Written Answers Nos. 430-443
430. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of resource teachers and special needs assistants who will be asked to transfer to new schools, or will lose their positions, when the National Council for Special Education reconfigures special education needs resource hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6670/15]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that last week I announced that I am not proposing to change the way teachers are allocated to schools for children with Special Educational Needs for the coming school year.
Resource Teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) will continue to be allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), in accordance with my Departments existing criteria for the coming school year, taking into account the children's assessed special educational needs.
The number of resource teachers and SNAs which will be allocate to schools for the coming year will be dependent on the number of valid applications received from schools.
However, it should be noted that it is not intended to reduce the overall number of resource teachers or SNAs which will be allocated to schools. 365 new Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts and 480 new resource teaching posts have been provided to support children with special educational needs in schools in 2015, bringing the total number of SNAs available for allocation in 2015 to 11,330 posts and the total number of resource teaching posts to 6,705. Over 11,000 resource and learning support teaching posts are now available.
This is the highest level of SNA and resource teaching allocations that we have ever had, and will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.
This Government has been resolutely committed to protecting, and where possible, increasing, the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a requirement to make expenditure reductions across a range of areas. It is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending.
431. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a top-up to the student assistance fund, in view of the fact that it has been reduced from €8 million in the last academic year to €6.6 million in the current year, and that most institutes of higher education have now spent their full allocations of the fund, and are experiencing high additional demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6685/15]
View answerThe Student Assistance Fund is a component of the Third Level Access Measure which is managed on behalf of my Department by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and comprises two sub-priorities: the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities. The Student Assistance Fund is administered on a local basis by participating higher education institutions and targets those students most in need. The overall allocation to both these funds in the 2014-15 academic year is €15.5m – the same as in 2013-14.
The determination of the allocation of this fund between the two sub-priorities is a matter for the HEA and involves balancing the needs of students with disabilities for reasonable accommodations with that of students in more general, financial need. While the overall Third Level Access Measure has remained stable, a rising demand by both students with disabilities and those in need of Student Assistance Funding has had to be accommodated within this. Both the HEA and overall education budget have been fully committed for the current academic year. The matter of whether there is scope to increase the overall Third Level Access Measure in the next academic year will be revisited as part of the budgetary process for 2015-16 academic year. This year the HEA also plan to commission an independent review of policy, guidelines and practice in relation to the Student Assistance Fund.
432. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on whether the minimum enrolment should be the only determinant as to whether a two-teacher school is retained or not; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6694/15]
View answer437. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will return to pre-2010 pupil-teacher ratios, as a matter of urgency, to protect and secure the future of two and three-teacher schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6706/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 432 and 437 together.
I will arrange for a response to be issued directly to the Deputy.
433. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the provision of broadband in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6701/15]
View answerUnder the Schools Broadband Access programme the Department provides for the supply of internet connectivity for all recognised primary schools. A new framework was put in place in 2012 for the provision of this service, as a result of this the number of service providers has been expanded from 6 to 13 with the aim of ensuring that satisfactory solutions would be awarded to all schools.
Where schools were awarded slow DSL solutions or satellite solutions, the contracts were for one year only and my Department continues to seek a higher speed solution by offering these schools for re-tender.
A mini tender competition took place at the end of 2014 and this school was included in the competition, however no improved service was offered by suppliers for this school. My Department will continue to monitor the situation and will include this school in the next mini competition which we expect to take place in April/May this year.
434. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on correspondence regarding a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6703/15]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that last week I announced that I am not proposing to change the way teachers are allocated to schools for children with Special Educational Needs for the coming school year.
In making this decision to retain the current model for allocating resource and learning support teachers for the coming year, I have been guided by the advice of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Working Group report, which recommended that sufficient time should be allowed for further consultation to take place with the education stakeholders before the new model is implemented in schools.
Through consultations which have already taken place, there was a broad welcome for the proposed new model from Parents, disability groups, schools and stakeholders. However, while there has been significant consultation in relation to the proposed new model, there has not been sufficient time to address fully all of the concerns which have been raised in advance the September 2015 school year.
In particular, a robust mechanism for identifying children with complex special educational needs has yet to be finalised. Similarly it will be important to ensure that the concerns that successful schools continue to receive appropriate levels of support to ensure that their successes can be maintained are addressed.
Work will continue in the coming months to develop the proposed model and to address the range of concerns which were identified through the consultations which have taken place so far.
I have asked my Department to design a pilot of the new model which schools could opt into on a voluntary basis. Continuing consultation with stakeholders form a vital part of the ongoing work.
The timescale for the implementation of the proposed new model for allocating special educational resource teachers to schools will therefore take into account both the results of the proposed pilot project and the ongoing consultation process.
435. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Michael P. Kitt den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna an bhfuil staidéar déanta aici ar na modhanna trína múintear an Ghaeilge, go háirithe a mhéid a bhaineann siad leis na moltaí atá sa Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge 2010 - 2030; agus an ndéanfaidh sí ráiteas ina thaobh. [5524/15]
View answerDéanann an Chigireacht monatóireacht ar cháilíocht teagaisc agus foghlama na Gaeilge i ngach bunscoil agus iar-bhunscoil mar chuid dá clár cigireachta bhliantúil. Úsáidtear réimse múnlaí cigireachta lena n-áirítear measúnuithe ar an scoil uile, cigireachtaí ábhair, cigireachtaí teagmhasacha agus cigireachtaí leantacha. Tá suirbhéanna ar thuismitheoirí agus daltaí mar chuid de mheasúnuithe ar an scoil uile.
Tá faisnéis le fáil i dtuairiscí cigireachta ar shuíomh gréasáin mo Roinne maidir le láidreachtaí agus réimsí óna dteastaíonn forbairt i scoileanna aonair i ndáil le teagasc na Gaeilge. Áirítear i dTuarascáil an Phríomhchigire forbhreathnú ar na príomhthorthaí ó thuairiscí teagmhasacha agus ar an scoil uile idir 2010 agus 2012 maidir le cáilíocht teagaisc agus foghlama na Gaeilge i mbunscoileanna agus in iar-bhunscoileanna. Tá an tuarascáil seo ar fáil ar shuíomh gréasáin mo Roinne freisin.
436. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the existing procedure regarding the amalgamation of schools being revised, as a matter of urgency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6705/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the decision making authority for school amalgamations belongs to the Patron of a school, and this is subject to the approval of the Minister for Education and Skills.
As the Deputy will appreciate, any such proposal must first involve consultation with all of the relevant stakeholders. Following the consultation process, a decision taken at local level will follow. In that regard, any proposed changes must be well planned and managed in a manner that accommodates the interests of students, parents, teachers, local communities and contributes to an inclusive education system.
All agreed proposals must be submitted to my Department. Proposals that may have major capital funding implications will also however be considered by my Department within the context of competing demands on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise available funding for the provision of essential school classroom accommodation.
438. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the proposed new gaelscoil for Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6714/15]
View answerMy Department is working closely with the relevant Local Authority in relation to securing a suitable site for the school to which the Deputy refers. This process is ongoing at present. However, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate, there are commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally and I am not in a position to comment further at this time.
439. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will expedite the fees and grant status in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6716/15]
View answerAs part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.
This service compliments the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.
440. Deputy Pat Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the building of the proposed new secondary school in Kingswood, Tallaght, Dublin 24 will commence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6762/15]
View answerThe Design Team on the project to which the Deputy refers are currently finalising their stage 2A report for submission to my Department. Upon successful completion of Stage 2A and subject to no issues arising the project will then be authorised to complete Stage 2B, which includes the application for planning permission and other statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. Following the completion of stage 2(b) the project will then proceed to tender and construction stages.
The project is included in my Department's five year building programme to proceed to Tender and Construction in 2015/16.
441. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the operation of regulation 5 of the Teaching Council (Registration) Regulations 2009; if a transition arrangement was introduced by the Teaching Council to provide teachers, working before April 2013, time to acquire a recognised qualification; the details of the transition arrangement; the number of people who availed of this, if it was in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6767/15]
View answerUnder the Teaching Council Act 2001, the Teaching Council is, since March 2006, the regulator and standards body for the teaching profession.
Accordingly, it holds authority and responsibility for registration of teachers in the State.
As the question refers to an operational matter for the Teaching Council, I am referring it to the Council for early direct reply.
442. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 551 of 3 January 2015, if she will confirm that her Department does not record the real time jobs, directly and indirectly created, arising from the Government's school building programme. [6783/15]
View answerI recently provided to the Deputy the numbers of direct and indirect jobs supported by the school building programme for the years 2012 to 2015. These numbers are based on the Construction Industry Council norm which I also provided to the Deputy earlier this month. This is the methodology that the Department uses to calculate the numbers of direct and indirect jobs that are supported by the school building programme.
443. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to reverse cuts, introduced during the economic recession, in the services to children with special educational needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6786/15]
View answerBudget 2015 included an increase in spending on education for the first time in recent years, amounting to additional funding of €60m during 2015.
This funding will be used to provide 1,700 additional teachers and SNAs for our schools, as well as to fund prioritised reforms, such as implementation of the literacy and numeracy strategy, reform of junior cycle, and the introduction of education focussed pre-school inspections.
This Government has been resolutely committed to protecting, and where possible, increasing, the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a requirement to make expenditure reductions across a range of areas. It is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending.
Some €1.37 billion will be spent in support of children with Special Educational Needs this year, which represents approximately 15% of my Department's budget.
There has been no reduction in the overall number of Special Needs Assistant or resource teaching/learning support posts being provided for schools.
On the contrary, 365 new Special Needs Assistant posts and 480 new resource teaching posts have been provided to support children with special educational needs in schools in 2015, bringing the total number of SNAs available for allocation in 2015 to 11,330 posts and the total number of resource teaching posts to 6,705.
Over 11,000 resource and learning support teaching posts are now available. This is the highest level of SNA and resource teaching allocations that we have ever had, and will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.
