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Tuesday, 9 Jul 2013

Written Answers Nos. 195-210

Education and Training Boards Funding

Questions (195)

Gerald Nash

Question:

195. Deputy Gerald Nash asked the Minister for Education and Skills the support available from his Department to the Louth Meath Education and Training Board in its efforts to ensure the provision of playing pitches at the school campus in Laytown, County Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32938/13]

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Written answers

I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is currently considering the matter to which he refers and a response will be conveyed to the applicant as soon as this process has been completed. The matter will be considered in the context of the financial constraints within which my Department is operating and the priority to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department has already provided significant P.E. facilities at the newly constructed primary and post primary schools in Laytown. Two General Purpose Rooms, three External Ball Courts and two Junior Play areas were provided at the new primary school. In addition, a P.E. Hall and six External Hard Court Play areas were provided at the post-primary school. Similar facilities will be provided at the remaining primary school due to be constructed in the area. I understand that the former VEC has previously developed a one acre pitch on the campus.

Physical Education

Questions (196)

Michael McCarthy

Question:

196. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will facilitate an application for funding for a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32944/13]

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Written answers

I can confirm that my Department received correspondence in relation to funding for the provision of an all-weather pitch at the school refered to by the Deputy.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department's priority is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil numbers. In the circumstances, I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is not in a position to provide funding for the works concerned.

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Questions (197)

Pat Breen

Question:

197. Deputy Pat Breen asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the provision of special needs assistants services in schools in County Clare; if the level of service will be maintained for the 2013/14 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32948/13]

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Written answers

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.

SNA allocations are made to schools by the NCSE annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support each year.

All schools were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15th March 2013.

Details of the SNA allocations which have been made to schools by the NCSE for the 2013/2014 school year are now available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie, which provides details of the SNA allocations for each school on a school by school and per county basis.

Where schools have enrolled children who were not considered at the time that these allocations were made, or where schools are seeking a revision to the quantum of SNA support which has been allocated to them for the coming school year, they should contact the NCSE regarding this matter. In general a revision to SNA allocations will only be made in circumstances where schools have enrolled new pupils or where schools can demonstrate that they do not have sufficient SNA posts to cater for the care needs of all of the qualifying children in their school.

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.

School Management

Questions (198)

Simon Harris

Question:

198. Deputy Simon Harris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a student (details supplied) in County Wicklow will be offered an opportunity to repeat fifth year in a secondary school as the board of management have already consented to this request, subject to the approval of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32960/13]

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Written answers

The matter referred to by the Deputy is a matter for the school authorities. I set out a copy of the relevant circular for the Deputy's information.

The circular is available as attachment Q198circular.doc at the top of the web page.

Student Grant Scheme Appeals

Questions (199)

John O'Mahony

Question:

199. Deputy John O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will be made on an appeal on an application to Student Universal Support Ireland in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Mayo; the reason for the delay in issuing a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32966/13]

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Written answers

Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) that the applicant referred to by the Deputy was awarded the Postgraduate Fee Contribution of €2,000. She appealed the rate of the award to SUSI and they requested additional documentation. This documentation was not received and SUSI were unable to consider the appeal for the higher rate of award.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down, in writing, by SUSI, and remains of the view that SUSI has not interpreted the scheme correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the Student Grant Appeals Board. The relevant appeal form will be available on request from SUSI.

Pension Provisions

Questions (200)

Martin Ferris

Question:

200. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that retired teachers can be paid their pension into post office savings accounts. [32984/13]

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Written answers

Under the Public Service Transformation Plan, which was published in November 2011, all payments by Government Departments will be made by electronic fund transfer from August 2013.

In order to ensure continued payment of pension when Payable Orders cease to issue in August this year, my Department is currently advising the small number of retired personnel who get paid by Payable Order to make arrangements to be paid by Electronic Fund Transfer.

All banks accept EFT payments and a number of credit unions now also accept them.

I understand that work is being done by another Government Department at present with An Post to determine if it is possible to facilitate payment by Electronic Fund Transfer to State Savings Accounts. If the outcome of this work is successful my Department will try and facilitate the introduction of a similiar arrangement for retired personnel paid on our payroll.

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Questions (201)

John McGuinness

Question:

201. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a special needs assistant will be approved in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will expedite the matter. [33021/13]

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Written answers

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.

SNA allocations are made to schools by the NCSE annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support each year.

All schools were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15th March 2013.

Details of the SNA allocations which have been made to schools by the NCSE for the 2013/2014 school year are now available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie, which provides details of the SNA allocations for each school on a school by school and per county basis.

Where schools have enrolled children who were not considered at the time that these allocations were made, or where schools are seeking a revision to the quantum of SNA support which has been allocated to them for the coming school year, they should contact the NCSE regarding this matter. In general a revision to SNA allocations will only be made in circumstances where schools have enrolled new pupils, or where schools can demonstrate that they do not have sufficient SNA posts to cater for the care needs of all of the qualifying children in their school.

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.

School Transport Eligibility

Questions (202)

Robert Troy

Question:

202. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reconsider either the boundaries of the school transport scheme or the cost of the transport to a child's chosen school. [33034/13]

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Written answers

Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for 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.

Bus Éireann, which operates the school transport scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that the child referred to by the Deputy will not be attending her nearest education centre and is therefore not eligible for school transport.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply to Bus Éireann for transport on a concessionary basis subject to a number of a conditions including the availability of spare seats on an existing service and the payment of the annual charge.

The family in question should liaise with their local Bus Éireann office regarding the availability of transport on a concessionary basis for the 2013/14 school year. While it is the prerogative of parents to send their children to the school of their choice, eligibility for school transport at post primary level is to the nearest education centre/school.

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Questions (203)

Seamus Kirk

Question:

203. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a student who is in receipt of a bursary and also in receipt of a maintenance grant who is midway through their studies; if the student is entitled to continue to be in receipt of the bursary and the grant as per the student grant scheme 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33047/13]

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Written answers

Article 14 of the Student Grant Scheme 2012 sets out clearly the eligibility exclusions for a student grant. It states that a student is not eligible for a grant if he or she has been awarded or holds any grant, scholarship, prize, allowance, bursary or award of similar description made from public funds, with the exception of the following awards:

- awards such as scholarships, prizes or bursaries, made by the institution being attended;

- postgraduate research awards where the stipend portion of the award does not exceed a specified amount, which for the relevant academic year, is specified to be €16,000;

- awards to applicants under the Student Assistance Fund or the Fund for Students with Disabilities;

- Easter Week Scholarship Scheme;

- Donogh O'Malley Scholarship Scheme;

- Department of Education and Skills Third Level Bursary Schemes;

- All Ireland Scholarship Scheme; and

- Science Foundation Ireland/Dell Scholarship for Young Women in Engineering.

The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all the details that would be included in an individual student's application, it would not be possible to determine which type of bursary the student is in receipt of and consequently whether the student is entitled to hold the bursary and student grant simultaneously.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Questions (204)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

204. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an assurance that class sizes will not be allowed to expand any further; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33050/13]

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Written answers

The staffing schedule is the mechanism used for the allocation of classroom teachers to all primary schools. It operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location. The configuration of classes and the deployment of classroom teachers are done at local school level. My Department publishes annual statistics on class size data for each school. The most recent statistics are for the 2011/12 school year. The national average class size is 24.4 pupils. However, with over 20,700 classes in over 3,100 primary schools throughout the country there will always be variations in class sizes at individual school level. My Department's guidance to local school management is that such variations should be kept to the minimum.

Classroom teachers are allocated under the staffing schedule based on the pupil enrolments for the previous 30th September. However, the staffing schedule also includes provision for schools that have significant increases in their enrolment in rapidly developing areas to be allocated classroom teachers based on their projected enrolments for September 2013. The criteria for this are set out in the staffing schedule which is available on the Department website. Given the constraints on teacher numbers my Department has no capacity to put any other ameliorating measures in place.

The Deputy will be aware that the Government has protected frontline services in schools to the greatest extent possible in the recent budget and there will be no reduction in teacher numbers in primary schools and in free second level schools for the 2013/14 school year as a result of the budget. The DEIS scheme for disadvantaged schools is also fully protected with no overall changes to staffing levels or funding as a result of the budget.

Residential Institutions Issues

Questions (205)

Róisín Shortall

Question:

205. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the possibility of bringing the pension entitlements of those who received redress from the Residential Institutions Redress Board in line with those included in the proposed redress scheme for survivors of the Magdalen laundries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33069/13]

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Written answers

The Residential Institutions Redress Board provides compensation to those who suffered abuse as children in residential institutions. The independent Board makes awards in accordance with the framework set out in Towards Redress and Recovery, the report of the independent compensation advisory committee which advised on the appropriate levels of compensation. By the end of 2012, the Board had made 14,378 awards with an average award value of €62,860 and the largest being €300,500, resulting in an overall cost of the Redress Scheme of €1.1 billion. These arrangements have provided survivors of institutional child abuse with a mechanism by which they could obtain fair and reasonable financial compensation for abuses suffered, without the necessity to pursue long and often traumatic cases via the court system. In addition survivors can avail of the national counselling service and the Origins family tracing service. Conscious that many survivors continue to suffer the effects of the abuse they suffered as innocent children and in keeping with the unanimous Dáil motion, the Government agreed to establish the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund to utilise the €110 million cash contributions, pledged by the congregations, to support the needs of survivors. Supports across a range of services, including mental health services, health and personal social services, education and housing services will be available. The Board of the Fund held its inaugural meeting on 27th March and has commenced work on the arrangements to be put in place for the operation of the Fund. I believe that these measures provide a comprehensive response to institutional child abuse and I have no plans to introduce any additional measures.

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Questions (206)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

206. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills in a case where a post-primary school is over quota, if the principal and Board of Management of that school have the discretion to decide the way learning support and resource teaching hours are allocated; his Department's circular/policy document that school boards of management must adhere to when allocating resource hours to mainstream teachers at post-primary level; the policy at post-primary level that informs principals and boards of management how to give hours allocated to pupils with special needs to mainstream teachers instead of resource teachers; and if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a qualified resource teacher can lose his or her job as a result of the hours he or she should be teaching being given to a mainstream teacher because the school is in an over-quota position. [33071/13]

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Written answers

Teacher allocations to all second level schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The staffing arrangements at post primary level for the 2013/14 school year have been published and are available on the Department website. In accordance with these rules each school management authority is required to organise its subject options within the limit of its approved teacher allocation. The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24(3) of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012).

The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Questions (207)

Jonathan O'Brien

Question:

207. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of his decision to maintain the level of resource hours to those allocated in 2012/2013 the reason a college (details supplied) in Dublin 1 is receiving less resource hours for the new academic year starting in September 2013. [33072/13]

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Written answers

I assume the Deputy is referring to the allocation of additional Resource Teaching support for the school in question for the 2013/14 school year.

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teaching support to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.

All schools were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15th March 2013 and the NCSE has published details of Resource Teaching allocations for all schools on its website www.ncse.ie, based on the number of valid applications received.

I have authorised the NCSE to restore the level of resource teaching allocations which can be provided for students with special educational needs to 2012/13 levels. It is important to note, however, that schools are allocated resource teaching support in respect of pupils enrolled in the school who meet the criteria for the allocation of additional teaching support. A school's resource teaching allocation is subject to change over time therefore as pupils with special educational needs enrol or leave a school. The NCSE can only allocate resources in respect of pupils enrolled in school and for whom applications meet the criteria for the allocation of additional support.

It is open to schools to contact their SENO to discuss their application for resource teaching support using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

Departmental Correspondence

Questions (208)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

208. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received the outstanding information from a school ( details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33102/13]

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Written answers

My Department wrote to the school to which the Deputy refers in February 2013 seeking clarification on a number of matters following a visit to the school by my Department's technical staff. A response from the school authorities is still awaited.

School Transport Provision

Questions (209)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

209. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a response will issue to a query (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33115/13]

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Written answers

Due to the increased volume of administration work in relation to school transport provision generally, regrettably, it was not possible to deal with all representations.

Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that the pupil in question is currently availing of a school transport service.

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Questions (210)

Thomas Pringle

Question:

210. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills when an application for the July education programme will be assessed in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Donegal. [33150/13]

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Written answers

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that a full allocation of 40 hours under the Home Based July Provision scheme has been approved in this case. The applicant was informed of this allocation by letter dated 3 July 2013.

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