Written Answers Nos. 58-69
58. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna cén uair a chuirfear tús leis an athbhreithniú ar an gcóimheas dalta le múinteoir i ndáil leis na scoileanna ar na hoileáin a d’fhógair sé an 9 Aibreán sa Dáil; cén uair a chríochnófar é; an bhfuil sé i gceist é a fhoilsiú; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [19762/14]
View answerDéanfaidh mé socruithe chun go n-eiseofar freagra ina leith seo chuig an Teachta go díreach.
59. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans in relation to the continued funding of the guidance councillor at a college (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19788/14]
View answerSince September 2012 guidance provision is now provided from within the overall staffing allocation of all schools including the school referred to by the Deputy. The alternative to this budget measure was to increase the standard 19:1 PTR.
While the budget measure affected the resources available to schools, schools have greater autonomy to determine how they deploy their teaching resources across the competing needs of the school. I am confident schools act in the best interests of students when determining how best to use the teaching resources available to them.
Guidance and counselling is a whole school responsibility with guidance counsellors playing their part within an overall team approach. The representative organisations for School Principals and school management developed a framework that assists schools on how best to manage the provision of guidance from within their staffing allocation. Wherever possible, group work and class based activity should be used to maximise the amount of time available for those pupils that are in most need of one to one support.
60. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on correspondence regarding a school (details supplied) in County Cork. [19800/14]
View answerThe Major Building Project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, Stage 2b - Detailed Design which includes applications for planning permission, Fire Safety Certification, Disability Access Certification and the preparation of tender documents. Once the Stage 2b Submission for the project has been received and assessed, my Department will be in touch with the school authority regarding the potential progression of the project to tender and construction at that time.
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 increasing demographic requirements, it was not possible to include the project referred to by the Deputy in the five year construction programme.
However, school building projects, including the project referred to by the Deputy, which have been initiated but not included in the current five year construction programme will continue to be progressed to final planning stages in anticipation of the possibility of further funds being available to the Department in the future.
As an interim measure, in order to meet the immediate accommodation needs at the school, my Department has approved a 100 sq m ASD temporary unit for September 2014.
61. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 51 of 9 April 2014, if he will provide the specific peer reviewed research that supports and demonstrates the effectiveness of the treatment and education of autistic communication handicapped children approach; and if more than one specific piece of research was used as reference, if he will provide a list of same. [19820/14]
View answerAs I outlined to the Deputy previously in a response to a Parliamentary Question of 9 April 2014, there is not an individual specific piece of research that supports and demonstrates the effectiveness of any one approach to the education of children with autism or my Department's child–centred policy on the education of children with special educational needs including autism.
My Department's child-centred policy is based on advice received from NEPS; the Inspectorate and the report of the Irish Task Force on Autism and takes full account of advice from a range of international experts on autism. The various contributors who have informed this policy and a list of their research are too numerous to mention but the Deputy may wish to note that the Task Force for Autism Report is available on my Department's website and includes a detailed bibliography.
As the Deputy is aware the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is currently preparing Policy Advice on the Educational Provision for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The NCSE has advised my Department that the Policy Advice will be delivered in the spring of 2015 and will draw upon findings gathered from an extensive consultation process which has already commenced.
I expect that the NCSE final report will reflect the broadest possible range of views and provide recommendations which will assist the development of policy for future years.
62. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 51 of 9 April 2014, if all recommendations outlined in the report on the Irish Task Force on Autism 2001 were implemented. [19821/14]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy the Task Force on Autism made many recommendations concerning broad educational provision for children on the autistic spectrum from preschool through to third level. These recommendations provided a basis for the development of educational services and supports for children with autism including the establishment of a range of options for children with autism spectrum disorders, training for teachers in autism-specific approaches and interventions and early educational intervention.
In responding to the recommendations, my Department has given priority to implementing the core legislative and structural measures required to underpin service development and delivery. Many recommendations but not all have been implemented.
63. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 52 of 9 April 2014, in relation to communications referred to by him with the Division TEACCH in the University of North Carolina, USA, the names of the persons who have been contacted representing the Division TEACCH; and if any reports-policy documents-meeting minutes and so on are available in relation to any communication between the SESS and Division TEACCH. [19822/14]
View answer64. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 52 of 9 April 2014, as he has stated that the SESS works with Division TEACCH in the University of North Carolina, USA, in relation to the TEACCH approach two day teacher courses offered by the SESS, if the SESS worked with any university or advisory body in relation to the course they offer to teachers in ABA. [19823/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 63 and 64 together.
Policy on the programmes, interventions and supports for children in education is a matter for my Department. Decisions in this regard are informed by research and advices received covering a range of matters including pedagogy, school curriculum, special needs and child development. The role of the SESS is to attend to the training needs of teachers on foot of these decisions.
In selecting and developing suitable programmes, the service is guided by advices from my Department, aegis bodies of the Department where appropriate, relevant research and best practice. My Department is satisfied that research does not support the exclusive usage of any one approach as a basis for national educational provision for children with autism. It is for this reason that the preferred policy is for a child centred approach based on the individual child's needs. It is important that children have access to a range of approaches so that their broader needs can be met. While ABA helps to improve behaviour, other approaches, such as Treatment and Education of Autistic Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) and Picture Exchange Communications System (PECS) are just as important in developing children's communication and speech skills. SESS engages annually with the Director of TEACCH Autism Program TEACCH provider - University of North Carolina, USA to provide access to teachers in Ireland to either a two-day or five-day TEACCH course. Teachers attend for training as required. The SESS has developed the Contemporary Applied Behaviour Analysis (C-ABA) Course under the direction of Dr Patsy Daly. This course provides an introduction to ABA for practicing teachers in special education settings in Irish schools. The course trains teachers to 'design, implement and evaluate' interventions to change the behaviour of students in their care. This course is accredited within the context of the Post-Graduate Certificate/Diploma of Continuing Professional Development for Teachers working with Students with Special Educational Needs (Autism) by the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG).
65. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he has examined the submission from representatives of a school (details supplied) in County Kildare in connection with the request for a Gaelcholáiste to meet the second level educational requirements in terms of school places for the children already attending these schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19840/14]
View answerMy Department has no record of the submissions to which the Deputy refers.
However, the Deputy will be aware that a new post-primary school is opening in the north Kildare area in September 2014 and this new school will have an all-Irish Aonad. This supplement all-Irish post primary provision in the area.
My Department has confirmed that if sufficient demand for education through the medium of Irish in the Aonad is demonstrated over a four year cycle, consideration will be given to the establishment of an independent Gaelcholáiste.
66. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the advertising spend by each of the agencies under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19794/14]
View answerExpenditure on advertising by the Agencies of my Department is a day-to-day matter for the individual Agencies concerned for which I have no direct function.
I have asked all Agencies under the aegis of my Department to provide me with the most recent information on advertising expenditure incurred by them and I will communicate this information to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
67. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the supports available to a person to establish their own physiotherapy clinic; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19815/14]
View answerAnyone interested in starting their own business should in the first instance contact their Local Enterprise Office (LEO). The LEOs support the indigenous micro-enterprise sector in the start-up and expansion phases and stimulate enterprise potential at local level. They are the first port of call in terms of advice, direction, training and grant support for anyone who wishes to start a business. Contact details for the LEOs are available on www.localenterprise.ie.
The LEOs generally only grant assist enterprises in the manufacturing or internationally traded services sector, which over time can develop into strong export entities and graduate to the Enterprise Ireland portfolio. Retail or locally trading enterprises are ineligible for direct financial support from the LEOs due to concerns over displacement (where grant-assisted projects simply displace business from other players in the local market).
However, anyone setting up or operating a business can benefit from participating in the LEO non-financial or “soft” support programmes. All locally trading businesses, including start-ups, can avail of non-financial assistance from their LEO in the form of a wide range of business advice and information services, management capability training and development programmes, e-Commerce training initiatives, etc. Training courses include such topics as start-your-own-business (SYOB), taxation for beginners, internet marketing, ideas generation and negotiation skills.
In addition, any start-up can use the LEOs as a gateway to accessing finance from Micro Finance Ireland, which offers support in the form of loans of up to €25,000 to start-up, newly established or growing microenterprises employing less than 10 people with viable business propositions that do not meet the conventional risk criteria applied by the banks. The Fund has a significant entrepreneurship focus and is open to anyone with a viable business proposal. Applications for the Microfinance Fund should be channelled through the local LEO.
68. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will review the refusal of work permit in the case of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 1 who has been in continuous employment in this country for several years. [19846/14]
View answerAn application in respect of the person named by the Deputy was refused by my Department on 11th April 2014 for the following reasons. It appeared from the information received supporting the application that the position on offer was one of the occupations currently ineligible for a new employment permit. In addition it appeared that insufficient efforts were made to recruit an Irish or EEA/Swiss National for this position by advertising with DSP Employment Services/EURES and also in national or local newspapers or on a job website (other than DSP). Finally, the level of remuneration offered in respect of a post for which a permit was sought was less than the minimum remuneration of €30,000 per annum required.
The applicant in this case may request that this decision be reviewed in accordance with Section 13 the Employment Permits Act, 2006, within twenty-one days from the date of the refusal letter that issued in respect of this application. Any such submission, addressed to the Appeals Officer, Employment Permits Section, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Davitt House, Adelaide Road, Dublin 2, will be considered on the basis of the evidence available to my Department and any further information of relevance that the applicant may wish to submit. To date no such request for a review has been received from the applicant.
69. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the reason for the revocation of a work permit in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare in view of the pivotal nature of their employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19847/14]
View answerA work permit issued to the person named by the Deputy on 16th January 2013 that covered the employment period 16th January 2013 to 15th January 2015. Inspectors of The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), in their capacity as Authorised Officers under the Employment Permits Acts, inspected the records of the employer in relation to the named permit holder.
On the basis of the findings of the NERA inspections, my Department, under the terms of Section 16(1) (d) of the Employment Permits Act, 2006, wrote to both the employer and employee in this case on 4th April 2014 to indicate that a decision had been taken to revoke the permit. They were also advised that a request to review this decision may be made under Section 17 of the Employment Permits Act, 2006. Such a request was received in my Department on 22nd April 2014 and this matter is now receiving consideration.
