Thursday, 31 Jan 2013

Written Answers Nos. 80 to 89

School Enrolments

Questions (80)

Finian McGrath

Question:

80. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding enrolment in a school (details supplied). [4956/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The question of enrolment in individual schools is the responsibility of the managerial authority of those schools. My Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking places. It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998. In this regard a Board of Management may find it necessary to restrict enrolment to children from a particular area or a particular age group or, occasionally, on the basis of some other criterion. The criteria to be applied by schools in such circumstances are a matter for the schools themselves. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants.

Under section 15 (2) (d) of the Education Act 1998, each school is legally obliged to disclose its enrolment policy and to ensure that as regards that policy that principles of equality and the rights of parents to send their children to a school of the parents choice are respected. Equality legislation, which also outlaws discrimination in relation to the admission of a student, makes provision for exemptions to apply in the case of single sex schools and in the case of schools where the objective is to provide education in an environment that promotes certain religious values. The legislation provides that any school that has this objective may admit a student of a particular religious denomination in preference to other students.

Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, provides parents with an appeal process where a board of management of a school or a person acting on behalf of the Board refuses enrolment to a student. Where a school refuses to enrol a pupil, the school is obliged to inform parents of their right under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 to appeal that decision to either the relevant Vocational Educational Committee or to the Secretary General of my Department.

The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The Board can be contacted at National Educational Welfare Board, National Headquarters, 16-22 Green Street, Dublin 7 or by telephone at 01-8738700.

The Deputy will be aware that in 2011, I launched a discussion paper on school enrolment. The "Discussion Paper on a Regulatory Framework for School Enrolment" contains suggestions on how to make the process of enrolling in schools more open, equitable and consistent and is available on the Department website. I invited education partners and interested parties to submit their views to my Department by the 28th of October 2011. The feedback from this consultation will help inform the nature and scope of a new regulatory framework for school enrolment. I intend to bring these proposals to Government in due course.

Student Grant Scheme Application Numbers

Questions (81)

Denis Naughten

Question:

81. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of student grant applications that have been received by Student Universal Support Ireland on a county basis; the number that have been processed, awarded, paid, refused or awaiting decision to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4966/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn)

The table following provides a breakdown of the processing position of student grant applications received by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) on a county basis. The data provided is at a point in time on the 30 January, 2013. It gives the position for student grant applications for attendance at both further and higher education. This data has been provided to my Department by SUSI. SUSI is continuing to make payments on a weekly basis to ensure students can get paid their grant as expeditiously as possible, once they have been awarded a grant. Those awarded a grant must supply bank account details and confirmation of registration must be received from the institution in order for the first instalment to be paid.

SUSI Applications - Processing Position by County

County	Total applications received	Incomplete Applications	Applications where all requested documentation submitted	Awarded	Refused or Cancelled	Applications currently with SUSI for processing	-	Maintenance Payments
Carlow	993	239	754	514	231	9		340
Cavan	1355	317	1038	682	335	21		525
Clare	1813	443	1370	934	410	26		662
Cork	6971	1822	5149	3288	1780	81		2242
Donegal	2935	684	2251	1571	642	38		1097
Dublin	14400	4211	10189	5833	4152	204		3855
Galway	4487	1152	3335	2218	1051	66		1472
Kerry	2510	604	1906	1270	606	30		889
Kildare	2765	679	2086	1249	797	40		853
Kilkenny	1407	340	1067	700	346	21		497
Laois	1079	260	819	563	244	12		403
Leitrim	648	158	490	326	151	13		235
Limerick	2896	813	2083	1391	658	34		888
Longford	765	184	581	380	191	10		274
Louth	2197	570	1627	1045	549	33		729
Mayo	2527	621	1906	1320	557	29		940
Meath	2462	637	1825	1153	646	26		862
Monaghan	1128	265	863	577	270	16		445
Offaly	1252	282	970	654	305	11		473
Roscommon	1199	267	932	629	279	24		442
Sligo	1239	331	908	594	293	21		392
Tipperary	2674	637	2037	1363	656	18		937
Waterford	1935	460	1475	923	535	17		591
Westmeath	1692	398	1294	848	421	25		617
Wexford	2372	529	1843	1247	577	19		895
Wicklow	1974	456	1518	935	557	26		687
Outside Ireland	258	104	154	36	114	4		12
Totals	67,933	17,463	50,470*	32,243**	17,353	874#		22,254##

* Of these in the case of some 49,596 applications processing has been completed (awarded, provisionally awarded or refused).

** This figure includes some 1,061 provisionally awarded awaiting final course acceptance and some 6,556 students awarded a "fees only grant".

# This figure includes some 133 late applications awaiting provisional assessment.

## This figure includes some students who will be paid their student grants on 01/02/13. The total number awarded and due a maintenance grant is some 2,372 students.

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Questions (82)

Michael McGrath

Question:

82. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special needs assistants employed by his Department in each year from 2005 - 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4984/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that this Government remains committed to the protection of frontline services for pupils with special educational needs. The continued commitment of this Government to special education provision, at a time when savings are being required across a range of expenditure areas has ensured that children with special educational needs can continue to have access to educational facilities in line with their requirements. In line with this Government's commitment to protect frontline services for pupils with special educational needs, 10,575 whole time equivalent (wte) Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts are being provided for primary, post-primary and special schools for the current school year in order to support the care needs of pupils with disabilities. The number of special needs assistants employed by my Department in each year from 2005 - 2012 is as follows:

Year	Number of Special Needs Assistants
2005	7,337
2006	8,390
2007	9,824
2008	10,442
2009	10,342
2010	10,543
2011	10,117 *10,320
2012	**10,390 (End Dec 2012)

*The total number of SNA posts approved by the NCSE for the 2011/12 school year was 10,320. The figure of 10,117 represents the number of posts in place at the end of Dec 2011. ** The figure of 10,390 posts at the end of 2012 are the number of WTE posts employed from the total of 10,575 posts available for allocation to the end 2012. The remaining posts are available for allocation by the NCSE to the end of the 2012/13 school year. The NCSE has advised my Department that all children who qualify for access to SNA support, in accordance with the terms of the SNA scheme, are in receipt of access to such support in the current school year.

Teacher Recruitment

Questions (83)

Michael McGrath

Question:

83. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the approximate number of qualified primary school teachers, resident here, not currently employed in the sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4987/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The information sought by the Deputy is not available in my Department. I am aware that there are newly qualified teachers not yet holding teaching positions in schools. My Department has directed managerial authorities of schools to recruit unemployed teachers ahead of retired ones, in an effort to ease the difficulties for those who cannot find work in the profession. In addition, the JobBridge National Internship Scheme can provide newly qualified teachers with opportunities to gain experience and to undertake the necessary teaching duties to complete the process of probation and fulfil the requirements for full registration with the Teaching Council. The minimum service requirement for probation purposes in order to secure registration with the Teaching Council was decreased from 170 days to 100 days in the 2011/2012 school year.

Teacher Redeployment

Questions (84)

Brendan Smith

Question:

84. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if late applications will be accepted for access to the supplementary panel for eligible fixed term/temporary including substitutes and part-time primary teachers for the 2013/2014 school year; if such requests will be given urgent consideration in view of the fact that this was a new application process; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that his Department was informed that a small number of applications were received late due to illness of the applicants at the closing date of the 14 December 2012; if this matter will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4995/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

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 supplementary panels comprised of eligible fixed-term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers. The application process for the supplementary panels was introduced for the 2012/13 school year.

The arrangements for panel access for fixed term (temporary/substitute) and part-time teachers for the 2013/14 school year are set out in Department Circular 0038/2012 which was published on 9 November 2012 and is available on the Department website. The period for submitting applications was between 9 November 2012 and 14 December 2012. The Circular made clear that late applications would not be considered. My Department has received a number of applications after the closing date which will not be processed.

Schools Building Projects Applications

Questions (85)

Brendan Smith

Question:

85. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will approve funding for a school (details supplied) in County Cavan under his Department's emergency grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4997/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

In response to Parliamentary Question No.109, dated 29 November 2012 I advised the Deputy that the school in question should submit an Emergency Works application for consideration by my Department. No such application was received until 25 January 2013 when the school submitted an application for retrospective funding for the works in question. My Department does not provide grant aid for projects undertaken by schools without prior approval.

Schools Building Projects Applications

Questions (86)

Michelle Mulherin

Question:

86. Deputy Michelle Mulherin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for a new school building (details supplied) in County Mayo; when a decision may be expected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5017/13]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning. To ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of projects to meet the increasing demographic demands will be the main focus for capital investment over the next five years, particularly in those areas where it has been identified that most future demographic growth will be concentrated.

Due to competing demands on my Department's capital budget, imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet those increasing demographic requirements, it was not possible to include the project referred to by the Deputy in the 5 year construction programme. Schools, including the one referred to by the Deputy, which have not been included in the five year construction programme, but which were announced for initial inclusion in the building programme will continue to be progressed to final planning stages in anticipation of the possibility of further funds being available to my Department in future years.

Public Procurement Tenders

Questions (87)

Dara Calleary

Question:

87. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has carried out an impact assessment in relation to the employment threat that potentially exists under the adoption of the National Procurement Service which makes it mandatory for school boards of management to purchase paper and stationery supplies from an agreed central supplier; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4836/13]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

The Public Service Reform Plan published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in November 2011 identified procurement reform as a key instrument that can assist in maintaining the delivery of public services in an efficient manner. The national arrangements put in place by the National Procurement Service are designed to enable the State to do more with less by aggregating procurement to secure better value for money. In utilising the national contracts, schools are able to take advantage of the NPS’s buying power and as a result can purchase supplies at competitive prices. This facilitates ongoing service delivery within tighter operating budgets.

In relation to the potential impact of aggregated procurement arrangements, it is worth noting that such arrangements can be implemented in a manner that achieves value for money and also facilitates SME access. While certain categories of goods and services may be suited to single supplier arrangements, it should not be taken that single supplier frameworks are to be accepted as the norm. The greater use where appropriate of multi-supplier frameworks – for example the supply of managed print services- can address local supplier issues while also ensuring ongoing cost competitiveness of the framework itself. Such multi-supplier frameworks can also offer SMEs the opportunity to participate in national level contracts, thereby offering valuable reference work when competing for public procurement contracts in other jurisdictions.

In order to encourage greater SME participation the NPS over the past 3 years has conducted a targeted programme of education for suppliers who wish to learn more about doing business with the Irish Public Service. This programme consists of seminars, workshops and large scale 'meet the buyer' events hosted nationwide. In 2012 the NPS, working with InterTradeIreland, for the first time brought together a number of the lead Government agencies to create a programme of major events for the Island of Ireland. Attendees could avail of educational seminars on a variety of topics ranging from the technicalities of public service procurement to procedures around consortia-building for SMEs. To date the NPS has facilitated workshops and presented at seminars to over 3,000 SMEs nationwide. Parallel with these events the NPS also works closely with business representative bodies such as ISME and IBEC to provide briefings for their members.

Departmental Agencies Board Appointments

Questions (88)

Billy Kelleher

Question:

88. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form the number of organisations or agencies under the aegis of his Department that have vacancies on their board; the length of time any such vacancies have been unfilled; the number of vacancies that have been advertised; the number of applications to fill such vacancies that have been received; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4864/13]

Written answers

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform

In response to the Deputy’s question the following table outlines the number of organisations or agencies under the remit of my Department that currently have vacancies on their Boards:

-	Board Vacancies	Length of time vacancy unfilled	Vacancy advertised	Applications received for vacancy
An Post National Lottery	One	One year and three months approximately.	No	None
Outside Appointments Board	One	2 months.	No	None

The Chair of the Outside Appointments Board resigned on 22nd November 2012 so it has been vacant for two months. My Department has not advertised for the post (which has no remuneration attaching to it) but is in the process of seeking potentially suitable candidates with a view to making a selection. The current National Lottery license is due to expire in 2013.

Questions Nos. 89 and 90 withdrawn.