Written Answers Nos. 107-18
107. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of school teachers, primary and post primary, that have been dismissed, sacked or services terminated here to date; if he will provide the exact figures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53611/12]
View answerSection 24 of the Education Act 1998, as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012, provides that the appointment, suspension and dismissal of teachers are the responsibility of boards of management of recognised schools or, where the employer is a person other than a board, by that person. An example of the latter would be a vocational education committee.
Under Circulars 59/2009 (VEC schools) and 60/2009 (all other schools) procedures were agreed relating to both professional competence issues and procedures relating to work, conduct and matters other than professional competence. This agreement was made under the terms of Towards 2016 and the procedures were issued in September 2009.
The Department is informed of a case going through the disciplinary procedures in two situations. The first is in the case of unsatisfactory performance where the Inspectorate may be required to participate in an assessment of performance under Stage 3 of the agreed procedures. The second is in the event that a teacher wishes to appeal the proposed disciplinary action. In this case the appeal is to a Disciplinary Appeal Panel appointed by the board of management or VEC. The Department nominates the chairperson of the panel and provides a secretariat to support the work of the panel. The final decision in respect of the appeal panel recommendation rests with the school's employer.
Under Stage 3 of the agreed procedures the Inspectorate have been informed of 2 cases of unsatisfactory performance, 1 in respect of a primary teacher and 1 in respect of a post-primary teacher. In both cases the Inspectorate could not complete their assessment of performance as the teachers resigned from their posts prior to the completion of their assessments.
Since the introduction of the agreed procedures, a total of 15 appeals (Stage 5) under the disciplinary procedures have been received. Of the 6 cases that related to dismissal, 2 were not upheld, 2 were upheld, 1 was upheld with a recommendation and 1 is pending.
Outside of these processes, the Department does not keep statistics on individual cases.
108. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a suitable site has been identified in respect of a college campus development (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53612/12]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, County Donegal VEC sought submissions for suitable sites to accommodate the campus development to which he refers. The VEC has advised my Department that no suitable site has been identified, however, a number of sites are being assessed by the VEC in conjunction with the relevant Local Authority. The acquisition of a site will be considered in the context of the capital budget available to my Department for school buildings generally.
109. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if grant assistance will be approved in respect of emergency works at a school (details supplied) in County Cavan, if urgent consideration will be given to this application as these necessary improvement works need to be undertaken without delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53631/12]
View answerMy Department has no record of having received an application from the school in question for emergency funding to replace the boiler. Should an application be received from the school authority it will be assessed and the school authorities notified of the outcome.
110. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if teachers in primary and secondary schools instructing in physical education require any specific qualifications or training in order to perform their role as physical educators, and what these qualifications are. [53637/12]
View answerThe Teaching Council is the body with statutory responsibility for the registration of teachers including the recognition of qualifications. There are a number of qualifications in physical education which have been recognised by the Council. As each application for registration is considered on its own merits any query relating to a particular qualification should be addressed directly to the Council.
As Physical Education is part of the primary curriculum, teachers registered under Regulation Two (Primary) are qualified to teach physical education on the basis of their registration.
111. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is concerned about a lack of resources for the teaching of physical education in primary and secondary schools in disadvantaged areas. [53638/12]
View answerMy Department is committed to the provision, maintenance and modernisation of physical education and physical activity facilities in our schools for our children and young people.
In a new school building or major refurbishment/extension, PE facilities are included as an intrinsic part of the design.
While my Department currently has no specific grant schemes in place to provide funding for the purchase of gym equipment, primary schools received €2,000 each in PE equipment grants in 2006, at a total cost of €6.5 million. A similar grant of €4,000 per school, at an overall cost of around €3 million, issued to post-primary schools in 2007. In 2010 grant aid in excess of €16m issued to both primary and post-primary schools to allow each school address its own specific PE and outdoor equipment needs.
112. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills at what stage is the acquisition of the property, from the Mercy Order, required for the extension to a school (details supplied) to enable the amalgamation of a school; on the last report the acquisition of the site required was being dealt with under the redress scheme and the proposed build is due for the 2015/16 school year, if this timeframe can be verified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53645/12]
View answerThe acquisition of the site to which the Deputy refers is currently at pre-contract stage. My Department, through the Chief State Solicitor's Office, is currently working with the Solicitors acting on behalf of the Sisters of Mercy on the legal procedures and mechanisms required to facilitate the transfer of the lands to the Minister.
I can confirm to the Deputy that the project is listed to go to construction in 2015/16. Projects that are in a state of readiness on this list will proceed to be delivered within this timeframe.
113. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will take steps to ensure that a shortfall due to a family (details supplied) in County Westmeath will be paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53659/12]
View answerUnder the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
An eligible child for whom no transport service is available may, following an application for transport within the prescribed time limits, receive a Remote Area Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements.
This grant is payable annually at a fixed daily rate, to each eligible family, regardless of the number of children from the same family, travelling to a particular school.
The family in question has received a payment covering the years 2001 to 2010. My Department is currently liaising with Bus Éireann regarding the payment of additional arrears and will contact the family in due course.
114. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps he is taking to ensure that the Irish language is protected and promoted as part of the public service reform plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53484/12]
View answerThe Public Service Reform Plan, published in November 2011, places a strong focus on customer service and supporting individuals and businesses where and when they need it most, making their interaction with the State as simple and seamless as possible and improving the customer’s experience in engaging with Government. This also includes support for its customers in dealing with the Public Service through Irish. For example, one of the 12 Guiding Principles of the Quality Customer Service Initiative is to "Provide quality services through Irish and / or bilingually and inform customers of their right to choose to be dealt with through one or other of the official languages".
Primary national responsibility for the Irish language lies with my colleague, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. My Department is, however, supporting the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, which recognises the need for the development and strengthening of language awareness and language training programmes so that a higher proportion of Public Service staff are truly functional in Irish and can deliver services in Irish to customers who seek them.
In this regard, my Department has agreed in principle with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht that they may advance arrangements to facilitate the training and proficiency assessment of staff in the use of the Irish language in the Civil Service and certain areas of the Public Service. It is expected that arrangements to this end will be put in place from early next year.
115. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if the Industrial Development Agency can extend assistances to a local enterprise (details supplied) in view of the contribution it is making to the local economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53437/12]
View answerI am informed by IDA that they do not own any land in Kinsale but I have asked IDA to contact the individual concerned to see if they can assist him in any way.
116. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will consider introducing a Trade Union Ombudsman, which could be funded through union contributions. [53614/12]
View answerTrade unions are by their nature essentially self- governing bodies and it is a matter for the membership to determine whether, and in what manner, the rules and policies of a trade union should provide for how it deals with complaints about the service provided by the Union to its members.
The Registrar of Friendly Societies has a number of specific powers in the area of investigation/dispute resolution regarding the internal governance of trade unions:
- to investigate complaints of discriminatory treatment against a non-contributor to a political fund. The Registrar may make an order to remedy the breach, which is binding and conclusive, and not subject to appeal (section 3(2) of the Trade Union Act 1913).
- to investigate complaints under section 16(5) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990 concerning the operation of secret ballots, following which the Registrar may instruct a trade union to comply with the secret ballot provisions of the Act (section 14(2)). Where such instruction is disregarded the Registrar must inform the Minister, who may revoke the union’s negotiating licence.
- to hear disputes referred to the Registrar under section 10 of the Trade Union Act, 1975 concerning the passing of resolutions approving amalgamations of trade unions. Under this section, the Registrar may, at the request of the complainant or of the trade union, state a case for the opinion of the High Court on a question of law arising in the proceedings.
The powers of the Registrar in relation to such matters have rarely been exercised. The Registrar has no independent powers of investigation, and can only act where requested to do so on the specific areas mentioned above, or to refer a matter to the court in relation to wilful or fraudulent withholding of money. This latter option is also available to “any person” acting on behalf of a trade union.
I have no plans to provide for the introduction of a Trade Union Ombudsman as suggested by the Deputy.
117. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Social Protection if a person currently receiving jobseeker's allowance is permitted to carry out minor work for a family member, in the family members home, where no money is exchanged. [53400/12]
View answerThe jobseeker's schemes provide income support for people who are seeking their first job or have lost work and are seeking alternative employment. A fundamental qualifying condition for jobseeker’s allowance is that a person must be available for and genuinely seeking full-time work.
A person must be available for work in respect of each day for which s/he declares that s/he is unemployed. The onus is on the claimant to demonstrate that this condition is satisfied.
Subject to the circumstances of an individual case, a person engaged in an activity such as is outlined may not satisfy these criteria in relation to the days where the activity is pursued.
