Written Answers Nos. 232 - 240
232. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a married 41 year old mother of two who has returned with her husband and children to live with her mother due to financial hardship is being assessed for a mature student grant on the basis of her mother's income; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10881/15]
View answerUnder the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The Deputy will appreciate that, in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form and supporting documentation, it is not possible to say whether or not a particular student would qualify for a grant. For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student may be assessed as an independent mature student if he or she has attained the age of 23 on 1 January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in studies of at least three years and is not ordinarily resident with his-her parents from the previous October. Otherwise he or she would continue to be assessed on the basis of parental income. The eligibility of the individual to which the Deputy refers is a matter for SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine upon receipt of the relevant application form and supporting documentation.
233. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on an application from a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10941/15]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that my Department is currently considering an application for additional accommodation from the school to which he refers. A decision on the application will be conveyed to the school management as soon as this process has been completed.
234. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on an application from a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10942/15]
View answerI can confirm for the Deputy that my Department is currently assessing the school's accommodation needs and expects to be in a position to share its proposals with both schools shortly. My officials have been in contact with the schools and they are aware of the current position.
235. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details of the review taking place on the demand for and provision of primary and secondary school places in an area (details supplied) in County Kildare; when the results of this review are expected; if it is envisaged that a new school build will be required to meet demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10943/15]
View answerThe process of analysing demographic data at primary level has been completed. This resulted in the announcement last month that seven new primary schools are to be established in the next two years to meet demographic needs in different areas of the country. This announcement did not include a new school for the area to which the Deputy refers. Where the demographic exercise identified areas for the expansion of existing schools, this will be addressed through the Five Year School Capital Investment Plan. The demographic analysis to determine where additional post-primary accommodation may be needed from 2016 is a significant exercise and is still ongoing. When the exercise has been completed arrangements will be made to make additional accommodation available where it is needed.
236. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details of any proposals that have been considered by her Department to introduce a State-funded education or maintenance loan system for third level students from 1 March 2011 to the present date; the content of any expert advice that has been received by her Department on this issue; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10976/15]
View answerFollowing discussions with my Department, with support and advice from the National Treasury Management Agency, a specific loan initiative was introduced by Bank of Ireland in 2012 to provide finance for fees and living costs for postgraduate students. While developed in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills, it is a Bank of Ireland product and further information on the terms and conditions of the loan is available from the bank. The Deputy will also be aware that an Expert Group is currently examining future funding options for higher education. The objective is to identify a range of approaches that, combined, will achieve a sustainable funding base to address the continual expansion of the sector while protecting the quality of education. I understand that the Group intends to undertake a series of stakeholder consultations during the course of its work. As an interim report, the Group published a discussion paper on the role, value and scale of higher education last month and this is informing the first set of consultations. The paper is available on my Department's website at http://www.education.ie/en/The-Education-System/Higher-Education. I expect to receive the Group's report before the end of 2015.
237. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if grant aid is available for small-sized primary schools to provide assembly areas, general practitioner rooms and physical education facilities, where there are very limited or no sporting and recreational facilities available at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11002/15]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware of the challenge that we have in ensuring that our school system is in a position to cope with increasing pupil numbers and the need to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place. To meet this challenge, almost €2 billion in funding is being invested by the Department under the current 5 Year capital plan, announced in 2012. Due to the competing demands on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise available funding for the provision of essential school classroom accommodation, it is not possible, at this point, to consider applications for the facilities referred to by the Deputy.
238. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure there will be no reduction of the staffing complement of a school (details supplied) in County Cavan; if she will further ensure that all the relevant issues outlined in recent correspondence from the school to her Department pertaining to the distance of this school to the next nearest primary school and the remote location of the school are taken into account in any decisions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11003/15]
View answerThe staffing arrangements for primary schools for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Department Circular 0005/2015 which is available on my Department's website at www.education.gov.ie. The circular sets out the improvements to the staffing schedule for the 2015/16 school year for small schools. These improvements are improved retention thresholds for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th classroom teacher and also the improved appointment and retention thresholds for isolated one-teacher schools. An appeals process is also available to small schools. Details of the appeals criteria are set out in the published staffing arrangements. The first meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board will be held later this month. Schools which have submitted an appeal will be informed of the decision of the Board by the end of March, 2015. The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
239. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the redress board and proposed legislation in respect of confidentiality of records of abuse being kept (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11020/15]
View answerFollowing Government approval I have published the draft General Scheme for a Retention of Records Bill, 2015, and have referred it to the Joint Oireachtas Committee of Education and Social Protection for Pre-Legislative Scrutiny. The draft General Scheme proposals relate to the records of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, the Residential Institutions Redress Board and the Residential Institutions Redress Review Committee. It proposes that on the dissolution of the bodies, their records will be deposited with the National Archives where they will be preserved and sealed for a period of 75 years. In keeping with the Motion adopted by this House following the publication of the Ryan Report, these proposals will allow the documentation received by the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse to be preserved for posterity and not destroyed. It is also proposed to preserve the documentation of the Residential Institutions Redress Board and Review Committee. I believe that it is very important that these records are not destroyed. However I am also very conscious that these records are highly sensitive. Accordingly, it is proposed that the records will be sealed for 75 years and that their release thereafter will be subject to appropriate safeguards.
240. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the total funding for higher education; and the total number of students enrolled in higher education in each year from 2011 to 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11024/15]
View answerDetails on the total funding for higher education and the total number of students enrolled in higher education are set out in the tables.
|
Year |
Student Numbers (full-time) |
Student Numbers (part-time) |
|
2010/11 |
160,972 |
32,208 |
|
2011/12 |
162,786 |
33,512 |
|
2012/13 |
164,498 |
34,257 |
|
2013/14 |
168,986 |
35,147 |
|
2014/15 (provisional) |
169,402 |
28,468 |
The above numbers include undergraduate and postgraduate students. The 2014/15 figures are provisional.
HIGHER EDUCATION EXPENDITURE 2010 -2015
€000s
|
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 (Provisional) |
|
|
Current |
€1,771.4 |
€1,688.1 |
€1,595.0 |
€1,537.5 |
€1,471.8 |
€1,380.0 |
|
Capital |
€164.2 |
€79.0 |
€56.2 |
€69.1 |
€79.1 |
€83.7 |
|
TOTAL |
€1,935.6 |
€1,767.1 |
€1,651.2 |
€1,606.6 |
€1,550.9 |
€1,463.7 |
The current expenditure figures above include recurrent funding (core grant and free fees), funding provided under the Student Grant Scheme, higher education research funding and other higher education funding.
