Written Answers Nos. 499-514
499. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views that Ireland's current investment in preschool education and care, at 0.2% of gross domestic product, is sufficient; the level it should be at; the steps that are being taken to achieve same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9153/15]
View answerI, like other Cabinet members, would like to be in a position to increase our investment in pre-school education and care to be in line with the OECD average but this is very much dependent on resource availability. Whether we are achieving optimum outcomes for children with our current level of investment is being analysed by an inter-Departmental group set up by my colleague the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. My Department is represented on this group which will examine options for investment in early childhood care and education for 0-6 year old children and after school care for the older child. The inter-Departmental group is expected to report back by the Summer.
500. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way a person (details supplied) in County Wexford may apply for an exemption from Irish in secondary school. [9154/15]
View answerIn primary and post-primary schools recognised by my Department the study of Irish is compulsory however, there are certain limited circumstances whereby an exemption from the study of Irish may be granted. In this regard my Department's Circular M10/94 for pupils attending post-primary schools outlines the circumstances whereby an exemption from the study of Irish may be granted. Under the terms of this Circular delegated authority to grant exemptions, within the conditions laid down, is vested in the school management authorities of recognised post-primary schools. Where a school has a query on how the Circular should be applied in respect of any particular application they may seek the advice of my Department's Inspectorate. In respect of the case referred to by the Deputy the parents of the child should make a written application for an exemption to their child's school. If the application is being sought on the grounds of a specific learning disability the application should be supported with a psychologist's report carried out by a qualified psychologist not more than two years prior to the application for an exemption.
501. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the implementation of the recommendations in the expert group report on the level of fixed-term and part-time employment in teaching; the way she will allow fixed-term teachers to acquire permanent positions more easily and quickly and enable part-time teachers to gain additional hours; if she will outline provision for extended redeployment arrangements in the event of mismatch between teacher qualifications and the curricular needs of schools; the date on which each of the seven recommendations will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9173/15]
View answerThe report of the Expert Group on Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employment in Primary and Second Level Education in Ireland was published in September 2014. At the time of publication I gave a commitment to implement the report with effect from September 2015. Officials in my Department have prepared a draft circular and circulated it to the education partners for their views and comments. These comments are currently receiving consideration and it is expected that the circular detailing the arrangements and procedures for the implementation of the recommendations of the report will issue to the Managerial Authorities of recognised schools shortly.
502. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department, or State bodies or agencies under the aegis of her Department, use solicitors' firms (details supplied); the amount paid to these solicitors, each year from 2011 to 2014 by her Department, or State bodies or agencies under the aegis of her Department; the date until which her Department, or State bodies or agencies under the aegis of her Department, are contracted to use these solicitors firms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9192/15]
View answerData extracted from records within my Department indicate that a sum of €45,154 was paid to one of the two parties to which the Deputy refers during the period 2011 to 2014. The works for which the party was engaged have ceased.
503. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students currently attending second level education aged 18 years and over. [9225/15]
View answerThe most recent year for which my Department has finalised enrolment figures at Post Primary level is 2013/2014 as the data for the current school year, 2014/2015 is currently being finalised. The number of 18 year old pupils enrolled in the Post Primary sector as at 30th September 2013 was 12,899 and by 30th June 2014, that figure has risen to 41,820. In other words, almost 29,000 pupils turned 18 in the course of that school year. The Deputy is advised that these enrolment figures exclude those students who were enrolled in Post Leaving Certificate (PLC), Repeat Leaving Certificate or those enrolled on the Core VTOS programme.
504. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding special education needs organisers (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9233/15]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for the provision of a range of educational services at local and national level for students with special educational needs. There are currently 80 SENO positions within NCSE including 70 SENOs who are managed over 9 regions by 9 Senior SENOs and 1 Senior SENO Manager. The overall number of 80 SENO positions has remained constant since 2013. There are no plans to reduce the number of SENO positions.
SENO responsibility includes planning and co-ordinating the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs. Each SENO works in an assigned regional area with parents, schools, teachers, psychologists, health professionals and other staff who are involved in the provision of services in that region for children with special educational needs. In dealing with parents of children with special educational needs, SENOs are responsible for keeping parents informed of what resourcing decisions are being made on their child's behalf. In recognition that parents/guardians are the key stakeholders with regard to the child, SENOs are committed to forging good relationships with parents and parent groups. The SENO is available to parents to discuss any issues they have and to offer support and expertise. SENOs are also available to give presentations to groups of parents, advocacy groups and other interested parties.
505. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the date on which she will publish the education (admission to schools) Bill 2015. [9235/15]
View answerThe Bill is currently at an advanced stage of drafting and is on the Government legislative programme for publication early in the Spring/Summer session.
507. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if Down's syndrome has been added to the list of disabilities for which individual resource teaching hours is automatically provided; if she will provide an update on the roll-out of this scheme, which was committed to one year ago; the amount her Department has spent in legal challenges brought by parents seeking such resource hours prior to the policy change, and the number of these cases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9248/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that 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. As the legal proceedings referred to by the Deputy are currently ongoing, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the details of these cases. As the cases are ongoing, no rulings have been made to date regarding costings. With regard to the legal costs incurred by the State's legal team in defending proceedings instigated against my Department, such costs are generally charged to the Chief State Solicitor's Office (CSSO) Vote as sanctioned by the Attorney General.
508. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the development of new second level schools and the programme of school amalgamation that is happening across the country, if she will explain the current position in relation to such schools securing delivering equality of opportunity in schools status, where the profile of the student cohort clearly meets the requirements of the status; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9258/15]
View answerGiven the current economic climate and the target to reduce public expenditure, prioritising and maintaining resources for children at risk of educational disadvantage is a significant challenge. The current priority for my Department is to maintain existing supports for schools catering for the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage. This means that there is no capacity for the present for additionality to the DEIS programme.
An overall report on the learning from the implementation of DEIS is currently being prepared by the Economic and Social Research Institute. This report will incorporate information contained in the findings from the DEIS research and evaluations conducted by the Educational Research Centre and the Department's inspectorate to date. It will also review other Irish and international related research on educational disadvantage. The report will assess the main findings of the evaluations and provide advice to inform future policy direction on educational disadvantage, including DEIS. This report is currently being finalised and I expect to receive it shortly.
Accordingly, for the present, my focus and that of my Department is on taking the learning from DEIS and applying it to future policy making. This will ensure that future policy direction to tackle educational disadvantage will be evidence-based and grounded in the solid body of experience provided by the DEIS programme.
509. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a review has taken place regarding the issue of delivering equality of opportunity in schools status to a school (details supplied) in County Mayo; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9260/15]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, an extensive identification process to select schools for inclusion in DEIS was conducted in 2005. In spite of reminders, a completed survey form was not received at that time from the school referred to by the Deputy and therefore it could not be assessed for participation in DEIS. Further, an appeal mechanism was put in place in 2006 to address the concerns of schools which did not qualify for inclusion in DEIS but regarded themselves as having a level of disadvantage which was of a scale sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the programme. The school referred to by the Deputy did not participate in the appeal process.
Many representations have been made to my Department and to my predecessors, by and on behalf of this school, seeking its inclusion in DEIS. These representations were unsuccessful. It should be noted that none of the existing schools in the country, which were unsuccessful in the initial identification and subsequent review processes, were ever admitted into the DEIS programme.
510. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding available to make necessary improvements to a school (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9263/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department will make direct contact with the school in question relating to the matters outlined in the details supplied.
511. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she expects class sizes to improve in the course of the next 12 months at primary and secondary level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9293/15]
View answer512. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she expects to be in position to assist in the reduction of class sizes, with particular reference to locations affected by demographics and currently having higher than national average class sizes, such as areas in County Kildare and adjoining counties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9294/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 511 and 512 together.
My focus in Budget 2015 was on obtaining the additional funding that was necessary to provide for demographic growth. The last Budget 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. The improvements in the Primary Staffing Schedule for small schools which I announced last week are the only changes that I will be making to the staffing arrangements for schools for the 2015/16 school year. The challenge for all schools is to ensure that they utilise their allocated resources to best effect to maximise teaching and learning outcomes.
The Government's approach to restoring the economy has helped Ireland to return to a position where we are seeing economic growth. It is a continuing improvement in our economic growth over a sustained period that will enable us to move to a point where we can look again at providing for additional teacher resources in schools which could bring about further improvement in PTR, class size and support for classroom teachers.
513. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she has managed to achieve a resolution in respect of issues associated with junior certificate reform; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9295/15]
View answerThe full text of Dr Travers' proposal document is available on my Department's website. Both sides were asked to confirm whether they accepted or rejected this as a basis for agreement. While the proposal put forward by Dr Travers requires significant further compromise on my part, I indicated to Dr Travers that I am prepared to accept it as a basis for agreement. In doing so I acknowledged his considerable effort at achieving a fair and reasonable compromise since being nominated for the role of independent chair by the two unions. Under the proposal, teachers are no longer asked to assess their own students for the purpose of State certification. This is a very significant measure in addressing a previous core union concern. In not suspending their industrial action, the unions have rejected the Travers proposal. I deeply regret that decision. The effect of their ongoing action is to seek to prevent teachers from participating in Continuing Professional Development that is available to give them the knowledge and support they need to do their jobs. I also regret that the Unions have taken this decision without balloting their wider members on what is a substantially new proposal. No one group can be allowed to exercise a veto on educational reform. I intend to proceed with implementation of Junior Cycle reform, based on the Travers' proposal and I will be working with the wider education partners in doing so. I remain open to the unions revising their decision.
514. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which she continues to be in a position to maintain adequate mainstream classes, at primary and secondary level, to meet the needs of children with autism, Asperger’s, attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; if adequate special needs teachers or special needs assistants remain available or require augmentation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9296/15]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that this Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, asperger's, ADD or ADHD, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. Many pupils with special educational needs will be able to attend a local mainstream school, whereas for pupils who have needs which require more specialist interventions, special class and special school placements are provided for. As part of Budget 2015, I announced that an additional 365 Special Needs Assistant posts are being provided in 2015, as well as an additional 480 Resource Teachers, to take into account increased demand and demographic growth and to ensure that children can continue to have access to additional supports in school. In addition, over 130 new Special Classes have been established for the 2014/15 school year. This is the highest number of Special Classes and Resource Teaching and SNA support that we have ever had. These increases, building on increases which have already been provided in recent years, 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.
