Written Answers Nos. 91 - 99
91. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) in County Meath may expect to receive faster broadband; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25964/13]
View answerUnder the Schools Broadband Access Programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary schools. All contracts under the Schools Broadband Access Programme were re-tendered last year under a public procurement competition. As a result of this the number of service providers has been expanded from 6 to 13 with the aim of ensuring that where available satisfactory solutions would be awarded to schools. The Department is aware of the difficulty that some schools, such as Culmullen National School have with their broadband service. Through the public procurement process the Department has sought as far as possible to reduce the reliance on satellite services and the number of schools awarded a satellite connection has fallen from approximately 1,800 in 2005 to approximately 200 at present. Satellite connections and some other slower connections were only awarded where no other solution was proposed and contracts for these connections were only awarded for one year. These schools will be re-tendered in a mini-competition this August to see if better solutions are available to be awarded. In addition to this the Department continually liaises with service providers to try and ensure that where possible improved connections will be made available.
92. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 103 of 21 March 2013, if the review which he has undertaken has now been completed; if he will make the contents of same available; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25965/13]
View answerThe position is that the issue, as referred to by the Deputy, is still under consideration by my Department.
93. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the positions of 17 teachers who are employed by the International School of Martyrs, Tripoli, Libya, a school at which students sit the Irish leaving certificate, and who are owed an estimated €200,000 from the school management; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25989/13]
View answerThe International School of Martyrs (ISM) is a private educational institution located in Tripoli, Libya. The Irish Leaving Certificate examination is offered each year to candidates in the school. The role of the State Examinations Commission (SEC) is to provide examinations to candidates who have been entered for either the Junior or Leaving Certificate and in this regard I am informed by the SEC that it engages with the ISM school authorities on the delivery of the Leaving Certificate examinations for students from the school. For the purpose of the examination system ISM candidates are bound by the same rules and programmes as all other pupils taking the examinations, pay their examination fees to the State Examinations Commission (SEC) and sit their examinations under the same conditions. Teachers working at ISM are directly recruited and engaged as employees of that school. Their terms and conditions are private contractual matters between themselves and the school authorities. Neither the SEC nor my Department has a role in relation to internal management or contractual issues between school employees and their employers.
94. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an appeal for a Student Universal Support Ireland grant will be expedited in respect of persons (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25993/13]
View answerAn appeal from the persons in respect of whose details were supplied by the Deputy was received in my Department on 7th May 2013 and is due for consideration by the Independent Student Grants Appeals Board on the 18th June 2013.
95. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the number of retired secondary school teachers who are on his Department's payroll; the percentage of these who have pensions which fall into categories of between €10,000 to €20,000, between €20,000 to €30,000, between €30,000 and €40,000, between €40,000 and €50,000 and of €60,000 or more per year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25998/13]
View answerThere are 9,697 retired voluntary secondary and community and comprehensive school teachers in receipt of pension from my Department's retired teachers' payroll. The percentage details in respect of this group of retired teachers are set out in the attached table.
Table of Retired Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive School Teachers
|
Category of Pension |
percentage retired teachers per category |
|
0 to €10,000 |
5.15% |
|
€10,001 to €20,000 |
11.31% |
|
€20,001 to €30,000 |
19.65% |
|
€30,001 to €40,000 |
49.43% |
|
€40,001 to €50,000 |
11.50% |
|
€50,001 to €60,000 |
2.93% |
|
Over €60,000 |
0.03% |
96. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider reversing the non-alleviation in the reduction of teaching posts as a result of the increase in the pupil-teacher ratio for post-primary certificate courses for Mayo Vocational Education Committee courses; his views on whether it is unreasonable that the alleviation was not applied pro rata to all VEC courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26037/13]
View answerAs the Deputy wil be aware, all VECs were invited to forward impact statements to my Department on the effect of the regression in the pupil teacher ratio (PTR) on PLC provision. Following the review of all impact statements received some alleviation of the reduction in teaching posts is being allowed to those VECs who were losing six or more posts as a transitional measure for the next academic year. County Mayo VEC is due to lose 2.87 whole time equivalent teaching posts as a result of the regression in the PTR. As a result, it has not received any alleviation.
97. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills the resolution that will be offered to the pension difficulties of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26075/13]
View answerThe pensions of some retired public servants, including some teachers, are coordinated with social welfare benefits where the pensioner had paid full rate Class A PRSI during some or all of his/her employment. Class A rate PRSI payment brings with it an entitlement to a State pension payable by the Department of Social Protection. The State pension becomes payable at age 65. As some public servants (particularly teachers) retire significantly earlier than age 65, their occupational pension may, on application and subject to certain criteria, be augmented by the payment of a supplementary pension by the occupational pension provider. The purpose in paying a supplementary pension is to ensure that such public servants who paid Class A rate PRSI are not disadvantaged in the period between their retirement and their receipt of the State pension. One of the conditions attaching to the award of a supplementary pension is that its payment should cease or be reduced, as appropriate, where the pensioner becomes entitled to a state pension. Cessation of the supplementary pension occurs where the rate of State pension payable is greater than the rate of the supplementary pension which was in payment.
The person to whom the Deputy refers applied for and was awarded a supplementary pension following retirement from teaching. It has been established that the person to whom the Deputy refers is currently receiving a State pension. As a result of this, payment of supplementary pension from my Department has been discontinued. Payment of the occupational pension continues in the normal way. While my Department must cease payment of the supplementary pension in accordance with the terms of the statutory pension scheme, the issues raised by the person to whom the Deputy refers will be addressed in a sensitive manner.
98. Deputy John Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 231 of 5 March 2013, the progress that has been made by the new Quality and Qualifications Ireland to finally enable aspirant providers to apply for FETAC level accreditation; and when new applications will be accepted. [26083/13]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that, since his previous question on this issue, QQI have published a number of Green Papers on various policy areas which are available on the QQI website, dealing with subjects such as Awards and Standards, Certification, Access to Programme Accreditation, Recognition of Prior Learning and Quality Assurance. The purpose of these Green Papers is to inform the Comprehensive Policy Development Programme which QQI is undertaking with all of its stakeholders. Consultation events held by QQI in Dublin on 20 May and Cork on 28 May were attended by approximately 500 stakeholders and will inform the development of policy.
Following the receipt of submissions from interested parties over the summer months, new policies will be introduced in September to enable those providers who do not currently have a relationship with QQI to have access to external quality assurance and awards. It should be noted that while QQI has not been accepting new applications for recognition while these policies are being developed, it has been liaising with the providers concerned. In March 2013, QQI issued a questionnaire to 105 such providers and it continues to issue the questionnaire to potential applicants. The purpose of the questionnaire is to gather information on the providers and will assist when the provider application process reopens.
99. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline his Department's work in generating new assessment methods using computers for both primary and secondary schools; if he envisages any traditional core subjects being examined on computers in schools here in view of the shift towards computer based examination in other member states; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26152/13]
View answerI will be looking at different assessment methods in the context of the work currently taking place at primary and post-primary - both junior cycle and senior cycle. My Department will evaluate the different options in the context of their educational content and their relevance to the quality learning experience for students in the first instance. However, no specific decision has been taken to introduce assessment methods using computers in the near future.
