Written Answers Nos. 196-203
196. Deputy Noel Harrington asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a list of each of the current grant schemes that are administrated by her Department and that are available to community groups or projects; the total amount paid for each of these schemes for each of the past four years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27780/15]
View answerDetails of the amounts paid to community projects in Local Drugs Task Force Areas from 2011 to 2014 inclusive by my Department are set out in the attached table. The Deputy will wish to be aware that new applications for this funding are not being accepted.
Payments to projects 2011-2014 inclusive
|
Project |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
FamiliBase (previously Familiscope) |
€67,402 |
€67,400 |
€67,400 |
€67,400 |
|
RASP (Laneview Learning Centre) Ltd |
€138,847 |
€138,840 |
€138,840 |
€138,840 |
197. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a teacher (details supplied) is not being placed on the supplementary panel despite being on point 5 on the pre-2011 pay scale; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27839/15]
View answerArrangements for panel access for fixed-term (temporary), substitute and part-time teachers to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Circular 0072/2014 which is available on the Department website. Applicants must meet all of the published criteria in order to gain access to the Supplementary Redeployment Panel. The teacher referred to by the Deputy started on Point 3 of the payscale and was on Point 5 by 31st December 2014. Under the terms of Circular 0072/2014, such teachers, who have moved up two points on the payscale, must hold a contract from at least 12th December 2014 to the end of the 2014/15 school year. As this teacher did not hold such a contract, she failed to meet the criteria and is therefore ineligible to be included on the Supplementary Redeployment Panel.
198. Deputy Anne Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the use of the university visitor system as described under section 20 of the Universities Act 1997, including the number of occasions on which this provision has been used since the 1997 Act commenced and the names of the universities to which any such visitations applied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27850/15]
View answerNo visitor has been appointed to a university under Section 20 of the Universities Act 1997.
199. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of requests her Department has received for more special needs assistant posts for the upcoming school year and the number of schools that have been given a commitment by her Department that they will receive more special needs assistants in September 2015. [27865/15]
View answer200. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has received recommendations from the National Council for Special Education to increase special needs assistant numbers in September 2015; and the recommendations received. [27866/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 199 and 200 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that I announced yesterday that I had secured Government approval for an additional 610 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts which may be made available for allocation to schools to support children with special educational needs with assessed care needs.
From September, there will be 11,820 whole time equivalent SNA posts available in schools to support children with special educational needs with assessed care needs. This is the highest level of SNA allocation that we have ever had and builds on the increases of 365 additional SNA posts provided for in last year's budget announcement and the 390 additional SNA posts announced in December 2013. In total there has been an increase of 11.7% in SNA posts available for allocation to schools since this Government came to office.
These extra posts will ensure that the Government's policy of ensuring that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.
Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education(NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating SNA support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.
The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support which are set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.
All schools were asked to apply for SNA support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March 2015. The NCSE also continued to accept applications after this date in recognition that enrolments may not have been completed or where assessments were not completed.
The NCSE has now published details of SNA allocations for schools for September 2015 on its website.
201. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of increasing the number of special needs assistants from 11,330 to 11,830 and to 12,300; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27870/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that I announced yesterday that I had secured Government approval for an additional 610 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts which may be made available for allocation to schools to support children with special educational needs with assessed care needs.
From September there will be 11,820 whole time equivalent SNA posts available in schools to support children with special educational needs with assessed care needs. This is the highest level of SNA allocation that we have ever had and builds on the increases of 365 additional SNA posts provided for in last year's budget announcement and the 390 additional SNA posts announced in December 2013. In total there has been an increase of 11.7% in SNA posts available for allocation to schools since this Government came to office.
These extra posts will ensure that the Government's policy of ensuring that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.
Based on current average SNA salary costs, the full year cost of employing an additional 500 SNAs in schools would equate to approximately €15 million and the cost of employing an additional 970 SNA posts would equate to approximately €29.1 million.
202. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of increasing the number of resource teachers from 6,454 to 7,000; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27871/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that there are now more Resource Teachers available for allocation than ever before. As part of Budget 2015, I announced provision for an additional 480 Resource Teaching posts, to take into account increased demand and demographic growth and to ensure that children can continue to have access to additional supports in school. The total number of posts available for allocation has increased by 27% since 2012, from 5265 posts in 2012, to 6705 posts available for 2015/16. This is the highest level of resource teaching provision that we have ever had.
Details of the resource teaching allocations which will be made to each school for September 2015 have been published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) on its website www.ncse.ie. The NCSE will also have a second round allocation process to respond to late enrolments, or from diagnosed disabilities emerging after the closing date for the first allocation round, to the start of the new school year.
Based on current average teacher salary costs, the full year cost of employing an additional 546 resource teachers in schools would equate to approximately €32.76 million.
Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that the NCSE has recommended the development of a new model for delivering teaching resources to schools to support students with special needs. Through consultations, there has been broad welcome for the proposed new model from Parents, disability groups, schools and stakeholders. However, there has not been sufficient time to address all of the concerns which have been raised regarding the proposed model in advance of the 2015 school year. A pilot of the new model, as recommended by the NCSE, will take place in schools in the coming school year.
203. Deputy Jerry Buttimer asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the allocation of special needs assistants to a school (details supplied) in County Cork for the coming school year; if she will explain any changes in the number of special needs assistants allocated; the options available for reviewing the allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27884/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education(NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating SNA support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.
The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support and these criteria by are set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.
All schools were asked to apply for SNA support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March 2015. The NCSE also continued to accept applications after this date in recognition that enrolments may not have been completed or where assessments were not completed.
Details of SNA allocations to schools for 2015/16, including the school referred to by the Deputy, are now available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie.
Details of the manner in which a school or parent may appeal the level of SNA allocation which has been made to support a child in school, to the NCSE, are set out at www.ncse.ie.
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, while 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.
