Written Answers Nos. 158-164
158. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the policy of her Department in providing bus escorts on school buses; the proportion of buses on which they are employed; and the process by which a person may apply for such a position. [42285/14]
View answerEscorts are not a feature of school transport services operating under my Department's Primary or Post Primary School Transport Schemes. However, under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs children are eligible for transport where they:
- have special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability in accordance with the designation of high and low incidence disability set out in Department of Education and Skill's (DES) Circular 02/05 and
- are attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class/special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet their special educational needs.
Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO). The SENO will advise the Department, where s/he is aware, by reference to Department criteria, from relevant professional reports or through information supplied by the School Authorities that a child's care and safety needs are such as to require the support of an escort.
The Department allocates funding to schools, for the employment of such escorts to accompany these children.
In general, escorts are employed by the Boards of Management of schools and there are currently some 1,500 escorts employed by over 400 schools nationally. Individuals wishing to apply for positions as escorts should liaise with the school authorities in the locations where they are seeking employment.
159. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding available to parents or patrons who wish to establish primary schools and secondary schools. [42290/14]
View answerThe full accommodation start-up costs of all new primary and post-primary schools are met by the Department. This will vary from school to school depending on the accommodation being provided. Furniture and equipment grants are all also paid together with staff salaries, capitation grants and book grants. Ancillary grants for caretaking and secretarial support are also provided. Permanent school buildings are fast tracked for new schools where possible because they are set up to meet demographic demands. The full cost of sites and buildings for these schools are met by the Department. This is a multi-million Euro investment by the State for each individual school. A start-up grant of €6,348.69 is also payable to each newly established primary school. At second level, a start-up grant of €20,000 is payable in respect of newly established voluntary secondary and community & comprehensive schools. Costs associated with new schools established by an Education and Training Board (ETB) are addressed in the context of the non-pay grant made available by my Department to the relevant ETB. The start-up grant is intended to defray the initial costs involved in establishing a new school. These may include the cost of advertising for and recruiting staff; administration costs; insurance; printing; legal advice and the provision of equipment such as computers, telephone and other essential office supplies.
160. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her Department's policy on children participating in religious ceremonies, such as confirmations, during school hours. [42296/14]
View answerProvision is made for the inclusion of religious education on the curriculum for primary schools. Thirty minutes of the standard school day of five hours and forty minutes is allocated for this purpose. It is the case that the vast majority of primary schools are Catholic in ethos and accordingly preparation for catholic sacraments forms part of the religious education curricula in such schools. However, parents also have the right, if so desired, to ensure that their children do not receive religious instruction. The Deputy will be aware that the Government gave approval in March of this year for drafting the Education (Admissions to Schools) Bill 2014 and the General Scheme has since been referred to the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government for drafting. Under the proposed legislation, schools will be required to publish an enrolment policy which will include details of the school's arrangements for students who do not want to attend religious instruction.
161. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to abolish fees for graduate entry to medicine; the actions she will take to ease the financial burden on graduate entry medical students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42314/14]
View answerUnder the Universities Act, 1997, universities are autonomous statutory institutions. They are academically independent and the level of tuition fees charged for their Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) programmes is a matter for the institutions themselves to determine. GEM students pursue these programmes as second degree courses and consequently are not eligible for free fees funding or for student grants. However, in order to widen access to GEM programmes, and give assistance towards the financial burden on each student pursuing these programmes, the fees of participating EU students are partly subsidised by the State via the Higher Education Authority. For the 2014/2015 academic year, this subsidy amounted to €9,500 per annum in respect of each EU student participating in GEM programmes in the State. In addition the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides tax relief, at the standard rate, for tuition fees paid in respect of approved courses.
162. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements in place to recoup any improper disbursements made by the secondary education committee; the arrangements in place to recoup such improper disbursements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42315/14]
View answer163. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will indicate whence permission was given to the secondary education committee to make any disbursement from the education grant or block grant to the benefit of a Roman Catholic child even if that child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42316/14]
View answer164. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if any agreement or arrangement ever existed prior to 26/27 January 2011, of any type or description, which permitted the secondary education committee to make any disbursement from the education grants, block grant paid to it to the benefit of a Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; if she will supply a copy of any such agreement or arrangement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42318/14]
View answer169. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if between the inauguration of the education grants, block grant paid to secondary education committee scheme or grant on 1 January 2011, she authorised any disbursement from this grant to benefit any Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42375/14]
View answer170. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if any official in her Department or its successors at any time, between the inauguration of the secondary education committee scheme or grant and 1 January 2011, properly authorised any disbursement from this grant to benefit any Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42376/14]
View answer171. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the secondary education committee assumed permission of its own accord to make any disbursement from the education grants, block grant paid to the secondary education committee scheme to the benefit of a Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42377/14]
View answer172. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the secondary education committee at any time, between the inauguration of this education grants, block grant paid to secondary education committee scheme or grant and 1 January 2011, authorised any disbursement from this grant to benefit any Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; the legal basis for doing so; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42378/14]
View answer173. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the secondary education committee was permitted by her Department to make any disbursement from the education grants, block grants paid to the secondary education committee scheme to the benefit of a Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is member of a Protestant denomination; if parents signed the application form in all cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42379/14]
View answer174. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills the dates or periods of time which the secondary education committee was knowingly permitted by her Department to make any disbursement from the education grants, block grant paid to secondary education committee scheme or grant to the benefit a Roman Catholic child, even if the child had one parent who is a member of a Protestant denomination; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42382/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 162 to 164, inclusive, and 169 to 174, inclusive, together. The Protestant Block Grant is a fund provided by my Department to the Secondary Education Committee (SEC), an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the Protestant secondary schools. The SEC administers the fund provided by my Department. The SEC disburses funds to the Protestant second level schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding amounts to €6.75 million annually. Prior to 2011 there was no detailed written agreement between my Department and the SEC, however the general understanding was that the Block Grant represented a student support to enable children of the Protestant community to attend faith based schools. In 2011 a formal agreement between the Department of Education and Skills and the SEC in relation to the Protestant Block Grant was put in place. Paragraph 2 of this agreement states that "The purpose of the scheme will continue to be the provision of funding to assist necessitous children of the Protestant community in accessing second level education in a school that accords with their faith tradition." The agreement further states that "In order to determine a pupil's eligibility for support under the Scheme, the Secondary Education Committee will confine support to pupils comprehended by the objective set in paragraph 2 and will operate a financial means test."
