Adjournment Matters

School Curriculum

Senator Deirdre Clune

I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me the opportunity to raise this issue. I have a particular interest in the issues of competency in mathematics and the need to address the teaching of mathematics and the attainments of students in their examinations. Last week the National Competitiveness Council circulated a paper by Mr. Seán McDonagh and Mr. Tony Quinlan which examined the teaching of mathematics in schools and student achievements. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, was interviewed about the report on radio and proceeded to explain his views. I am keen to raise the matter here and hold a discussion on it.

We frequently say mathematics is very important, but, in fact, it drives economic growth. The report refers to a recent OECD study highlighting the direct link between student performance in cognitive tests and the GDP growth of a country. This shows the importance of mathematical achievement and mathematical literacy. It is a building block for a vibrant economy and underpins other disciplines, including science, technology, business and finance. The availability of mathematical skills in the economy is a major determinant of Ireland's ability to attract foreign direct investment and we all know the consequent value to the economy. Mathematical skills are essential for a modern society, especially given the growth of the digital society and the extent of information and communications technology throughout all sectors of society. Adequacy in mathematics is becoming more and more important.

I recognise that there is a national strategy to improve literacy and numeracy and that changes have taken place, including the development of project maths. Several useful conclusions and recommendations are contained in the report and these are worth considering, especially those relating to the level of teacher training. I realise that we have in place a system of professional development for teachers. Nevertheless, we could make changes to the level of entry for teachers to training schools. It has been suggested a teacher should have an honours mathematics degree as well as an honours English degree.

Let us compare our students who are taking the leaving certificate examination with their competitors elsewhere. One table in the report compares the United Kingdom with Ireland and other countries. Mathematics at leaving certificate level is well down the list for this country for male and female students, whereas in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom it is among the top five subjects. These are our competitors when it comes to attracting foreign direct investment. A great deal more needs to be done. The report recommends altering the points in the allocation of third level courses and that if mathematics is a requirement of a given course, a student must obtain a certain number of points, especially in mathematics. These are small but meaningful changes, especially in the area of teacher training. The quality of our teachers should be examined also and this was the main point that emerged from the report. The fact that the National Competitiveness Council has raised the issue again is significant, although it continually raises it in its annual reports. On this occasion the council decided to make a one-issue statement on the subject.

This is an important issue for us. I recognise that languages, including English and Irish, are important, but we need to improve competency in mathematics, make a strong statement that we are concerned about numeracy attainment among students and indicate that we recognise it as important for future economic growth.

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Ciarán Cannon)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Senator for raising it. My Department has received the discussion document from the National Competitiveness Council entitled, Maths and National Competitiveness. It is a helpful input into the debate on the role of numeracy and, in particular, mathematics in primary and post-primary education.

I welcome the introduction to the discussion document. It highlights many of the initiatives under way to improve the quality of teaching and learning to ensure the outcomes for students in this curricular area continue to improve in the coming years. The introduction sets the context for the rest of the document. The initiatives include the publication of the national literacy and numeracy strategy last year, the introduction of project maths in post-primary schools, the prioritisation of continuing professional development for mathematics teachers, the funding by my Department of a postgraduate diploma in mathematics to upskill out-of-field mathematics teachers and the request to schools for greater amounts of time for the teaching of mathematics at primary and post-primary levels.

I welcome the provision of 25 bonus points by the higher education institutions for leaving certificate students who achieve a grade D3 or higher in higher level mathematics. This measure is probably the key reason for a 25% increase in the number of students who indicated that they would sit the higher level mathematics paper last month.

Initial teacher education will increase from three years to four from this September at primary level and from one year to two years at second level. In addition, the Teaching Council will be consulting on the minimum entry requirements for teacher education. There is a proposal that the entry requirements for teacher training colleges relating to leaving certificate mathematics should be a good deal higher than they are.

The discussion document is one of many the Department has received relating to mathematics in the primary and post-primary curriculum. It notes the concerns the Government has expressed on many occasions. My Department will continue to prioritise literacy and numeracy in the primary and post-primary sectors. I agree with view expressed by the National Competitiveness Council in the introduction to the document which states, "Mathematical skills are essential for enabling people to fully participate and work in a modern society". The main points raised in the document are being and will be addressed during the lifetime of the Government.

Senator Deirdre Clune

Bonus points are available for mathematics this year and it will be interesting to see the progress made and the results achieved. The Minister has an open mind on this issue and nothing is set in stone. This is no ordinary document; it is from the National Competitiveness Council and we should take it seriously.

Deputy Ciarán Cannon

As I stated, the Department receives many representations from many people involved in civic society who have expressed their concern that for Ireland to remain competitive at a global level, our mathematical achievements should be closely monitored. We have not exactly covered ourselves in glory in the recent past and the Minister is keen to address the issue. When we see the evolution of new methods of teaching mathematics and an improvement in teachers' skills in imparting mathematical knowledge, we will see a vast improvement in a short timeframe.

Mental Health Services

Senator Jillian van Turnhout

In December last, I praised the budget 2012 commitment to invest €35 million in mental health services, of which €23 million was dedicated to developing community mental health teams for adults and children.

With many others with an interest in mental health, I was alarmed to read in a newspaper report over the weekend in The Irish Times that part of the €35 million investment in mental health services could be used to offset overruns in the HSE. This report was swiftly countered by the Minister of State’s Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, who gave assurances on the RTE Radio 1 programme “This Week” on Sunday that the promises of additional posts for mental health services would be delivered. My first request is that the Minister of State take this opportunity to give me the same assurances in this regard.

In budget 2012, a further commitment was made to recruit 414 staff for community mental health teams, of which 250 posts were to be in dedicated adult teams. I am extremely disappointed that not one position has been filled although it is now July 2012. The Minister of State is, more than most, acutely aware of the wide-ranging benefits of community-based mental health services. Among many other benefits, community-based mental health services enable people to be treated for mental distress in their communities, either at home or in a hospital, minimise inpatient and day-case hospital stays, liaise with local community services such as vocational training, education, housing and voluntary support services to provide integrated recovery support for the individual, and support primary care staff in providing mental health support. Furthermore, having accessible mental health services in the community can help normalise mental health and de-stigmatise mental health problems, reducing the prejudice and discrimination that people currently face. Community mental health teams are a vital part of the recovery ethos which is central to A Vision for Change. The community-based mental health services envisaged in A Vision for Change are specialist services with staff who have particular expertise in supporting people's mental health.

Core services offer a holistic range of supports and include staff from a range of specialist disciplines such as clinical psychology, mental health nursing, occupational therapy, psychiatry and social work. However, the specialist disciplines mentioned remain significantly understaffed. Back in 2010, a report by the Inspector of Mental Health Services on an audit of community health staffing showed that only 50% of the required number of psychologists and only 60% of the required number of occupational therapists were in place.

In addition to my concern about the existing under-staffing, I am concerned by reports from the coalition group Mental Health Reform that the Irish Mental Health Commission is no longer collecting data on staffing levels in approved centres. This gap in data will make it extremely difficult to assess whether staffing levels are reaching the recommended level as set out in A Vision for Change. My second request is that the Minister of State tell us what information has she in this regard. Perhaps she can provide me with assurances that data will be collected.

The Minister of State recently confirmed that 31 of the promised 414 posts in community mental health teams under the HSE service plan 2012 will be converted to nursing posts for acute inpatient services in Dublin-mid-Leinster region. Mental health services in Ireland have for far too long been the Cinderella of the health services. The 414 staff promised in the HSE service plan should not be deployed in inpatient services and must remain in the community. Staffing needs to be ring-fenced. The continuing uncertainty over the future of the mental health budget does nothing to allay fears about the Government's commitment to invest the dedicated €35 million I mentioned at the start. My third and final request is that the Minister of State confirm that the badly needed posts in community mental health teams will be in place by September, and that the posts will be ring-fenced to ensure they are not diverted to inpatient services.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Kathleen Lynch)

I am always reluctant to read a script. As the last script got me into so much trouble, I am even more reluctant. I am always reluctant to read a script when it comes to mental health, but there is an element of this that Senator van Turnhout needs to hear.

Dublin-mid-Leinster has had a significant shortfall of nursing staff in mental health services but compares favourably with other regions in terms of numbers of allied health professionals. The nursing staff ratio in the region is far lower than that of other HSE regions and the number of allied health professionals in Dublin-mid-Leinster, as I stated, compares favourably. It should also be noted that Dublin-mid-Leinster has made considerable progress in reducing acute bed numbers and usage in line with A Vision for Change. It is now at a point where existing acute bed numbers need to be broadly maintained to ensure a safe and regulation-compliant level of service.

What happened with regard to the conversion of the 31 posts was that Dublin-mid-Leinster had reached the level that A Vision for Change required far more quickly than any other region. Then, with the exodus in February and March, the numbers fell below the safe level that the commission recommends and insists on, and it was necessary to convert some of the posts into nursing posts. That did not affect the allied health professional posts; we managed to put those in place as well.

Senator van Turnhout was not the only one who was surprised at the weekend reports that the €35 million could possibly be used for other areas. That week, I had been in consultation again with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, and had it confirmed to me that the €35 million was still safe and sound in the Department. By the way, it is still in the Department. As normally happens with budgets for any health service, when the mental health budget and the €35 million were announced, the regional directors of operations, who do an extraordinary job in delivering the service, including in Dublin-mid-Leinster, contacted the Department and asked for the €35 million to be split and sent down pro rata. That is always how it is done: they state that their budget for last year was X and they need X this year, and they ask the Department to send it down. We said “In this instance, no”. We asked them to carry out a gap analysis and tell us what they were missing, where it was missing from and what was required, and we told them that until the exercise was done, none of the €35 million would be released. That, as Senator van Turnhout can well imagine, takes a degree of work and investigation. Also, once it had been signed off, they then had to go away to recruit and appoint from existing panels. However, for some allied health professionals we did not have enough people on the panels, and some of the panels had run out as they only last two years. That has all now been done. The people will be in place by September and then the funding will be released. Some might say there is a lack of trust. However, we all know what happened to budgets for mental health in the past and we were determined it would not happen this time. They will be in place come September and we will have a full complement of allied health professionals. There are areas which did not get anything this year. Child and adolescent mental health services, for instance, got 150 new posts, but the payback is that it will have to treat persons between the ages of 16 and 18 because they are children. There are 250 posts in adult psychiatric services and ten new posts in the national counselling service. All of that is being put in place.

There were three areas in which we did not do anything this year. We have met representatives of these areas; they know they will be prioritised next year, and they are happy enough about that. The areas in question are old age psychiatry, intellectual disability psychiatry and forensic psychiatry. We could not do it all in one year. It will be done over a period of years.

On the issue of data, as I have stated previously, we have real-time data for children — who is being treated, where they are being treated, what they are being treated for and by whom, what are the pathways involved and how long they will be in the service. These data are from a service that has been in existence for 12 years. In adult psychiatric services, we still do not have that type of detail. When one considers that such information used to be gathered by pencil and biro, and the systems we have in place now, one realises that such real-time information needs to be provided for adult psychiatric services as well. Some are good at it, some not so good. That is just not good enough.

Another difficulty we faced — the conversion of posts was part of this — was that, because the Mental Health Commission licenses the acute units, there are levels of staffing and so on that need to be complied with. We intend, under the review of the Mental Health Act, to license the community teams as well so that there will be parity.

I would like to have half an hour to talk about this. It is probably my favourite subject, and I think that tells Senator van Turnhout something about me. We are moving ahead. The capacity legislation, which will need to dovetail with the review of the Mental Health Act, will provide a safety net. There are already community mental health teams in operation; for example, in Cork North-Central, where Mr. John McCarthy lived. I am sure the Senator is familiar with the work being done there. The team is working extremely well and those who need them receive daily visits. I have received great reports about this service, which should be in place everywhere. I thank the Senator for raising this issue.

Senator Jillian van Turnhout

The Minister of State knows the value of community-model mental health services. While I appreciate her comprehensive response, she need only come to the House for the Order of Business on any day to hear about the effects of the ongoing failure to provide community mental health services. The issue is raised repeatedly by Senators. The process of filling posts must be fast-tracked. I will continue to follow up on this issue, on which the Minister of State has the support of the House.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

We must manage expectations. When the teams are in place we must be conscious that they will require a settling-in period and must gel if they are to work well. They also need to know what we expect from them. A Vision for Change set out where the teams should be, whom they should serve and what should be on the table. We now need to start looking beyond that and plan the process. What do we expect of the teams and of mental health services?

Courts Service

Senator Jimmy Harte

The matter I raise is straightforward and simple. I have been contacted by a number of legal figures and their clients in County Donegal who were recently informed that the High Court, which goes on circuit for civil court appeals, is not due to sit in the county. The list for the year shows the High Court sat in circuit in Sligo in May and will sit this month and again in November in Castlebar. The lists include Circuit Court appeals from County Donegal. A member of the legal profession has informed me that this is the first year the High Court has not sat in County Donegal to hear civil court appeals. In one case in Carndonagh, the appellant would have to make a round trip of 300 miles to have an appeal heard in Castlebar. It would be as convenient for the individual in question to travel to Dublin.

People from County Donegal should not be required to travel to Castlebar to have cases heard. There are 14 cases from County Donegal scheduled to be heard in Castlebar. The cost of hearing these cases in Castlebar, including travel costs incurred by witnesses and staff, is significantly greater than the cost of bringing one judge to Letterkenny courthouse, where the relevant files are maintained. The legal profession fears that Circuit Court appeals will no longer be heard in County Donegal. Letterkenny has a perfectly good courthouse, which is in use, and plans are afoot to construct a new courthouse in the town. The requirement to travel to Castlebar will create costs and inconvenience appellants. As the cases in question are civil cases, the clients do not receive free legal aid. People who live at the northern end of County Donegal will have to travel to Castlebar the night before their cases are heard and may have to stay a second night. This will create significant costs.

From the list of locations for Circuit Court appeal hearings, it appears citizens in other counties will not be inconvenienced to the same degree as people in County Donegal. I ask the Minister or Courts Service to ensure this is a temporary measure. Civil court appeals must be heard at locations close to appellants. The 1924 Courts of Justice Act was introduced to replace the old British system. A judge in one case ruled that justice should be administered locally and people should no longer be required to travel to Dublin. Travelling to Castlebar is no more convenient to a person living in Buncrana than travelling to Dublin. The intention of the Courts of Justice Act was to administer justice locally for the convenience of citizens rather than judges.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

I am taking this debate on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, who thanks the Senator for raising the matter. As the Senator will appreciate, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the service and the Minister does not have a role in the matter. In addition, the allocation of court business, scheduling of court cases and management of court lists are matters for the Judiciary and, in particular, the Presidents of the courts. As the Senator will also be aware, judges are, subject to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions.

I am sure the Senator will also appreciate that the Courts Service, in common with all other public sector organisations, is obliged to ensure resources are deployed to best effect to ensure continuity of service with reduced budgets and resources. Greater flexibility in the deployment of available resources will be critical in maintaining the delivery of front-line court services and all court facilities are subject to ongoing review with no court venue or office being excluded from this process. This is particularly important in the current economic circumstances.

A review has been carried out of provincial High Court circuits. I am informed that the High Court sits each year in a number of venues outside Dublin to hear appeals from the Circuit Court. This is provided for under the Courts of Justice Act 1936. Up to and including 2011, 126 sitting days in various venues were allocated for this purpose. However, demand for such sittings was not uniform across all venues. In addition, it was found that many parties preferred to avail of the option to have appeals from the Circuit Court heard in Dublin rather than await the sittings of the High Court on circuit. As I indicated, it is a matter for the President of each court jurisdiction to allocate the business of the court. Bearing in mind the demand for hearings, during 2011 the President of the High Court, who has responsibility for the allocation of business to High Court judges, sought to rationalise High Court sittings in all venues outside Dublin with a view to creating efficiencies and adopting a more flexible approach to court sittings generally. This rationalisation was facilitated by amendments to the 1936 Act which were contained in the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011. These amendments gave the President of the High Court increased flexibility in respect of the allocation of judges and sitting dates for appeals from the Circuit Court to the High Court. Essentially, the changes introduced by the President of the High Court for all counties provide that sittings of the High Court for appeals from the Circuit Court are held in regional centres as determined by the President, having regard to the effective and efficient discharge of the business of the High Court.

Appeal sittings are now scheduled for dates immediately following sittings of the High Court at first instance for personal injury cases in provincial venues. The changes made have resulted in maximisation of the use of judicial resources and an increase in the availability of judges for sittings of the High Court at first instance in Dublin, where there is a significantly greater volume of business, to maintain reduced waiting times. These measures have already generated savings in the cost of travel and subsistence for judges and ushers. I am informed that following the introduction of this regionalised approach, appeals from Donegal are now heard in Sligo and Castlebar. The aim is to balance the need for improved efficiencies with a minimisation of disruption to parties and witnesses. On behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, I thank the Senator for raising the matter. I appreciate his interest in ensuring the efficient and effective administration of justice. Unfortunately, this is not what the Senator wished to hear but he will understand the reasons this change had to be made.

Senator Jimmy Harte

May I ask a question?

An Cathaoirleach

The Senator may do so, although there may not be any point in his case.

Senator Jimmy Harte

I ask that the President of the High Court, who decides where court sittings take place, look at County Donegal in a different light. While efficiencies may have been secured in respect of a couple of officials, the new system is not more efficient for clients of the court. The current position is akin to appeals initiated in County Cork being heard in Galway. People in County Cork would make a fuss if that were the case. The changes inconvenience court users and have resulted in only minimal efficiencies. While sittings in Sligo may be acceptable, having the court sit in Castlebar is out of the question.

Deputy Kathleen Lynch

While I am sure there is no way there could be interference, this debate will probably bring the matter to the attention of somebody.

Architectural Heritage

Senator Terry Brennan

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit, Teachta Brian Hayes. I thank him for visiting my home town a number of weeks ago. There is no need for a commercial as he has visited the area on several occasions and knows the location of King John's Castle. I compliment the Office of Public Works on the works it has completed and ask the Minister of State to consider completing the necessary works outstanding. The aim is to include visits to the castle in the town trail of Carlingford. There are many interesting buildings, streets and townhouses, including castellated houses, and King John's castle overlooks all of them. Many visitors inquire as to why they cannot visit the castle to see what it adds to the mediaeval town. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's reply.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Brian Hayes)

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and also for the hospitality he afforded me and my colleagues from the OPW on our recent visit to Carlingford. I agree with him on the extraordinary and wonderful heritage infrastructure in place in Carlingford, a relatively small mediaeval town situated in the most beautiful part of County Louth. Its wonderful heritage can be seen in the Dominican Priory, the "Mint" and the great centrepiece, Carlingford Castle, as well as in sections of the town walls, the Tholsel Gate and Taaffe's Castle. I do not know a part of the country more heritage-rich than Carlingford, in addition to its having a very significant footfall or throughput of tourist numbers. It falls on my Department to work with local interests to make sure the presentation of that heritage is brought to its maximum in order that people can enjoy these wonderful national monuments when they visit County Louth.

As the Senator will recall, my officials from the National Monuments Service and I met him at Carlingford Castle on 12 June, together with the Louth heritage officer and members of the local historical society and the Carlingford Heritage Centre. I was very impressed to meet representatives of the local historical society and the Carlingford Heritage Centre because there is a critical mass of tourists coupled with a wonderful heritage infrastructure and huge interest among volunteers. It is about putting these together to gain the best benefit for Carlingford. During the visit I was very impressed by the commitment of all the local parties and their deep interest in sharing the town's heritage with interested visitors. This is something I wish to encourage and foster and, to this end, I have recently asked the OPW to enter into a new initiative to develop links with local partners throughout the country with a view to ensuring heritage sites are more fully presented to visitors and that visitor access is improved, using local volunteers as much as possible. I very much hope the model used in Carlingford will be one of the first we will use in the local partnership model I am advancing.

The group at Carlingford was shown the work which has been completed to date since the project at the castle started in 2009. The remaining works which are scheduled to be completed next year were also outlined. These works consist of safety and site presentation works and their full completion is key to the future presentation of the site. They also require ministerial consent from my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, who has a supervisory role in heritage matters. It is intended, resources permitting, that these crucial remaining works will be carried out in the course of 2013 and that public access will be restored thereafter in 2014. As the castle is essentially a works site, I am not sure full public access can be facilitated until the project has been satisfactorily completed. However, I have asked my officials to explore the possibility that limited access might be made available, perhaps even in a way which might demonstrate some of the skilled craft work in progress. We would like to make progress on this issue shortly in order that, working with the local voluntary organisations, perhaps at weekends throughout the year, the castle could be used at various points for visitors under these criteria. In the intervening period before the project is fully complete — in 2014, as I committed to the Senator — there is an opportunity to prepare for possible community participation. I invite the local groups I met on the day to engage directly with my officials in the OPW to see how they might develop a partnership approach to serving visitors along the lines of the communities initiative model to which I referred.

Senator Terry Brennan

I thank the Minister of State most sincerely for visiting us. We enjoyed having him and look forward to the works being completed. As he suggests, visits to restricted parts of the castle in the interim would be greatly appreciated. It will be a true partnership between the heritage trust, which has a proven track record over 25 years, and the OPW. I am pleased to hear the Minister of State say it will be one of the first such partnerships in the entire country. We look forward to it.

Deputy Brian Hayes

I thank the Senator for his kind remarks and assure him we will make progress on this issue. Carlingford is unique because there is a centre with a very large footfall, as well as wonderful historical sites within walking distance of it. There is no reason existing walking tours, which have been very successfully put together by local heritage groups, could not be extended to include the castle. While I know a visit to the exterior of the castle is excluded, the important point is that they should now include the interior, particularly those parts in which we have made progress. I gave an assurance to the Senator and the local groups concerned that it was our intention to complete the internal works by 2014. I know these things take time, but it will require an enormous effort on the part of OPW officials to make sure we will have the plan and site works in place. It is not like putting up a house in that lime-based mortar must be used and this work is weather-dependent. The historical nature of the site and the ongoing excavation work also add to the time lag. I have given a commitment that the works will be completed by 2014 and I am sticking to it.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 12 July 2012.

Seanad Éireann debate - Wednesday, 11 Jul 2012