pilot basis in the Dublin area. There are also 40 special schools for children with disabilities in the Dublin area. In addition, 1,954 special needs assistants support the care needs of children in primary schools in Dublin and 344 special needs assistants provide similar support in second level schools.

As Senator Morrissey acknowledged, enormous progress has been made over recent years in respect of increasing the number of teachers in schools who are specifically dedicated to providing education for children with special educational needs. One in five primary school teachers works directly with children with learning difficulties and special needs. At second level, more than 2,300 whole-time equivalent additional teachers are in place to support pupils with special educational needs, with 534 of these being learning support teachers. In addition, there are in excess of 8,200 special needs assistants in primary and post-primary schools. This is up from approximately 300 special needs assistants in the space of only five or six years. More than €50 million was spent in 2006 on the school transport costs of children with special educational needs

The Department provides a wide range of supports and additional resources to support children who have been assessed as having special educational needs, including children in the Dublin north county area. These services are determined by the nature of the special educational need and include additional teaching support where a child is fully integrated into a mainstream school; reduced pupil-teacher ratios where the child is in a special class attached to a mainstream school or a special school; special needs assistant support for a child who has care needs; assistive technology where this is recommended; specialist equipment such as modified desks and chairs, as required; and specially adapted school buildings where necessary.

Primary schools are also supported by means of a general allocation which provides additional teaching support to enable schools to cater for pupils with high incidence special educational needs, such as dyslexia, and those with low attainments. Second level schools continue to be supported by the allocation of additional teaching hours, where appropriate, for each pupil enrolled who is assessed as having a special educational need. Special needs assistant support is allocated, as appropriate, to all schools where there are confirmed assessed care needs in respect of students.

Senator Morrissey may be aware that I recently announced that 31 additional psychologists are to be recruited to the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, in 2007. This will increase the total number of psychologists in NEPS by 25% to 158. In the last school year, my Department also funded more than 4,000 private assessments at a cost of €1.3 million. The extra 31 psychologists who will be recruited in 2007 will mean that more schools will have a direct service from NEPS.

The National Council for Special Education, through the 75 local special educational needs organisers, known as SENOs, is responsible for processing applications from primary and post-primary schools for special needs supports. These include some of the supports I have already outlined. They are an essential point of contact for both parents and schools. I am also very committed to the work carried on in special schools and special classes, recognising the unique contribution they make. I announced a 30% increase in the already enhanced capitation rates in respect of pupils attending special schools and special classes to recognise the clear importance of all these children, these schools and the work they do.

We have also commenced a review of the role of special schools and special classes in the context of the continuum of special needs education. It is obvious to the Senator that the Department and I have prioritised the area of special needs education. It leaves us open to criticism that we have not met targets in other areas, but anybody in this House would agree that children with special needs need to be our greatest priority.

Tionscadail Tógála Scoile.

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. Tá brón orm gur chomh déanach san oíche is atá sé ach ní orainne atá an milleán sin.

Táimid ag iarraidh a fháil amach cad ina thaobh go bhfuil moill ann faoin dul chun cinn atá ceadaithe ag an Roinn Oideachais agus Eolaíochta do Ghaelscoil Chloch na Coillte, a bunaíodh i 1994 agus a fuair aitheantas buan i 1997. Is scoil lán-ghaelach í, faoi phátrúnacht Fhoras Pátrúnachta na scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge. Bhíos féin i mo bhall de bhord an Fhorais Pátrúnachta i lár na nóchaidí.

Scoil réasúnta mór is ea í. Tá 230 daltaí sa scoil agus 25 fostaithe go lán-aimseartha inti, ach is trua go bhfuil sí lonnaithe i gcónaí i seomraí réamh-dhéanta. Níos measa ná san, tá costas €330,000 á íoc astu siúd gach bliain agus dualgas ar thuismitheoirí na ndaltaí 5% dá seo a bhailiú. Cheannaigh an Roinn suíomh agus tá sin ina seilbh aici. Fuair an scoil litir ón Roinn, dár dáta 12 Meán Fhómhair 2006, ag cur in iúil go bhfuil an tionscnamh réidh le dul go dtí an chéad chéim eile — pleanáil agus dearadh. Ach níl faic tarlaithe le ceithre mhí.

Tá an-bhuaireamh ar thuismitheoirí agus ar fhoireann na scoile faoin moill seo. Tá ceisteanna eile curtha acu ormsa. Tá ceisteanna faoi shábhaltacht agus slándáil na ndaoine ins na foirgintí réamh-dhéanta atá ag dul in aois agus tá ceist faoi airgead atá á chaitheamh ag an mbord bainistíochta chun an áit a choimeád tirim ón mbáisteach. Caitheadh €68,000 anuraidh amháin chun an áit a choimeád tirim.

Tá sé de dhualgas ar an Aire agus ar an Roinn cinneadh a dhéanamh, an rud seo a shoiléiriú agus a chinntiú go bhfuiltear chun leanúint leis an bhforbairt agus na hacmhainní a chur ar fáil chun an scoil nua atá tuillte agus atá ag teastáil a thosnú go luath.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir Ó Riain as ucht an cheist seo a ardú. Aithníonn an Seanadóir an tábhacht a bhaineann leis an gceantar seo de bhrí go bhfuil an daonra ag méadú go han-tapaidh ar fad. Mar a luaigh an Seanadóir, tá Gaelscoil Chloch na Coillte bunaithe le roinnt mhaith blianta agus níl suíomh buan aici go fóill. Mar is eol, tá sár iarracht á dhéanamh againn chun foirgintí scoile go léir a fheabhsú. Tá infheistíocht de €540 milliún á dhéanamh i mbliana agus déanfar infheistíocht de €4.5 billiún de réir an phlean forbartha náisiúnta. Beimid in ann an-infheistíocht a dhéanamh chun na scoileanna a fheabhsú agus chun cinn nua a fhorbairt.

Ina measc san tá scoil chomhoideachais, Gaelscoil Chloch na Coillte. Is cosúil, de réir na bhfigiúirí, gur fhás rollachán na scoile seo faoi thart ar 20% sna cúig bliana a d'imigh tharainn. Tá socraithe déanta ag rannóg fhoirgníochta scoileanna na Roinne gurb é an leibhéal cuí cóiríochta le soláthar na cion príomhoide agus dáréag múinteoirí gnáthranganna, chomh maith leis an gcóiríocht choimhdeach chuí. Cúis áthais dom a chur in iúil don Seanad go bhfuil láthair oiriúnach faighte anois, mar sin an rud is mó a chuireann moill ar fhoirgneamh. Tá láthair faighte anois chun gur féidir scoil 12 rangsheomra a thógáil a dhéanfaidh freastal ar riachtanais na scoile san fhadtréimhse. Ós rud é go bhfuil an láthair faighte, tá géar-aire á tabhairt do chur chun cinn an tionscadail seo sa Roinn, i gcomhthéacs an chláir um thógáil agus nuachóiriú scoileanna ó 2007 ar aghaidh.

The Seanad adjourned at 12.25 a.m. until10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 22 February 2007.
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