I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Company Law
I welcome the Minister of State. He and the Cathaoirleach will know that the Companies Act 2014 is a very important document. I was a Member of the Oireachtas when it was passed by these Houses. It was very well teased out and was passed after robust examination.
The matter I wish to raise relates to sections 216 and 217 of the Act. These sections relate to the rights of citizens to access the company register of a limited company by guarantee and the recourse available in the very rare occurrence of a company failing to comply with its obligations in that regard. Section 216 makes it clear that a company member is entitled to examine and receive a copy of the register on application and that a non-member is similarly entitled on payment of a small fee. A company then has a period of up to ten days to produce the required documentation. Section 217(3) states that a company or company officer who fails to comply will be guilty of a category 3 offence. It further states that the court, on application, may make certain orders compelling the company or individual responsible to comply forthwith.
Where the Act is derelict is that it does not make it clear who should apply to the court and who will be responsible for any costs entailed. It seems unfair that a citizen or group of citizens would have to go to court to vindicate their entitlements as prescribed in the sections to which I refer. Should there not be a role for the State, through its various agencies, to ensure that company law is observed without putting the onus on a citizen to vindicate State law? This motion arises from public concern about the actions of a particular company in my area. The company in question has ignored a legitimate request for information. That is simply not acceptable. I am happy to furnish details of the company to the Minister of State in private on request if he so wishes.
Who is responsible for compliance with company law? Is it the State or is it the citizen? I thank the Minister of State.
As already stated, the Companies Act is reviewed regularly. This is to ensure that the original objectives remain valid and are being achieved. To that end, my Department is seeking views on a proposed companies (corporate governance, enforcement and regulatory provisions) Bill 2023. The primary focus of the latter will be on four areas of company law, namely, corporate governance, company law enforcement, company law administration and corporate insolvency. A public consultation was launched on 8 May, with members of the public invited to express views on the specific proposals outlined in the proposed legislation.
New powers and other enhancements for the CEA and also for the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority, IAASA, and Companies Registration Office, CRO, are matters that are actively being considered for inclusion in the proposed Bill to allow it to strengthen the State's capability to meet the challenges faced in investigating and prosecuting alleged breaches of company law. It is important to stress, though, that where it is believed that there are indications of breaches of the Companies Act 2014 under any section, a complaint should be made directly to the CEA, which will then investigate it. However, I encourage the Senator to take part and make his submission to the review that is under way.
I thank the Minister of State for a comprehensive response, which I will obviously study. I certainly will not hesitate to take his advice regarding the ongoing review. I have emailed the CEA in respect of this matter but, to date, I have not received a reply. Perhaps I sent it to the wrong address, but I will certainly renew my attempts in light of what the Minister of State said.
It is important to stress that where there is a view that there has been a breach of the Companies Act 2014, a notification to that effect can be made directly to the CEA. I encourage the Senator to follow up on the matter he has raised. The CEA is a superb organisation, which the Government has resourced significantly to carry out its new powers. I encourage the Senator to engage with it.
I thank the Minister of State.
State Examinations
I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond. He is taking the next three Commencement matters.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber to discuss the proposed changes to the scheme of reasonable accommodation in the certificate examinations, RACE. The scheme currently in place allows for accommodations to be put in place for students who need them when taking examinations. There is a proposal from the Dyslexia Association of Ireland to ensure extra time is given for children taking State examinations. In most, if not all, European countries the normal scenario is that students with a diagnosis of dyslexia get extra time to sit examinations. Unfortunately, Ireland does not currently follow the same procedure.
There have been reviews of the scheme over the years, but the expert review group that is always referred back to sat nearly 20 years ago. That is the report being referenced when determinations are made regarding the provision of extra time for students. In the 20 years since the review group sat, we have passed legislation giving effect to a number of rights prescribed by the EU and the UN in respect of people with disabilities. There have been massive changes in technology, including reader pens, speech-to-text technology and so on. For some reason, however, we cannot seem to get over the barrier that the expert report that was published nearly 20 years ago remains the defining factor in deciding whether children with a diagnosis of dyslexia should have the accommodation of being given extra time to complete the State examinations. To compound the matter, there is provision at third level to give students with dyslexia extra time to complete examinations. A different system is in operation at third level. At second level, however, the State Examinations Commission, SEC, does not grant requests for extra time in the majority of cases. Yet, when those same students go to third level, that accommodation is given.
It is bizarre that we have a system at second level based on the report of an expert review group that was published 20 years ago. The world and the technology available have moved on in those two decades. The system at third level has moved with the times, with students given the accommodation they need to reach their full potential. The lack of a similar provision at second level is the subject of continuous debate and argument for parents, teachers and the students who need that support. A total of 10% of our population, including adults and children, are dyslexic. They need the opportunity to reach their full potential. We can enable them to do so by giving them the accommodations they require in the State examination setting. As it stands, students with dyslexia taking State examinations face a troubling scenario in which they are slower than others to read the examination paper and write their answers. Their issues must be accommodated. It is a proven fact that dyslexia is a disability that requires a little extra help. That bit of help in this instance is the allocation of extra time. It is the European norm. I do not understand why there has not been movement to introduce the same provision in Ireland.
I acknowledge and praise the Dyslexia Association of Ireland for its campaign on this issue. It really has come to the fore in campaigning for change. Even if we get movement on the issue today, any change will not apply to the children doing their examinations in the coming weeks. Even with an immediate commitment to change, there potentially will not be any movement for 18 months. The only way we can achieve the significant change that is needed is if the Government moves quickly in the next few weeks to ensure the RACE scheme is modified to give extra time to children who are dyslexic. The lack of such provision presents a very stressful scenario for these children. I appreciate that this issue is not directly within the Minister of State's portfolio. I thank him for his attendance and I hope he can provide an update on what is a really important and personal issue for me.
I thank the Senator for raising this important matter. I welcome the opportunity to update the House on the issue, which affects many families throughout the country. It is of great importance for a large number of students taking examinations at both second and third level.
The State Examinations Commission has responsibility for the operation, delivery and development of the State examinations. Before I address the Senator's points regarding the RACE scheme, I take the opportunity to welcome the recent confirmation by the SEC that it intends to issue the leaving certificate 2023 examination results on Friday, 25 August. This is a full week earlier than the 2022 results, which issued on 2 September last year. It provides clarity for students, parents, teachers and other relevant stakeholders.
As part of its remit, the SEC provides the RACE scheme to support students with a complex variety of special and additional educational needs. The scheme facilitates access by candidates who have difficulty in accessing the examinations or communicating what they know because of a physical difficulty, visual or hearing impairment or learning difficulty. The RACE scheme is operated by the SEC within the context of the annually issued RACE Instructions for Schools document, which is the handbook for the operation of the scheme. All applications for reasonable accommodations are considered within a published framework of principles.
Starting from the 2016-17 school year, the RACE scheme underwent fundamental reform. That reform focused on a number of objectives, including ensuring greater integration of the scheme with overall Department of Education special educational needs policy, enabling greater access to the scheme by students with learning difficulties, and allowing greater autonomy to schools and certainty to students as to the examination supports available to them. These candidate-centred changes were informed by engagement with stakeholders. They included representatives of students, including those with special educational needs, such as the Dyslexia Association of Ireland and the Special Needs Parents Association, as well as school management, leadership bodies, Government agencies and statutory bodies.
The RACE scheme continues to be subject to a process of ongoing review and improvement by the SEC. For example, recent enhancements include the introduction of deferred examinations, within the policy context of the scheme, for leaving certificate candidates who miss their examinations in the main sitting due to close family bereavement or serious accident, illness or injury. As set out in the 2023 Instructions for Schools, published in October 2022, a number of specific initiatives are being introduced this year for candidates with visual impairments. In addition to the fundamental reform commenced in the 2016-17 school year and the ongoing process of review and improvement, the scheme will be subject to further review by the SEC in the context of reform at senior cycle. One of the key priorities will be increasing the use of assistive technology to enhance access and integrity and further support independent learning. I am assured that the SEC intends to have an extensive consultation and engagement with all the relevant stakeholders in this regard, including the Dyslexia Association of Ireland.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I welcome that the proposed review will include an examination of the provision of assistive technology, which is a really important factor. It is bread-and-butter stuff. In undertaking the review, the SEC must move away from the report that was published 20 years ago. We need up-to-date guidance. The findings of the expert review group that sat more than two decades ago are out of date. There must be a root-and-branch review of what is required in the new environment and society in which we live today.
We also need to look at what is being done at third level. Students in higher education get the accommodation of extra time, but it is not given at second level. That is bizarre in so many ways. It is positive that a review is being undertaken. It must look at what is being done at third level and move away from the report that was published 20 years ago. The cohort of children going through this very stressful examination who have problems with reading and writing need extra time. I hope they will get it following this review.
The review provides the opportunity to do that.
The case made by the Senator to move away from the previous expert report and to look at a third level example, is a valid one. The difference between now and 20 years ago is light years when it comes to providing education for everyone in the State. This is particularly true of the advances for those with dyslexia and others in a similar position. I encourage full engagement with the review by the Senator but also by the stakeholders and bodies he mentioned. There is scope and opportunity to make the improvement that would be so important for those sitting State examinations, not on Wednesday week, of course, but perhaps in the next year or 18 months.
School Accommodation
Go raibh maith agat a Chathaoirligh Ghníomhaigh agus cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit sa Seanad inniu. Scoil Mochua in Celbridge is a thriving primary school going from strength to strength since first opening its doors in 1985. It is the cherished heartbeat of the local community. It is a mainstream school which places huge emphasis on inclusion. It caters for all, including those with additional needs. It is affiliated to the AsIAm pilot project to promote autism-friendly schools. Some of the children with more complex needs may struggle to thrive in a mainstream classroom setting. The correct setting for a child is crucial. Some pupils require a dual enrolment, having a seat in both a mainstream and a special class, when required. For inclusion to work properly and in order for all students to thrive, the prioritised professional input of the State agencies involved must be to the fore. Otherwise, inclusion risks inadvertently becoming exclusion.
Scoil Mochua was delighted to be sanctioned by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to provide two special classes. This approval dates back to March 2021. This delight slowly but surely turned into deep frustration. The heroic efforts of the school community have, it seems, been thwarted and the school has been browbeaten into having to endure delay after avoidable delay. Kildare County Council discovered that the land earmarked for building the two classrooms on had not been formally transferred to the council from the original owner. This conveyancing matter was passed to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor in order to get the necessary documents stamped to transfer formally the land ownership to the council and then on to the school. Despite countless direct representations from the school and by many public representatives on its behalf, it took around two years, that is, almost 48 months, to stamp one document. We keep hearing talk of a policy of putting children first but it behoves us to give credence to the 1916 Proclamation of cherishing all our children. This ongoing delay is inexcusable. We need the Minister of State's help to look into this matter because some children have been robbed of time they will never get back.
Earlier this month, the school was informed by the local authority that in order for the disposal of these public lands to be made to the school, the next step is for the official registration of the land to take place and that the matter is back with the Chief State Solicitor's office. There is a feeling of déjà vu here. The toing and froing goes on and on. It is soul-destroying for the 37 resilient staff, ably led by school principal, Catherine Carragher, the three special needs assistants, the two office administration staff, the caretaker and the dedicated board of management. We cannot lose focus here. Most importantly, we are talking about 676 children attending this school and their supportive families. This protracted red tape bureaucracy is unnecessary and unjustified.
I ask the Minister of State to look into this matter. What assurances can we have that this shambolic delay after delay will be brought to an end? Put children first, front and centre and build these two desperately needed classrooms.
I sincerely thank Senator Martin for raising this matter. It provides me with an opportunity to update the House on the proposed transfer of land to Scoil Mochua, Celbridge, County Kildare. In the first instance, I assure the Senator that the provision of accommodation for children with special educational needs is a priority for the Government and the Department of Education.
The NCSE has a statutory function to plan and co-ordinate the provision of education and support services for children with special educational needs in consultation with the relevant education partners and the HSE. This includes the establishment of special class and special school placements in various geographical areas where there is an identified need. When the NCSE sanctions a special class in a school, either primary or post-primary, school authorities can apply to the Department for capital funding to reconfigure an existing space within the school building to accommodate the class. Alternatively, it can construct additional accommodation under the Department's additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme. Application forms are available on the Department's website. Similarly, where special schools are requesting to expand provision or wish to refurbish existing facilities, they may also apply to the Department for a capital fund to carry out these works.
Over the last two years, the Department and the NCSE have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined-up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special education placements ahead of each new school year. The Department continues to work with the NCSE in relation to the short-term requirements for special class and special school places and also the more strategic and longer term requirements.
Arising from that close engagement, the Department is aware of ongoing discussions between the NCSE and Scoil Mochua regarding the establishment of special classes at the school. The Department is also aware that the school contacted Kildare County Council in 2021 inquiring about additional lands adjacent to the school site with the view to acquiring said lands for the development of an AstroTurf pitch and to cater for an additional two special educational needs, SEN, classes that were sanctioned, as the Senator has already alluded to, by the NCSE in early 2021. The council then informed the Department in early 2022 that it was progressing the transfer of said lands adjacent to Scoil Mochua into its ownership. The council also advised that the lands in question were zoned "amenity and open space" and that no school accommodation was permitted to be developed on these lands.
As Scoil Mochua is owned by the St. Laurence O'Toole Diocesan Trust and the school site is therefore not in State ownership, the Department has no direct role in this proposed land transfer. Once any required site extension is secured, the school can apply for capital funding under the ASA scheme. The purpose of this scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special educational classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school's existing accommodation. On receipt of the ASA application from the school, the Department will review the school's requirements and engage with it in respect of any accommodation needs as quickly as possible.
The reality on the ground in this specific case is upsetting. A young child attending this school has to move to a different school because the family wants her to access a special class, yet the child's home is across the hedge from the school. It is literally a stone's throw away. The child and her family are very happy in that community. The school staff are passionate about education. They do their best to care for each and every student and the parents are hugely supportive. I implore the Minister of State to use his influence in this matter. He has strong Kildare family connections, which I appreciate. In this case there has been a systemic breakdown, a failure and a dereliction of duty. Will the Minister of State ensure the State agencies and the professional agents whom they engage treat this with the appropriate level of urgency that it clearly deserves? This wonderful school community is doing its absolute best but deserves so much better.
I greatly appreciate the Senator's keen advocacy on behalf of this school in his locality. It is a familiar tale in every constituency and county in the country, particularly when it refers directly to the need for special needs provision. That strikes all of us to the core. While we know the issues are complicated by the ownership of the land by the diocesan trust, I will bring back to the Department of Education and the other State bodies involved the need to respond and react to this matter as quickly and as urgently as possible in order that everything needed is put in order through the right channels. I look forward to working with the Senator to progress the matter further.
I thank the Minister of State. That is appreciated.
Personal Public Service Numbers
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House today. First, it is important to acknowledge the work done by the Department of Social Protection in issuing PPS numbers, in particular in the last year when 300,000 were issued. The Department has done so speedily, particularly for Ukrainian citizens coming to Ireland. This Commencement matter has a lot to do with retail and hospitality, so I am glad this Minister of State is taking it. From my experience, and from queries received in my office, there are a lot of businesses in Clonmel, County Tipperary, which are looking to employ people. We are fortunate at the moment that there are 2.6 million people working in Ireland. We have a challenge getting people from outside Ireland to come here and fill the jobs that are vacant. The Minister of State will know, as it is under his remit, that last year almost 40,000 people arrived in Ireland from outside of the EU having successfully applied for work permits.
A lot of the time businesses are applying for work permits on behalf of the individual. Those work permits are being processed much quicker now than they were one year to 18 months ago. This is hugely welcome. The Minister of State's Department is doing fantastic work on that front. Once they receive their work permit, they have to apply for a visa, which still takes quite some time. That needs to become quicker. We now have a third issue, about which I am receiving a large number of queries from businesses, which is simply getting the PPS number afterwards. A lot of these people are coming from outside of the EU, in particular from Asia. Businesses are putting a lot of money into getting work permits done, and to get people over as quickly as possible. You think you are over all of the hoops once you have gone through work permits and visas only to find out you are waiting a long time for a PPS number. Obviously, people cannot work in that time. They cannot open a bank account.
People who are meant to be starting work in hospitality in Tipperary have been waiting three months for a PPS number. There is someone else who is waiting to work in a retail grocery store. They have been waiting eight weeks for their PPS number. It can be incredibly frustrating, particularly for employers who are trying to get staff at a time where that is a real challenge. They have jumped through all the hoops, which were difficult, to now find that something else is really delayed.
I accept the demand has been huge. In fairness to the Minister of State and the Department, they have put more resources into speeding up the times to process PPS numbers. I suspect that when looked at as a whole, the time is quite quick. However, I would like to know the average times, and then maybe the average times for those other than Ukrainian citizens. The Department has put more resources into it, and the Minister has highlighted the priority to ensure quick turnaround times. On the ground, from what I have heard from employers, things seem to be going in the opposite direction. My concern is that we do not reach a stage where the Minister of State and his Department have solved the delays with work permits, but we are struggling to get people working because of something as simple as getting a PPS number.
I am pleased to take this Commencement matter on behalf of my senior colleague in the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Heather Humphreys. As the Senator knows, to apply for a PPSN an adult must generally provide valid proof of identity, address and reason for applying. The easiest way to apply for a PPSN is online at mywelfare.ie.
To directly answer the Senator's question, as of 28 May 2023 the national wait time for PPSN allocation using mywelfare.ie is 1.3 weeks. While the PPSN application process is relatively straightforward, delays can occur on individual applications where incomplete applications are submitted, or there are problems with the quality of documents provided. When this occurs, the applicant is contacted by officials from the Department of Social Protection to help progress their application. In addition, the Department of Social Protection has arrangements in place with other public bodies, employer groups and representative bodies to expedite applications in cases of urgency. Where people arrive in the country and are granted temporary protection having fled the war in Ukraine, or seek international protection, a priority for the Department of Social Protection is the quick allocation of a PPS number to these individuals. To achieve this, the Department has put in place special arrangements to deal with PPS number applications for people seeking temporary protection. A reception centre is in operation at City West convention centre where Department of Social Protection, Department of Justice and Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth officials are available to meet people on arrival from Ukraine. The information needed to allocate a PPS number is collected as part of the initial engagement with the person there, and the PPS number is available for them to collect at any Intreo centre across the country within four working days.
Applications for PPS numbers are also being processed quickly for people who arrive in the country and seek international protection. To achieve this officials from the Department of Social Protection have colocated with Department of Justice international protection staff in Mount Street since 25 January 2023. People seeking international protection attend at Mount Street to submit their international protection applications when they arrive in the country. They can meet with Department of Social Protection officials on the same day in Mount Street to make an application for a PPS number. The application will be processed within four working days and can be collected by the person at any Intreo centre across the country. The timeframe for the allocation of PPS numbers is the same for temporary protection and international protection applicants. There are no delays in allocating PPS numbers to either temporary protection or international protection applicants.
The Senator raised an interesting comparison concerning the average waiting time for work permits, which as of last week has come down to about 16 days from a high of 21 weeks. This is due to a lot of work not just by officials from the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment, but crucially under the previous Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, in this role. I fully accept the point that there is often a much longer wait for visas. However, going forward in the medium term, the Department is working with the Department of Justice to develop a new singular portal. This will enable a person to apply for a work permit and a visa in one application, and receive a single response within an acceptable time. This will go a long way in speeding things up.
On the Senator's direct plea on PPS numbers, there are always individual cases and circumstances. It is hard to refer to them as a general case, because as the Senator has pointed out the system is working efficiently on average. If there are individual cases the Senator would like to bring to me, as Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, I would be more than happy to work with him to expedite them where possible.
I thank the Minister of State for that offer. I might take him up on that. I have a number of cases in Clonmel, in particular, that I need to get through as quickly as possible. I understand the turnaround time is 1.3 weeks. Is it possible to get a breakdown of what it is per county for Tipperary? It is definitely not what I am experiencing. Another question, which is important, is whether that average turnaround time includes Ukrainian citizens who arrived in the past year. Their turnaround time is four days. If you take between 80,000 and 100,000 Ukrainians who have come into the country, that is 100,000 from the 300,000 where the average turnaround is four days. That means that for people who are not Ukrainians, the average time is much higher than the 1.3 weeks.
I want to find about the crux of the average time, which I hope the Department can help me with. What is the average turnaround time for people who went for work permits, visas and then applied for PPS numbers? What is the average time just for the PPS number? That is the issue I am having. It is not with Ukrainians, Irish citizens and newborns. Everything is on time, except for people who are coming here from outside of Europe, applying for a work permit and then for a visa and waiting a long time for a PPS number.
I welcome the fact the Minister of State and the Department are looking to streamline the work permits and visas going forward. The work done already in speeding up the issuing of work permits has been really impressive. To align that with the visa application is important.
I want to conclude by giving the Senator a sense of the scale of the PPSN operation in the Department of Social Protection. In 2022, more than 236,000 PPSNs were allocated. Between January and April this year alone, more than 67,000 PPSNs have been allocated. These figures do not include the PPSNs automatically allocated when a child's birth is registered. As I mentioned, that is 67,000 adults with an average wait time of 1.3 weeks.
I do not have a breakdown per county. It should be remembered that the whole idea is do these through an online portal rather than through individual Intreo offices. This approach is enabling efficiencies and speeding up the process. The reason the average wait time is so low is that the Department has ensured cases were prioritised where there was an urgent need to obtain a PPSN. It has also massively increased capacity.
The Senator provided good examples of representations he has received in County Tipperary. As I said, they may be out of kilter with the national norm due to the specific nature of the country from which the person comes. It is crucial that all documents are up to spec to ensure the process operates quickly. I reiterate my offer to assist the Senator wherever I can going forward.
I welcome the students from Balla National School in County Mayo. We have just concluded Commencement matters, which are topics that are chosen every day for discussion in the Seanad, usually as the first business. On my left, is the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, who responded to the Commencement matters and seated in front of me is Senator Garret Ahearn from County Tipperary. The students came in at the tail end of the discussion. They are very welcome and I hope they enjoy their visit to the Oireachtas.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.11 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 11.34 a.m.
Sitting suspended at 11.11 a.m. and resumed at 11.34 a.m.