Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 18 May 2023

Vol. 294 No. 4

Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters

Special Educational Needs

An Leas-Chathaoirleach

Before I call on Senator Fitzpatrick, I welcome to the Distinguished Visitors Gallery Mr. Kevin Conlon, his wife Claudia who is a former judge, and their children Cody and Carson. They are most welcome to Seanad Éireann today and I thank them for being with us. They are great friends of Carl Hughes.

I also welcome another great friend of the House, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. She is very welcome to Seanad Éireann this morning and it was a pleasure to meet her in Kenmare over the weekend. I thank her for saying "hello" to my father, who is one of the people she looks after in her role as the person in charge of older people, although he might disagree that he is an older person at slightly over the age of eight decades or thereabouts.

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick

The Minister of State is welcome. She has responsibility for older people but also for mental health. For all of our mental health education is very important. My Commencement matter calls on the Minister for Education to confirm the location of a new special education school in Dublin 7. I would appreciate if the Minister of State would update the House on the provision of what will be a new special school but also the admission policy, the number of places that will be offered and the type of school it will be.

Special educational needs are the educational arrangements put in place for people and children with disabilities. In 1998 the then Minister with responsibility for education the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, introduced the Education Act. This emphasises inclusivity and equality of access and provides for persons with disabilities and other special educational needs to avail of all of the benefits of education. There was further legislation in 2004 when the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act provided for children to be educated in inclusive settings unless that would not be in the best interests of the child.

Children with special needs are children who require special education because they have unique learning requirements. They have different learning requirements from those who are more typical and more the norm. Special education is designed to provide tailored instruction, support and resources to meet the specific needs of these children. People with special educational needs are those whose capacity to participate and benefit fully from education is in some way restricted due to a physical, sensory, mental health or learning disability. It is broadly accepted, and we can be proud as a country and as a society of the importance we place on ensuring that every child has access to education, particularly those with special educational needs so they can maximise their participation in education.

In Dublin 7 there must be hundreds of thousands of children with special educational needs. On 12 April we were delighted that it was announced there would be two new special educational schools delivered this year by the Government. We welcome this. One was announced for Carrigtwohill in east Cork and the other was for Dublin 7. We understand the special education school in Dublin 7 will be under the patronage of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB and that it is to open for the 2023-2024 academic year. We do not know where it will be and this is of big interest. We do not know whether it will be a primary and secondary school. We do not know how children will enrol or apply for it. We are searching for some details from the Department. The Department has indicated that the location will be announced. It stated that the new school will be State run, co-educational, multidenominational and underpinned by the core values of excellence in education, respect, care, equality and community. This is the hallmark of CDETB.

From a health perspective, Dublin 7 is in CHO 9. Back in September 2021, there were 12 children disability network teams in CHO 9. This resource is very welcome. There are 238 posts and there is recruitment for vacancies. It is an incredibly difficult time for all organisations to recruit. I want to emphasise there is a great welcome for this news and we just want more information.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Deputy Mary Butler)

On behalf of the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion, I thank the Senator for raising this matter. She is right. We have made great progress in recent years and I will be able to provide some clarity about the case to which she referred.

At the outset, I stress that enabling students with additional needs to receive an education appropriate to their needs is an ongoing priority for this Government. It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. To support children with more complex needs, special classes in mainstream schools and special schools are provided.

This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2.6 billion, or over 27% of its budget, on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. For 2023, the Department has further increased the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools and I know everybody will welcome that. There will be an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants, SNAs, in our schools by the end of this calendar year. For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and more than 20,000 SNAs.

The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. Over the past three years, the Department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient mainstream, special class and special school places. These initiatives are bearing fruit, with more than 600 new special classes sanctioned at primary level, almost 300 new special classes sanctioned at post-primary level and five new special schools established over the past three years.

On 12 April, the Minister for Education and the Minister of State with responsibility for special education and inclusion announced the establishment of two further new special schools as part of a comprehensive update on enhanced education provision for students with special educational needs. These two new special schools will be established in Carrigtwohill in east Cork and Dublin 7 for the 2023-24 school year and will bring to seven the number of new special schools established over the past three years. Along with the two new special schools, the NCSE has also sanctioned 328 new special classes for opening in the coming school year with more to be confirmed in the coming weeks - 217 at primary and 111 at post-primary level. The vast majority of these new classes are to support children with autism.

I know the Senator is interested in the specific details regarding the new special school in Dublin. It will be the first special school under the patronage of the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, ETB. Regarding the location of this new special school, I can confirm that the Grangegorman Development Agency is in discussions with the Department regarding the leasing of a site for a special school for young people with additional educational needs that will initially be located on the Grangegorman site. It is proposed that the new school be located on the former site of the Dublin 7 Educate Together School, which is in the process of moving from temporary facilities to its new purpose-built home on another part of the Grangegorman site. These facilities are much needed for young people in the area and this interim arrangement at Grangegorman is proposed to help meet this demand until the longer term location for a new permanent school can be worked through.

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick

I thank the Minister of State for clarifying the matter. It is good to get clarity. The site at Grangegorman that has served the Educate Together school for many years is ideally located. The Educate Together school community has waited a long time for the new purpose-built school. I look forward to it moving into that on the Grangegorman campus, and I wish it well.

This is very positive news. It would be really helpful if the Minister and the City of Dublin ETB could facilitate a meeting with parents in the area. These parents, guardians and carers are obviously very committed to their young people and want this school to be a success and to support its opening. If the Minister could be asked to facilitate an engagement with them to talk about how it is going to progress, it would be very positive and constructive.

Deputy Mary Butler

The Department of Education continues to work closely with the City of Dublin ETB and the NCSE in planning for the establishment of the new special school. Details regarding the admission process and the number of places to be offered for 2023-2024 in the new special school will be confirmed very shortly. Recruitment for the school is expected to commence this week, with the principal position being advertised as the first step in this process.

The Minister, the Minister of State and their officials are happy to provide updates on the new special school as the project progresses. The NCSE is also available to keep parents updated on the progress of the project as well. I know having this interaction is really important. Regarding the Senator's earlier question about primary or secondary, I know the three special schools we have in Waterford city and Dungarvan serve an age range of between four and 18. I am not saying for definite but I know that is the situation in the three special schools we have. Children go through their entire education there.

Senator Mary Fitzpatrick

Excellent.

International Relations

Senator Barry Ward

This issue has been on the agenda for some time. Taiwan, as a broader issue, has been there for longer, but I do not want to talk about that. However much I want to see enhanced relations between Ireland and Taiwan and enhanced trade and enhanced acceptance of Taiwan, as an autonomous and self-determining state, that is probably a more controversial issue than the one I want to raise with the Minister of State.

Ireland is very much aware of the contribution Taiwan can make. Given what we have been through in the past couple of years, as a world community, we understand better than before the importance of global connectivity in terms of dealing with pandemics and all kinds of other health issues. As the health arm of the UN, the WHO is the body where we all come together as nations of the world to discuss these issues but perhaps most importantly, to broker solutions to them and to predict where problems will arise so we can be prepared for them when they happen. Like every other country that has dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic in the past couple of years, Ireland has benefited from the level of expertise and knowledge vested in the WHO. Perhaps also from that, we have seen the benefit or potential for that knowledge that can come from Taiwan and the expertise it has within its very substantial health capacity.

It is not the case that Taiwan has not played its part globally in that regard. We know it also plays its part in terms of the invasion of Ukraine. When that happened, Taiwan was to the forefront in providing aid and assistance in health terms to Ukraine. Obviously, Ireland has also played its part but it is important to acknowledge for Taiwan, as a country that lives under the shadow of China, to continue to play that part is particularly laudable and worthy of recognition.

The World Health Assembly is part of the WHO. The 76th World Health Assembly will take place on 21 May. Yesterday, in these Houses, the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Society welcomed Representative Chen Ching-min to the Houses of the Oireachtas to discuss this issue. She is a medical professional but is also a member of the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan. To hear her speak about the issues and their importance was quite striking. I am also co-chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, which has been very strong in its support of the role Taiwan has to play in international affairs. Looking at it from that perspective, it is very difficult to understand why we do not as a global community strive to include the knowledge bank that is Taiwan in all the things we want to do, particularly when it comes to something that, let us be honest, is apolitical. I do not know what the rationale behind Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO is apart from fear of repercussions from China and dissatisfaction on the part of China regarding any inclusion of Taiwan in international organisations.

The WHO is less about politics and more about solving global health problems. Taiwan has the capacity to help with the solution of those problems. Taiwan has expertise and a willingness to share that expertise and its experience in terms of global health. It makes perfect sense for Taiwan to be included in the WHO and more importantly, in the upcoming World Health Assembly - even as an observer. That is all it is asking for.

For Taiwan to play its part would be of benefit to everyone, including China, whether it recognises that or not. I would like to hear the Minister of State say the Government supports that rational, reasonable and proportionate response to the possibility of Taiwan playing its part in the World Health Assembly. Let us bring it into the tent, hear what it has to say and share its knowledge.

Deputy Mary Butler

I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. I appreciate the spirit in which the question has been presented. Ireland has been significantly deepening its collaboration with World Health Organization across all levels, including with the WHO Regional Office for Europe. This closer engagement has been driven in part by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated global health processes.

The WHO is an important pillar of the United Nations system, to which Ireland is committed in the context of our broader support for the rules-based multilateral order. Last July, I was honoured to represent Ireland, as one of 40 ministers for older persons, at an important United Nations conference.

The annual World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of World Health Organization attended by delegations from all WHO member states as well as observers. Observers have included the Holy See and Palestine, international organisations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross and regional groups. The Minister for Health, as the Senator said, will lead Ireland's delegation to the WHA next week. The assembly will consider a number of important issues relating to global health matters.

The matter before us relates to Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly. Taiwan, as Chinese Taipei, has an existing precedent of participation in the multilateral system. It has full membership of a number of organisations, including the World Trade Organization, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, body and the Asian Development Bank.

Taiwan attended the World Health Assembly from 2009 to 2016 on the invitation of the director general of the World Health Organization. At that time, Taiwan participated on the same basis as other observers to the annual meeting. However, since 2016, it has not been invited to participate. Taiwan prioritises medical co-operation in its international relations. During the pandemic, it undertook activities focused on vaccine co-operation, hosting research conferences and offering support to developing countries' health systems. Taiwan's experience with severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, is widely accepted to have given it specific expertise in dealing with pandemics. In this context, we believe that Taiwan has expertise to share, at a technical level, on Covid-19 and other health matters.

As the Senator will be aware, in a recent speech, the Tánaiste underlined the Government's continuing commitment to the One China policy. In his speech, the Tánaiste also stated that the policy does not preclude the development of economic, cultural and people-to-people connections or the meaningful participation of Taiwan in relevant multilateral forums. In this context, we consider that co-operation on global health matters falls within the parameters of the One China policy and that Taiwan can make a technical contribution to the global health agenda.

Our experience of the pandemic has renewed our understanding of the importance of the multilateral system. The lessons learned from managing Covid-19 around the world are crucial for our future responses to managing global health issues.

Senator Barry Ward

I acknowledge what the Minister of State has said and appreciate its tone as regards the value that Ireland places on Taiwanese co-operation. I also appreciate what the Tánaiste said in his speech at the Royal Irish Academy’s conference on 2 May. I am not sure the headline I would have taken from that speech was a reaffirmation of Ireland's support for the One China policy. What was much more important than that is the acknowledgement that as global colleagues, we must also raise with China issues with which we are not happy. One of those has to be Taiwan. The Minister of State referred to "a technical contribution" being made. Why can Taiwan not be a proper and full observer at the WHO? Would that not make sense? The Minister of State acknowledged the contribution Taiwan can make on SARS and Covid-19, while at the same time noting that it has not been invited to be an observer since 2016. Why not? Why can Ireland not say Taiwan should be there as an observer? It should play its full part in whatever way it can. Let us do that for the benefit of everyone - China, Ireland, Taiwan and all the other countries of the world.

Deputy Mary Butler

The scale of the Covid-19 response and recovery requires us to utilise all the tools and knowledge that we can mobilise to ensure we have the best defences in place should we be faced with a future global health emergency. We are all aware of the importance of global co-operation in the field of public health. Much of this is technical in nature and involves a wide variety of stakeholders. We believe that Taiwan has expertise to share at a technical level on Covid-19 and other health matters. As the strongest of supporters of the rules-based multilateral order, Ireland advocates for inclusiveness in our international organisations where this is appropriate.

As I said, Ireland adheres to the One China policy. This does not preclude the development of economic and people-to-people links. The participation of Taiwan as an observer at the annual World Health Assembly is now a matter for the wider membership of the World Health Organization but, as the Senator clearly outlined, Ireland is a supporter of such participation.

Tax Code

Acting Chairperson (Senator Victor Boyhan)

The next Commencement matter relates to the introduction of a 30% income tax rate. Senator Maria Byrne has four minutes to make her case.

Senator Maria Byrne

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss this important issue. When this proposal was first discussed in 2022 the then Taoiseach asked that it be examined and the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, stated that while it was not an appropriate time to introduce such a rate as it would be very difficult to do so, the matter should be examined down the line. Last year, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, indicated he would consider the matter early this year. Will the Minister of State indicate whether negotiations and a process have commenced? It would help middle-income earners if we introduced a 30% tax rate for incomes of up to €50,000. The squeezed middle have gone through a very difficult period recently, especially as a result of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Many young families fall into the middle-income category. Is there an update on this matter?

Deputy Mary Butler

I thank the Senator for raising this Commencement matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Finance.

As the Senator will be aware, the programme for Government, Our Shared Future, contains a number of specific commitments relating to income tax, specifically that:

from Budget 2022 onwards, in the event that incomes are again rising as the economy recovers, credits and bands will be index linked to earnings. This will be done to prevent an increase in the real burden of income tax, to prevent more low income workers being taken into the tax net because of no changes to the tax system and to ensure there is no increase in the number of people having to pay higher income tax and USC rates.

Significant progress has been made in achieving this commitment. For example, over the course of the last two budgets the Government has increased the standard rate cut-off point for single persons by 13.3%, from €35,300 to €40,000, with commensurate increases for persons who are married or in civil partnerships. In addition, the main tax credits - personal tax credits, the employee tax credit and the earned income credit - were increased by €125 each or 7.6%, from €1,650 to €1,775. It is also worth pointing out that the earned income tax credit was equalised with the employee tax credit in 2021. The home carer tax credit was also increased by €100, from €1,600 to €1,700, in budget 2023.

To respond to the Senator's question on examining a 30% tax rate or an intermediate rate of income tax, the position is that the 2022 report of the tax strategy group, TSG, examined the issue last summer, setting out a broad range of policy and operational considerations, as well as the cost of such a measure and the potential number of beneficiaries. The resultant report can be located on the Department of Finance’s website.

As outlined by the Minister for Finance in budget 2023, it was decided that further analysis of the TSG report would be appropriate, as the Senator noted. In addition, and also signalled in budget 2023, the Government is committed to a review of the personal tax system having regard to the medium term. In this regard, on 8 March, the Minister for Finance launched a public consultation in respect of the review of the personal tax system. The terms of reference for the review were also published.

In broad terms, the review will encompass the following strong focus on the programme for Government's commitments relating to income tax and USC.

There will be further analysis of the introduction of an intermediate or third rate of income tax, building on the work of the TSG last year, and further analysis of the recommendations of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare directly relevant to income tax and USC. The review will also encompass an international comparative analysis of Ireland's personal tax system against those of other jurisdictions.

Work on the personal tax review by officials in the Department is under way. As the Senator will appreciate, this work is ongoing. It would be premature for me to elaborate on the specificities involved. However, I assure the Senator that the personal tax review will further examine the option of introducing an intermediate or third rate of income tax, together with the other matters I have just outlined.

Senator Maria Byrne

I thank the Minister of State. I also thank the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the team in the Department. It is important that they look at this carefully. Obviously, on the basis of the progress made and the different steps that have been taken, it is clear that a thorough review is taking place. I thank the people who made submissions to the consultation process. The Government needs to look at something for those who are in the middle in order that they can earn up to €50,000 or that a 30% tax rate is introduced. That would be very beneficial, especially for many young families who are just outside that tax bracket. They end up on the higher rate by a small margin. This is important because it would make a huge difference to the take-home pay people have in their pockets if it were introduced. I thank the Minister and the team, and look forward to the result.

Deputy Mary Butler

I again thank Senator Byrne for raising this issue. The Government is committed to supporting and encouraging workers and to reducing their income tax burden. As I outlined, significant progress has been made in recent budgets to deliver on the programme for Government income tax commitments. The summer economic statement, which will be published in coming weeks, will set out a budgetary framework within which budget 2024 can be delivered. It will also set out the overall parameters for the total tax package for budget 2024. As I have mentioned, officials from the Department of Finance are progressing the review of the personal tax system It will encompass a broad range of personal tax matters, including a further examination of the option of introducing an intermediate or third rate of income tax. The Minister for Finance will then consider the results of this review in due course.

Acting Chairperson (Senator Victor Boyhan)

I again thank the Minister of State for coming to the House and responding to the various matters in a comprehensive fashion. It is appreciated. The final matter is in the name of Senator Garvey. As she is not present, I propose that the proceedings of the House stand suspended until 10.30 a.m.

Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 10.04 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 10.30 a.m.

Sitting suspended at 10.04 a.m. and resumed at 10.30 a.m.