Written Answers Nos. 82-90
82. Deputy Noel Coonan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for funding from a school (details supplied) in County Tipperary; the status of the application; when a decision will be reached; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39587/12]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that an extension/refurbishment project at the school referred to commenced on site in June 2011, the project is progressing well and it is envisaged that it will be completed by the end of this year.
83. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the various allowances paid by the State in respect of the primary education section; the total cost of these allowances; if these allowances are covered by the Croke Park agreement; the number of persons that benefit from these allowances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39611/12]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is provided in the following table. As the Deputy is aware, the Public Service Agreement 2010 – 2014 (Croke Park Agreement) provides that there will be no reductions in the pay rates of existing public servants. A public service-wide review of allowances is taking place and allowances paid to teachers form only a part of the overall remit of the review. Circular 3/2012 which is available on my Department's website provides that, pending the outcome of that review, allowances are not payable to new beneficiaries; i.e. those who become eligible for receipt of the allowance in question on or after 1 February 2012. The only exceptions to this prohibition are Principal and Deputy Principal Allowances. My Department has also put in place limited alleviation arrangements for appointments to Assistant Principal, as an interim measure, pending the completion of the review.
ALLOWANCES PAID TO PRIMARY TEACHERS - 2010/11 SCHOOL YEAR
|
Category of Allowance |
Annual Cost |
Numbers |
|
Qualification Allowance |
€140,020,630 |
35,013 |
|
POR Allowance |
€103,290,329 |
14,817 |
|
Supervision |
€51,858,888 |
31,396 |
|
35 Year Allowance |
€6,008,698 |
2,179 |
|
Teaching in Gaeltacht Area Allowance |
€1,860,507 |
612 |
|
Special Education Allowances |
€3,501,151 |
1,404 |
|
Secretary Board of Management Allowance |
€1,972,353 |
2,509 |
|
Secondment Allowance |
€1,491,251 |
81 |
|
Children’s Allowance |
€238,370 |
1,299 |
|
Island Allowance |
€53,366 |
31 |
|
Teaching through Irish |
€2,604,318 |
1,634 |
Number of Primary teachers in receipt of Allowances 2010/2011
1. Qualification allowances
|
Type of Allowance |
Grade |
Number in receipt 2010/11 |
|
Higher Diploma in Education |
Pass |
887 |
|
Higher Diploma in Education |
Honours |
726 |
|
NT – PCW Allowance |
n/a |
2,106 |
|
Primary Degree |
Pass |
8,685 |
|
Primary Degree |
Honours |
19,617 |
|
Master’s Degree |
Pass |
70 |
|
Master’s Degree |
Honours |
2,876 |
|
Doctor’s Degree |
n/a |
46 |
|
Subtotal |
35,013 |
2. POR allowances
|
Type of P.O.R. |
Number in receipt 2010/11 |
|
Principal |
3,349 |
|
Deputy-Principal |
2,862 |
|
Vice-Principal |
1 |
|
Assistant-Principal |
1,138 |
|
Grade A Post |
3 |
|
Special Duties Teacher |
7,450 |
|
Grade B Post |
14 |
|
Subtotal |
14,817 |
*Posts held on a personal basis.
3. Supervision allowances
|
Number in receipt of allowance in 10/11 |
31,396 |
|
Annual rate of allowance |
€1,769 |
|
Annual rate of allowance for teachers appointed for the first time after 1January 2011 |
€1,592 |
4. Other allowances
|
Type of allowance |
Number in receipt 10/11 |
|
Gaeltacht Grant |
612 |
|
Teaching through Irish |
1,634 |
|
Island Allowance |
31 |
|
Special Education Allowances |
1,404 |
|
Children’s Allowance |
1,299 |
|
35 Year Allowance |
2,179 |
|
Secondment Allowance |
81 |
|
Agreed Report – Payment to Principals who act as Secretaries to the Board of Management |
2,509 |
|
Subtotal |
9,749 |
|
Total |
90,975 |
84. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the funding of a programme (details supplied) which has announced that it is due to close on 31 October with the loss of nine jobs due to a cessation of funding from Offaly VEC; if he will consider in his review the additional costs that these nine job losses will bring on the State, the great service that this programme has provided to the families and children of counties Offaly and Kildare since its establishment in 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39614/12]
View answerMy Department funds adult and community education through annual grants to Vocational Education Committees (VECs) which deliver these courses locally. The disbursement of funds is a matter for each VEC which, subject to its budget, decides the nature and extent of the adult and community education courses to be provided in its area. The organisation and location of courses are also matters for decision by the VECs. In this case, it is a matter for Co Offaly VEC to make decisions on the funding of adult and community education programmes.
85. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39625/12]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that under the provisions of the Education Act, 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school and it is the Board of Management that employs the teachers at the school. Accordingly, whereas I provide funding and policy direction for schools, neither I nor the Department have legal powers to instruct schools to follow a particular course of direction with regards to individual complaint cases, or to investigate individual complaints except where the complaint involves a refused enrolment, expulsion or suspension, in accordance with Section 29 of the 1998 Education Act.
In general, the Board has the responsibility to ensure that the school operates efficiently and effectively, to take all reasonable precautions to ensure the safety of pupils in its care and, as employer, the Board also has responsibilities in relation to the action of its employees.
In dealing with parental complaints, my Department's role is to clarify for parents how their grievances and complaints against schools can be progressed. If a parent wishes to make a complaint against a teacher or school they should contact the relevant school authorities. The complaint procedures adopted by most schools are those that have been agreed between the teacher unions and school management bodies. Where a parent feels that the school's board of management has failed to investigate or adequately investigate their complaint, they should contact the Ombudsman for Children.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children may independently investigate complaints about schools recognised with the Department of Education and Skills, provided the parent has firstly and fully followed the school's complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the action of the school has had a negative affect on a child. The office can be contacted at Ombudsman for Children's Office, Millennium House, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin 1, (Ph) 1800 20 20 40 or (01) 8656800, E-mail oco@oco.ie.
86. Deputy Ray Butler asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline in tabular format the annual salary costs for private and constituency offices of Ministers in his Department in each of the years 2009 and 2010; the same figures for any Ministers of State in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39640/12]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table:
MINISTER – Private and Constituency Offices
|
2010 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€485,308 |
|
CONSTITUENCY OFFICE |
€238,465 |
|
2009 |
ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€437,936 |
|
CONSTITUENCY OFFICE |
€256,031 |
MINISTER OF STATE – Private and Constituency Offices
|
2010 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€159,460 |
|
CONSTITUENCY OFFICE |
€195,586 |
|
2009 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€192,425 |
|
CONSTITUENCY OFFICE |
€198,346 |
In addition, 2 Executive Officers were assigned by my Department to the offices of Mr Barry Andrews, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Children and Youth Affairs and of Mr John Moloney, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Equality, Disability Issues and Mental Health. Their salaries are set out below.
MINISTER OF STATE WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH AFFAIRS – Private Office
|
2010 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€39,616 |
|
2009 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€39,825 |
MINISTER OF STATE WITH RESPONSIBILITY FOR EQUALITY, DISABILITY ISSUES AND MENTAL HEALTH-
Private Office
|
2010 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€44,967 |
|
2009 |
GROSS ANNUAL SALARY COST |
|
PRIVATE OFFICE |
€47,802 |
The salaries paid to civil servants were in accordance with the Department of Finance salary scales for the relevant grades. The salaries paid to non-civil servant staff were in accordance with the Department of Finance Instructions relating to the Appointment of Ministerial Private Office Staff.
87. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to merge the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Department of Justice and Equality into the State Laboratory and its transfer to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39387/12]
View answer88. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there will be significant cost savings as a result of the proposed merger of the Forensic Science Laboratory of the Department of Justice and Equality into the State Laboratory and its transfer to his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39389/12]
View answer89. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his views on whether the provision of a high quality, independent and seamless scientific service in the administration of justice will be lost by separating the Forensic Science Laboratory from the rest of the criminal justice system and merging it into another organisation with disparate objectives, many of them unrelated to the administration of justice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39390/12]
View answer90. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason for the transfer of the Forensic Science Laboratory from the Department of Justice and Equality to his Department; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this will hinder the work done by the Forensic Science Laboratory for the judicial system through the weakening of links between these agencies and the physical distance from the Criminal Courts, the Garda Technical Bureau and the Director of Public Prosecutions; if there is a cost factor in the transfer of the Forensic Science laboratory to another Department; if its independence could be jeopardised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39383/12]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 87 to 90, inclusive, together.
The proposed measure is one of 46 critical reviews of State bodies which are being undertaken as part of the Public Service Reform plan, published in November last year. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is currently considering the reviews received by Departments. Following this consideration, a Memorandum will be brought to Government highlighting the results of the review process and requesting a decision on how best to proceed with implementation of the rationalisation programme.
In relation to critical review No.19 of the Agency Rationalisation Programme, i.e. the review of the merger of the Forensic Science Laboratory into the State Laboratory, the critical review is in the process of being completed. The recommendation of the review will be submitted in due course to the Government for consideration as part of the Memorandum to Government referred to above.
