Written Answers Nos. 95-106
95. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a decision on a student grant will be expedited in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53453/12]
View answerOfficials in my Department have confirmed with SUSI, the new centralised grant awarding authority, that supporting documentation was received from the student referred to by the Deputy on 28th November and his application will be reviewed shortly. SUSI will contact the student directly in relation to the outcome.
96. Deputy Dan Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills the person who makes the decisions regarding the supplementary panel for primary teachers; the number currently on the supplementary panel for west Limerick; if after 5 November the panel will be frozen; if there are persons on it that do not have a job, if they go back down to the end of the panel again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53461/12]
View answerThe arrangements for panel access for fixed term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers for 2012/13 school year are set out in Department Circular 0012/2012. The panels set up in accordance with the arrangements set out in this circular were used for appointments to full-time permanent teaching posts but only where those posts were not otherwise required to facilitate the redeployment of surplus permanent teachers. The closing date for application under this circular was Friday, 20 April, 2012. Under the staffing arrangements for the current school year which are set out in Department Circular 0007/2012 the latest date for filling a permanent post on a permanent basis through the subsidiary/supplementary panels was the first working day of November. Thereafter, unless there is a surplus permanent teacher to be redeployed, posts are filled on a fixed term basis and if sustained by a school will be filled from the relevant redeployment panel in the 2013/14 school year.
My Department has just recently published Circular 0038/12 setting out the arrangements for panel access for fixed term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel for the 2013/14 school year. The closing date for application is 14 December, 2012.
The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers to other schools that have vacancies. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to the Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and ceiling on teacher numbers.
Thereafter, schools are required under the panel arrangements to fill permanent vacancies from panels (subsidiary and supplementary) set up of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers. For the 2012/13 school year there were close to 1,700 such teachers on these panels. In any given year there will be a number of teachers on these panels that do not secure a permanent post.
All circulars referenced are available on my Department's website.
97. Deputy Dara Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the provision of the Education Act 1998, Section 14, a new board of management for a school (details supplied) has not been put in place,; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53470/12]
View answerIn accordance with the provisions of the Education Act 1998, the appointment of a Board of Management of a school is a matter for the relevant school patron. Under the provisions of this Act, where a patron determines that the appointment of a board is not practicable, or where the patron, with the consent of the Minister, has dissolved a board of management, the patron may appoint a manager or managers to perform the functions of the board.
In the case of the school in question, I have, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Education Act 1998, approved the patron's request to appoint a single manager to manage the school.
98. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will explain the way a person (details supplied) in County Laois was awarded 100% Student Universal Support Ireland contribution on 9 October 2012 and a month later on 19 November 2012 is sent a letter stating that it has been reduced to 50%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53474/12]
View answerThe Deputy will appreciate that in the context of Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) having received in excess of 66,000 applications that some errors may inevitably arise when handling a high volume of applications within a relatively short timeframe. While every effort is made by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) to ensure that applicants are processed correctly, SUSI regrets in this instance that the applicant received an incorrect letter and regrets any inconvenience caused to the applicant.
99. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding funding for secondary schools (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53475/12]
View answerThe charging of fees by a school is permissible only in the case of recognised fee-charging second level schools.
All other recognised schools are precluded from charging school fees. Voluntary contributions by parents of pupils in such recognised schools are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own volition. The manner in which such voluntary contributions are sought and collected is a matter for school management; however their collection should be such as not to create a situation where either parents or pupils could reasonably infer that the contributions take on a compulsory character.
100. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a special needs assistant will be provided for a child (details supplied) in Dublin 15; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53487/12]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of such supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.
All schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, have been advised by the NCSE of their SNA staffing allocation for the current school year. Details of the allocations which have been made to each school are available at www.ncse.ie.
The NCSE allocates a level of SNA support for each school annually taking into account the care needs of all of the qualifying children enrolled in the school. SNAs should then be deployed by schools in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
Where schools have enrolled new pupils with special educational needs who were not considered at the time that the allocations for the 2012/13 school year were made, or where schools are in a position to demonstrate that they cannot cater for the care needs of qualifying children from the level of SNA support which has been assigned to them, they may apply to the NCSE for additional SNA support or for a review of their SNA allocation. The NCSE has capacity to allocate new SNA posts to schools where these criteria are met.
All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
101. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the construction of a new school (details supplied) in County Kerry; the anticipated completion date for this project; if he will ensure that the project continues to be a priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53491/12]
View answerThe major school building project referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of Architectural Planning. The Design Team has recently submitted the Stage 1 Report for this project and this is currently under review by my Department.
This project has been included on the five year construction programme to progress to Tender & Construction in 2015/16.
102. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the construction of a new school (details supplied) in County Kerry; the anticipated completion date for this project; if he will ensure that the project continues to be a priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53492/12]
View answerThe school referred to has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA). The NDFA has recently appointed a Design Team to advance this project which is currently scheduled for delivery during 2014/2015 as announced under the Five Year Plan.
103. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the construction of a new school (details supplied) in County Kerry; the anticipated completion date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53493/12]
View answerThe school referred to has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA). The NDFA has recently appointed a Design Team to advance this project which is currently scheduled for delivery during 2014/2015 as announced under the Five Year Plan.
104. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider his view in relation to the allocation of the 10 local authority members, where more than one local authority will fall within the Education and Training Board area, where he considers that population, based on the most recent census, is the most appropriate and fair way to devise the proportions in which each local authority will be represented on the new bodies [53519/12]
View answerThe Education and Training Boards Bill sets out to merge the existing 33 VECs and their administrations into 16 new entities. It does not, in any way, seek to tamper with the allocation of resources for schools, further education centres, or other educational programmes provided by the VECs. Each of the new Boards together with the CEO as the accountable person will have to account for the use of resources provided to the Board for education provision in the entire area which it covers. Existing processes within the Department for resource allocation in respect of educational establishments under the auspices of any Education and Training Board will still continue and the Board/CEO will be accountable for deployment of any such resources for the purposes for which they have been allocated.
Consequently, I am satisfied that allocation of the 10 local authority members where more than one local authority will fall within the ETB area, on the basis of population, based on the most recent census, is the most appropriate and fair way to devise the proportions in which each local authority will be represented on the new boards.
105. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 82 of 22 November 2012, if payments due in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare will be paid immediately; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53533/12]
View answerI understand that payment issued to the student referred to by the Deputy on 19th October and 23rd November 2012.
106. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that the student assistance fund will not expire for the 2013/2014 academic year, and that it will continue in place; his views that there is an even greater need for the fund in the present economic circumstance in view of the acute increase in the numbers of students availing or attempting to avail of the fund recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53573/12]
View answerThe objective of the Student Assistance Fund is to assist students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise, due to their financial circumstances, be unable to continue their third level studies. The Fund is managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of my Department and is funded under the National Development Plan, with assistance from the European Social Fund.
The budget for the Student Assistance Fund has increased from €5m in 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11 academic years to €9m in 2011/12 while it stands at €8m for the current academic year.
My Department has asked the HEA for an up to date report on the demand for the scheme. I have no plans at present to discontinue the Fund.
Examinations are taking place across all areas of Government spending which will inform funding allocations for the coming years. In this context, I am sure the Deputies will appreciate that in line with normal practice I am unable to comment on the available funding allocation for next year during the budgetary deliberative process.
