Written Answers 83-89
83. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his position on a recommendation within the recent Higher Education Authority report to remove home economics initial teacher education from a campus (details supplied) in County Sligo and to relocate to NUI Galway campus; if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of education providers at the campus regarding this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48889/12]
View answerI have accepted the recommendations set out in a report commissioned by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on the structures of initial teacher education. The purpose of the report, which I requested, was to identify new possible structures to improve initial teacher education in Ireland so that it is comparable with the best in the world. The international panel of education experts recommended that teacher education be provided in six "centres for teacher education". Currently there are 19 state funded providers of ITE (and three non-state funded) offering more than 40 college programmes in primary and post-primary teaching. The new collaborations recommended by the international panel will mean that a smaller number of centres for ITE exist, but that they offer education across multiple sectors from early childhood to primary, to post primary to adult education. These centres for teacher education will also possess a critical mass in terms of research capacity which is not always possible in smaller institutions. The new configurations will mean strong research bases can be created in each centre.
The HEA has been requested to consult with the relevant parties and to prepare a detailed plan on how to implement the recommendations of the Panel. I understand that this process has started and a plan is expected by the end of the year. I will fully consider the implementation plan from the HEA when received.
84. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an allowance in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48919/12]
View answerWhen the moratorium was introduced the Government exempted Principal and Deputy Principal posts in all primary and post-primary schools and these continue to be replaced in the normal manner. The impact of the moratorium is therefore limited to the Director of Adult Education, Assistant Principal and Special Duties allowances payable to teachers on promotion. Vacancies at this level arise due to retirements in the specific grades and typically also from the knock on effect of filling Principal and Deputy Principal posts.
Interim alleviation measures were announced in August 2012 for schools that are acutely affected by the impact of the moratorium at Assistant Principal level. School Management bodies were notified of these arrangements at the beginning of the current school year. Applications for alleviation have been received from 127 post primary schools. These applications have been processed and schools have been notified of the outcome in the recent weeks. Following the review of allowances by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department is currently in the process of contacting schools (including the school referred to by the Deputy) that had sought approval to fill vacant assistant principal posts last January and were subsequently unable to complete the appointment process pending the outcome of the review.
85. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a person (details supplied) in County Carlow will receive a decision on her Student Universal Support Ireland application. [48987/12]
View answerOfficials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that the student referred to by the Deputy has been awarded a grant and an award letter has issued to the student.
86. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number and location of amalgamated new schools which have lost full DEIS status as a result of their amalgamation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49050/12]
View answerThere are currently seven amalgamated schools comprising DEIS and non-DEIS schools, one at primary level in Sligo and six at post-primary level in counties Galway, Wicklow, Laois, Limerick, Mayo and Kildare. In the case of an amalgamation involving DEIS and non-DEIS schools, while DEIS status does not transfer to the newly amalgamated school, it is the practice of the Department to continue with the provision of DEIS supports under the DEIS programme to the newly amalgamated school in respect of the number of eligible pupils from the former DEIS school/s.
87. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount that his Department spent on flood alleviation schemes in counties Longford and Westmeath for the years, 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49015/12]
View answerThe Office of Public Works currently administers the Minor Flood Mitigation Works Scheme. The Scheme was introduced in 2009 and provides funding to local authorities to undertake small-scale alleviation measures to address flooding problems within their administrative areas. Details of the payments made to Longford and Westmeath County Councils under this scheme for the years concerned are given in the following tables.
|
Longford County Council |
Year |
Funding paid in year |
|
2009 |
€0 |
|
|
2010 |
€201,936 |
|
|
2011 |
€261,058 |
|
|
2012 |
€0 |
|
|
Total |
€462,994 |
|
|
Westmeath County Council |
Year |
Funding paid in year |
|
2009 |
€90,000 |
|
|
2010 |
€54,000 |
|
|
2011 |
€83,128 |
|
|
2012 |
€0 |
|
|
Total |
€227,128 |
In addition, expenditure under the OPW's ongoing arterial drainage maintenance programme for the Mullingar depot for the years in question is:
|
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 to end Oct. |
Total |
|
€ 1,547,169 |
€ 1,520,945 |
€ 1,434,856 |
€1,101,908 |
€5,604,87 |
88. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding plans to merge the Forensic Science laboratory into the State Laboratory; his views on whether the merger would be a retrograde step; if he will confirm that a recent review carried out by his Department accepts that there will be no significant savings as a result of a merger; his views on concerns raised by many persons that if the merger proceeds, Ireland will be the only EU member state, apart from the UK, without a publicly funded laboratory or institute dedicated to forensic science; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the privatisation of forensic science services in the UK has been of concern to many eminent scientists there; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48814/12]
View answerSome 46 critical reviews of State bodies were undertaken as part of the Public Service Reform plan, published in November 2011. I updated my Government colleagues on the rationalisation of state agencies on 31st October 2012.
Critical review No.19 of the Agency Rationalisation Programme recommended the merger of the Forensic Science Laboratory into the State Laboratory upon co-location on the Backweston Campus. The review set out that the laboratories have distinct functions and roles as well as different reporting relationships and governance structures. Nonetheless, given the commonalities in certain professional and scientific aspects of their work, there is scope for operational and support synergies and for this reason the Forensic Science Laboratory will be brought within the ambit of the State Laboratory. The operational environment of the Forensic Science Laboratory in the criminal justice system will not be affected by this measure. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Justice and Equality will engage with the two laboratories to identify how best to progress these synergies by the end of 2013.
89. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will consider not cutting the allowance for low paid teachers such as a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5. [48855/12]
View answerThe Government policy on the payment of qualifications allowances to new entrant teachers arises because of the need to constrain public service pay costs in face of the extremely difficult national financial position.
It should be noted however that the Government has decided that new entrant teachers who will no longer be in receipt of qualifications allowances will commence on a salary of
€30,702, which is equivalent to the 4th point of the existing teachers salary scale from 1 January 2011. In gross salary terms this amounts to an incremental salary gain of €2,888 on the base incremental point of the scale for new entrant teachers. New entrant teachers will also have the option of being paid a pensionable allowance of €1,592 for supervision and substitution, thereby bringing their starting salary to €32,294.
If the individual referred to is a teacher who is already in receipt of an honours degree allowance, the person concerned continues to retain it. Qualifications allowances are being abolished for new beneficiaries only.
