Written Answers Nos. 109-119
109. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Finance if he raised the issue of the financial transaction tax in Europe at the meeting with the European Commission in Brussels on 3 October; and if he indicated this as a priority for the forthcoming EU Presidency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43087/12]
View answerOn 3 October I met Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn. The discussion was primarily on the negotiations for the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework, which is the EU Budget cycle for 2014-2020. Therefore I did not directly raise the issue of the Financial Transaction Tax. However, as part of the discussion at the bilateral meeting, the Commissioner’s Chef de Cabinet mentioned that the new Financial Transaction Tax was being considered for use as an own resource, that is a revenue stream for the EU.
110. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the programme for Government commitment and national pensions framework proposal to reduce tax reliefs on private pensions in view of comments (details supplied) that the reliefs will not be reduced but instead a cap introduced and if he will elaborate on those comments. [49832/12]
View answerI assume the Deputy is referring to the commitment in the Government’s Programme to cap taxpayers’ subsidies for future pension schemes that deliver income in retirement of more than €60,000. The maximum allowable pension fund at retirement for tax purposes (the Standard Fund Threshold) has already been significantly reduced in Budget and Finance Act 2011 from over €5.4 million to €2.3 million while the annual earnings cap which operates in conjunction with age-related percentage limits to determine the annual amount of tax-relievable contributions that can be made by an employee or individual to pension savings has been reduced from over €275,000 in 2008 to its current level of €115,000 per annum. The level and design of these thresholds and caps are, for example, among the range of issues for consideration relevant to achieving the commitment referred to. The National Pensions Framework, which was published by the previous Government in March 2010, included among other things, proposals to introduce a new pension system involving auto-enrolment for employees without supplementary pension coverage. The system proposed in the Framework would be introduced when the prevailing economic circumstances allowed. The Framework proposed the introduction of a State contribution equivalent to 33% tax relief in respect of employees covered by auto-enrolment. This equivalent relief would also replace the current standard and marginal rates of tax relief for existing contributors to pension saving. I would expect that the report of the independent review of long term pension policy in Ireland, currently being conducted by the OECD on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection, may also deal with the issue of an auto-enrolment pension system.
The debate around the incentive regime for pension saving has tended to focus either on a further reduction in the maximum allowable pension fund for tax purposes at retirement or on a reduction in the rate of tax relief on pension contributions. These approaches are not, of course, mutually exclusive. In my 2012 Budget speech in December last, I said that I did not propose to make changes to the existing marginal rate relief at that time but that the incentive regime for supplementary pension provision will have to be reformed to make the system sustainable and more equitable over the long term. I said that my Department and the Revenue Commissioners would work with the various stakeholders in the next year to develop workable solutions. On foot of this, a broad informal consultation was undertaken this year across a spectrum of stakeholders in the pensions sector to establish their views on further changes to the incentive regime for pension saving.
I will give due consideration to the views of all interested parties in the pensions sector in the context of any proposals I may make to Government regarding the incentive regime for pension saving.
111. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance the number of promotions made in his Department to principal officer higher scale, principal officer standard scale, assistant principal officer higher scale, assistant principal officer standard scale, higher executive officer scale, executive office scale and staff officer scale; the total for all of his Department; if he will provide a breakdown for for 2009, 2010, 2011 and to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50976/12]
View answerSince my appointment as Minister for Finance on 9 March 2011, 24 staff members who were serving as Administrative Officer (AO) and Higher Executive Officer (HEO) have been awarded promotions through an internal competitive process to Assistant Principal Higher level. 8 staff members, serving as Assistant Principal (AP) have been awarded promotions through an internal competitive process to Principal Higher (PO) level.
6 staff members serving as Executive Officer (EO) have been awarded promotions through an internal competitive process to Higher Executive Officer.
10 staff members serving as Staff Officer (SO) and Clerical Officer (CO) have been awarded promotions through an internal competitive process to Executive Officer.
112. Deputy Derek Keating asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will intervene in the school bus service that is provided by CIÉ and that has been withdrawn from the parents and school children from the Lucan area, County Dublin, who attend a school (details supplied), while at the same time the service remains in place for families from nearby Celbridge, County Kildare, and in view of the very close proximity of the Celbridge route to Lucan and the fact that so many Lucan families are being discommoded by losing this established school bus service, if he will engage with CIÉ with a view to having the Lucan bus service re-established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44959/12]
View answerUnder the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme a minimum number of 10 eligible children residing in a distinct locality, as determined by Bus Éireann, are required before consideration may be given to the retention of school transport services, provided this can be done within reasonable cost limits.
Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport schemes on behalf of my Department, has advised that as the above criteria was not met for the 2011/12 school the service was withdrawn. Bus Éireann has also advised that no applications for school transport, from the area in question, were received for the 2012/13 school year.
Eligible children, for whom there is no school transport service available, may apply for a remote area grant towards the cost of making private transport arrangements.
113. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that college students will not incur late penalties on their fees while waiting for the grants to be finalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50203/12]
View answerThe Higher Education Authority (HEA) on foot of a request from my Department, has written to all higher education institutions requesting them to show flexibility and consideration, as most have done in the past, to students who may be awaiting a decision on their grant application and/or payment of grants.
The HEA has requested institutions to consider not withdrawing facilities such as library or exam access, given that these students are awaiting decision on their grant applications. The situation is being kept under review.
114. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a child (details supplied) in Dublin 11 will receive a psychological assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50205/12]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Where a NEPS psychologist is not assigned to a school, authorities therein may access psychological assessments through SCPA. Under this scheme schools can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly.
It should also be noted that in common with many other psychological services, NEPS encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for a pupil's initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention. Only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress in spite of the school's best efforts, will a child be referred for individual psychological assessment. I have made enquiries in respect of this case and can inform you that, to date, no request has been made to the assigned NEPS psychologist in relation to the assessment of the child referred to in the Deputies question.
It is the responsibility of the school Principal in the first instance to identify and prioritise pupils for assessment under the process described above. I would suggest that the parents of the child in question should discuss the matter with the school Principal who will advise them as to the appropriateness of a referral to or intervention by the school's assigned NEPS psychologist in this instance.
Should school authorities have specific difficulties with regard any of the foregoing I would suggest that they contact the relevant local NEPS Office (in this instance NEPS Office, Frederick Court, Tel: 01-8892700 to discuss the matter.
115. Deputy Tom Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application by three County Tipperary schools for a temporary resource teacher; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50207/12]
View answerThe NCSE has notified all schools of their allocation for the 2012/13 school year of resource hours for low incidence special needs. The arrangements for how schools access these resource hours in teaching posts are set out in the Department Staffing Circular 0007/2012. Under these arrangements a network of over 2,500 full-time resource posts has been put in place in close to 1,700 base schools throughout the country. The list of these schools and the criteria used to select them is set out in the published circular.
These resource posts are allocated on a permanent basis and the teachers in them will undertake NCSE approved (low incidence) resource hours in the base schools or in neighbouring schools. Schools that are unable to access these hours are approved mainly for temporary part-time posts. It is also open to schools to make a joint application for a full-time temporary resource post. The schools referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for such a post. However as they did not have sufficient hours to warrant the full-time post they were each approved for part-time posts.
116. Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Education and Skills following the formal establishment of Quality and Qualifications Ireland, when will new applications for training provider registration be processed and if any further guidelines, frameworks and the development of codes need to be establish prior to applications being accepted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50228/12]
View answerI formally established Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) on Tuesday 6 November. This involved the amalgamation of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC). Significant work has been completed by those bodies on core administrative preparations for the establishment of the new Authority. However, the establishment of QQI also involves the amalgamation of processes, including ones that have operated differently in the different agencies due to the history and nature of the different sectors. This will require the reconfiguration of current services such as the registration process for new providers, the validation and accreditation of programmes, the monitoring and review of providers and the development, review and certification of awards. This will include the development of formal guidelines, criteria and procedures pursuant to the new Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act 2012.
It is anticipated that new applications will be accepted by QQI from Spring 2013.
117. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding schools in Clontarf; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50296/12]
View answerThe salaries of teachers employed within the approved annual staffing allocation for fee charging schools by my Department, are paid by the State; an arrangement that pre-dates the introduction of the Free Education scheme and which exists since the foundation of the State. The estimated cost of these posts is in the order of €100m.
The Deputy will be aware that I announced a review last December, in the context of the Budget 2012, where I made a further one point change to the staffing allocation of fee charging schools. I indicated at the time that the purpose of the review would be to inform future policy in relation to exchequer support for these schools.
The review will be included in the material used to inform Government deliberations on the next budget.
I would like to make it clear that there has been no decision relating to fee paying schools and any budget adjustments for this year.
Given the extremely difficult economic circumstances that this country is facing and the fact that every Department has to find considerable cost-savings, all expenditure must be examined to see if cost-savings can be found.
I wish to reiterate that no decisions in relation to the upcoming Budget have been made.
118. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the higher education grant applications in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Mayo; the reason for the delay in processing their applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50326/12]
View answerOfficials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that in the case of the first student referred to by the Deputy a grant has been awarded and an award letter issued on 13th November, 2012.
In the case of the second student referred to by the Deputy a grant has been awarded and an award letter issued on 12th November, 2012.
119. Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will expedite a grant application in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50339/12]
View answerOfficials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that in the case of the student referred to by the Deputy a grant has been awarded and an award letter issued on 13th November, 2012.
