Tuesday, 3 Mar 2015

Written Answers Nos. 483-498

Ombudsman for Children Remit

Questions (483)

Jim Daly

Question:

483. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider appointing an ombudsman for education. [8961/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

For the Deputy's information, the Ombudsman for Children has responsibility for the investigation of complaints relating to children, whether in relation to the administrative actions of the Department, or of schools and other institutions in the education sector. The Office of the Ombudsman has a related responsibility for the investigation of complaints in respect of adults in the education sector.

The Ombudsman (Amendment Act) 2012 was signed into law on 31 October 2012. Both the Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children had their remit extended to cover approximately 180 additional entities. These entities, known as reviewable agencies, included a number of education sector bodies such as the universities, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the Teaching Council.

Minor Works Scheme Expenditure

Questions (484)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

484. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills in the context of the minor works grant for national schools, the reason for the variance in the rate for special needs pupils in special needs schools and that for similar pupils in mainstream schools. [8965/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The Minor Works Grant 2014/2015 issued to all primary schools in December 2014. Schools received a basic grant of €5,500 plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil on the rolls on the 30th September 2013.

The €74 rate applies to special needs pupils attending a special school and to special needs pupils attending a special class attached to a mainstream school.

School Accommodation Provision

Questions (485)

Michael Creed

Question:

485. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration is being given to a submission from a post-primary school (details supplied) in County Cork; if a departmental inspector has visited the school to see the quality of its current classroom accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8980/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The school, to which the Deputy refers, has made an application to my Department for large scale capital funding for an extension and refurbishment of its existing building. The current status of all applications, including for the school in question, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie.

As the Deputy will be aware, the school's request must be considered in the context of the financial constraints imposed by the need, as outlined in my Department's Five Year Capital Investment programme, to prioritise available funding for the provision of essential school accommodation to meet demographic demand. My Department's Five Year Construction Plan outlines the major school projects that are scheduled to commence construction over the duration of the Plan. As it is not possible to indicate when a project for the school, in question, can be progressed, a technical inspection is not been prioritised for the school concerned.

In the interim, my Department approved funding in March 2014 to the school in question to provide a one classroom ASD Unit. It is understood that the project has not yet commenced on site.

My Department also considers applications on an ongoing basis from individual schools for funding to meet an immediate accommodation requirement because of increased enrolments and where an additional teacher is being appointed.

School Accommodation Provision

Questions (486)

Derek Nolan

Question:

486. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a list of the schools in County Galway using prefabricated units; the number of prefabricated units per school; the number of prefabricated units that have been replaced, by school; her plans to alleviate the problems with prefabricated units; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8984/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Jan O'Sullivan)

Details of primary and post primary schools in Co Galway that have rented prefab accommodation, together with the number of rented units, are contained in the following table. Please note that a prefab unit may consist of one or more classrooms and/or ancillary accommodation. Schools whose major projects are being progressed under my Department's 5-Year capital programme and schools included in the Prefab Replacement Initiatives are highlighted on the attached document.

13 schools in Co Galway were invited to participate in my Department's Prefab Replacement Initiatives with an allocation of €2.9m. To date 7 school authorities have successfully completed their projects, 1 school authority has withdrawn and the remainder are expected on site shortly. The total amount of grant aid issued to date is in excess of €1.3m. Details of all schools included in the Prefab Replacement Initiatives is available on my Department's website.

My Department's over-riding objective 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. To ensure that this is achieved, the delivery of major school projects to meet significant demographic demands nationally will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years.

Prefab rental in Primary & Post primary schools in Co Galway - February 2015

Roll No.	School Name	County	Desc. of rental	Number of units per school
*04506F	Oranmore BNS	Galway	Pre-fab	4
**05754G	SN Chreachmhaoil	Galway	Pre-fab	4
09833W	Lettergesh NS	Galway	Pre-fab	1
12954F	Scoil Bhride	Galway	Pre-fab	1
13208V	Convent Primary School	Galway	Pre-fab	2
13365O	Scoil Mhuire	Galway	Pre-fab	6
**16071M	Scoil Chroi Naofa	Galway	Pre-fab	1
*16293H	Kilrickle NS	Galway	Pre-fab	1
17444H	Carrabane NS	Galway	Pre-fab	1
*17613E	Scoil Chaitriona Naofa	Galway	Pre-fab	2
17655U	SN Caladh na Muc	Galway	Pre-fab	1
**17668G	Scoil na bhForbacha	Galway	Pre-fab	1
*17782E	Scoil Bhride	Galway	Pre-fab	5
17789S	Kiltartan NS	Galway	Pre-fab	1
**18089S	Scoil Mhuire an Gharran	Galway	Pre-fab	1
18112K	Scoil Eanna	Galway	Pre-fab	3
*19965W	Scoil Mhuire	Galway	Pre-fab	2
**19994G	GS Mhic Amhlaigh	Galway	Pre-fab	5
**19998O	GS De hIde	Galway	Pre-fab	13
**20000L	Galway Educate Together	Galway	Pre-fab	2
20070J	Rosedale School	Galway	Pre-fab	8
**20123E	Gaelscoil Riabhach	Galway	Pre-fab	4
**20211B	Claregalway ETNS	Galway	Pre-fab	2
**20237T	Gaelscoil Riada	Galway	Pre-fab	9
20280U	Newtown National School	Galway	Pre-fab	1
20326S	Kilcolgan Educate Together	Galway	Pre-fab	4
**62870G	Presentation College	Galway	Pre-fab	10
**71270G	Athenry Vocational School	Galway	Pre-fab	1
**71330V	Colaiste na Coirbe	Galway	Pre-fab	3
71390Q	Archbishop McHale College	Galway	Pre-fab	1
**76102K	Colaiste na Eachreidh	Galway	Pre-fab	1

* Included in Prefab Replacement Programme

** Included in 5 Year Programme.

State Examinations

Questions (487)

Billy Kelleher

Question:

487. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason no actual certificates were issued by her Department for those sitting junior and leaving certificate examinations; and if the fee paid to sit both examinations includes the cost of the certificates. [8993/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.

In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Schools Building Projects Status

Questions (488)

Seán Fleming

Question:

488. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding will be provided in respect of a school (details supplied) for additional works - following approval for one mainstream classroom - as these works are required to improve the school building; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9003/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

As the Deputy will be aware, the school in question was granted approval in February 2014 for a mainstream classroom with en-suite facilities to replace a prefab unit.

The school concerned has since sought further capital funding to provide additional works. My Department has been in further contact with the school authorities seeking necessary clarifications regarding the proposed building works and costs.

These clarifications have been received and my Department will be in direct contact with the school authority in the matter very shortly.

Student Grant Scheme Appeals

Questions (489)

James Bannon

Question:

489. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, application appeal in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9008/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

As 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 [e-mail]. SUSI is responding to email queries within a matter of days.

Public Sector Staff Retirements

Questions (490)

James Bannon

Question:

490. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on extending the retirement period in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who is in exceptional circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9009/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

In accordance with the Superannuation scheme a Special Needs Assistant (SNA) who is not "a new entrant" under the terms of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004, must retire at the end of the school year in which he/she reaches age 65.

The abolition of the compulsory retirement age under the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 applies to new entrants only. The retirement provisions which apply to public servants (including SNAs) who are not new entrants are not affected by the Act and there are no proposals to remove the compulsory retirement age in the case of such staff.

As the person referred to by the Deputy is not a new entrant and will reach age 65 during the current school year they must retire at the end of the 2014/2015 school year.

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Questions (491)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

491. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will allocate five hours learning support in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9029/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

Since September 2012 the combined resources available for learning support (GAM/General Allocation Model at Primary) and language support (EAL) have been merged into a single simplified allocation process. A school's GAM/EAL allocation for the 2015/16 school year is based on its mainstream classroom posts for the 2014/15 school year. The staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year were published last week. They are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website at www.education.gov.ie.

Schools can check their GAM/EAL allocation in Appendix C of Circular 0005/2015.

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Questions (492)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

492. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if extra resource teaching hours might be made available in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Kildare to meet the requirements of a child who has special educational needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9061/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

All primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources to provide for children with special educational or learning support needs through general allocation processes.

Additionally, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates additional resource teaching hours to schools for children who have been assessed within the low incidence, or more complex, category of special need, as defined by my Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.

The Deputy will be aware that I announced recently 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.

As such, primary schools will continue to have an allocation of additional learning support for children with high incidence special educational needs through the General Allocation Model. In respect of children with low incidence special educational needs, schools have been asked to apply to the NCSE for Resource Teaching support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March, 2015.

Schools should provide support for pupils with newly diagnosed conditions from within their overall resource teaching and learning support allocations, pending completion of the 2015/16 allocation process. It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with my Department's guidance.

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.

Question No. 493 answered with Question No. 466.

Schools Establishment

Questions (494, 506)

Patrick O'Donovan

Question:

494. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the patronage process in place for a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and the timeframe for this process. [9131/15]

Patrick O'Donovan

Question:

506. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a site will be purchased for a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if this school will be housed at a temporary location in the interim. [9236/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I propose to take Questions Nos. 494 and 506 together.

The first step in the establishment of the school in question is the determination of a patron to operate the school. This process, which is overseen by the New Schools Establishment Group, has commenced.

The closing date for the receipt of applications from Patrons and prospective Patrons is the 20th March 2015. I will announce the outcome of this process as soon as the application process is complete.

In the meantime, my Department is working to secure temporary start-up accommodation for the school.

My Department is also working with the local authority with a view to acquiring a site for permanent accommodation for the school. There are commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally and I am not in a position to provide further details at this time.

Schools Building Projects Status

Questions (495)

Brendan Ryan

Question:

495. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) in County Dublin will be relocating to a new school building in Balbriggan, County Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9132/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

The project to which the Deputy refers is currently at tender stage. Subject to no issues arising, it is anticipated that the project will proceed to construction shortly. It is expected that the new school will be ready for occupation for the 2016/17 school year.

Special Educational Needs Expenditure

Questions (496)

Denis Naughten

Question:

496. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to reverse cuts to supports for children with special educational needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9150/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I have recently advised the Deputy that there has been no overall reduction to the level of investment being provided to support children with special educational needs in our schools.

On the contrary, the number of SNA and Resource Teaching posts being allocated to support children with special educational needs has increased in recent years to reflect demographic growth and increased demand in this area.

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.

This will provide for an additional 365 Special Needs Assistant posts and 480 resource teaching posts in 2015 to support children with special educational needs in schools, 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.

Investment in education has been a priority for this Government and we have been resolutely committed to protecting, and in some instances 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.

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Questions (497)

Denis Naughten

Question:

497. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the decision to assign school resource hours to children, by disorder, which discriminates against some children with Down syndrome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9151/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

Under the existing allocation system, all pupils with Down syndrome, including pupils with mild general learning difficulties, are entitled to receive additional teaching support.

Support is provided from a school's General Allocation Model (GAM) hours, or from an allocation of additional resource teacher hours allocated to schools by the NCSE.

In the current school year my Department has allocated approximately 4950 learning support/resource teachers through general allocation, while the NCSE has allocated over 6200 resource teachers.

I am aware that some parents, and Down syndrome representative organisations, have concerns that the existing system does not give them certainty as to the support that their children will receive under the GAM, as these hours are distributed locally by schools.

I recently met with Down Syndrome Ireland, and some parents of children with Down syndrome to discuss their concerns in this regard.

I will consider and review the issues which have been raised and will keep the House informed of my developing views on this matter.

Early Childhood Care and Education

Questions (498)

Stephen Donnelly

Question:

498. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views that preschool educators, such as Montessori teachers, should have income support from the State during school holiday times, as is the case for primary and post-primary teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9152/15]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

Most, if not all Montessori trained practitioners are employed in private preschool education services or are self-employed and unlike primary and post-primary teachers, their terms and conditions of employment are not set by the State. Whether the State is investing in early childhood care and education services to achieve optimum outcomes for children is currently being considered by an inter-Departmental group established by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. My department is participating in this group which is expected to report back by the Summer identifying and costing options for Future Investment in Early Years and School Age Care and Education Services. How early years practitioners are remunerated is very much a factor in looking at future investment options.