Robert Dowds
Question:1204. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Education and Skills the legal costs to date of University College Dublin in Record No. 2006/07275 (Circuit Court) and Record No. 2007 52 CA (High Court). [30576/15]
View answerUniversity Legal Fees
Questions (1204)
Written answers
University College Dublin is a party to ongoing litigation arising from and in connection with these named proceedings. In this context the university is not in a position to make comment in respect of any matter concerning proceedings which remain sub judice.
Early Childhood Care and Education Standards
Questions (1205)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:1205. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to introduce a single care and education rolling quality programme (details supplied), with close monitoring and regulation, regardless of whether or not parents take up the Early Childhood Care and Education Scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30602/15]
View answerWritten answers
There are no plans to introduce a single care and education quality programme that comprises the merging of the Tusla's National Early Years Inspectorate and the Inspectorate of the Department of Education and Skills (DES). Responsibility for the Tusla Early Years Inspectorate lies with the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs while the Early-Years Education-Focused Inspections (to be introduced shortly) come under the remit of the Minister for Education and Skills.
The DES Inspectorate and the Tusla Inspectorate are committed to working closely together to ensure that the two inspection processes complement each other. The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has established an Operations and Systems Alignment Group (OSAG) consisting of the agencies and Department sections that have a remit for early years provision. The purpose of the OSAG is to ensure the effective coordination of the work of these various bodies. Together, the DES Inspectorate and the Tusla Inspectorate will provide robust quality assurance with a view to supporting the improvement of the quality of provision in early years settings.
Child Abuse
Questions (1206)
Finian McGrath
Question:1206. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding persons who were in foster care, and the Redress Scheme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30612/15]
View answerWritten answers
The Residential Institutions Redress Board was established pursuant to the Residential Institutions Redress Act, 2002 to provide fair and reasonable financial awards to victims of institutional childhood abuse. The closing date for receipt of applications was 15th December 2005. The Board could, however, accept late applications in exceptional circumstances, up until September 2011. The Board is currently finalising the remaining applications it received and will be dissolved shortly thereafter.
While the inclusion of children abused in foster care was raised during the passage of the legislation setting up the Redress Board, foster care settings were not included within the scope of the Scheme. Following the publication of the Ryan Report in 2009, there were a range of demands for the Redress Scheme to be extended, including demands to include foster care settings. Having considered these demands, the Government announced on 15th April 2010 its decision not to revise the arrangements. It is not proposed to establish any further redress scheme for persons who may have suffered institutional abuse or abuse while in foster care as children.
School Accommodation Provision
Questions (1207)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:1207. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address a matter regarding the boundary wall of a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30632/15]
View answerWritten answers
The school site referred to by the Deputy is owned by the school authorities. Issues such as those referred to by the Deputy are matters to be addressed between the school authorities and their neighbour. My Department has no role in dealing with the matters to which the Deputy refers.
Student Councils
Questions (1208)
Jonathan O'Brien
Question:1208. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that have student councils; the number of schools that do not have student councils; the cost of running the student council support service; and the funding and staff allocated to it during each of the past three years. [30667/15]
View answerWritten answers
Section 27 of the Education Act 1998 provides that students of a post -primary school may establish a student council and that the schools Boards of Management should encourage, facilitate, and give all reasonable assistance to such ends. While my Department does not engage with student councils at a local level it does provide significant support for their representative body the Irish Second Level Students Union (ISSU).
The ISSU is the national organisation representing student councils. My Department does not collect data on the number of student councils. However officials of my Department understand that almost all post-primary schools now have a student council.
In the 2013/14 school year my Department allocated a sum of €18,000 in funding to the ISSU. In the 2014/15 school year the funding allocated by my Department was increased to €40,000. In addition my Department also allocated €10,335 to the ISSU to fund a student led study on the Transition Year Programme.
Questions (1209)
Olivia Mitchell
Question:1209. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Skills when she will announce the location of the new Educate Together secondary school to serve the Stepaside/Rathfarnham area, Dublin which is due to open in September 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30681/15]
View answerWritten answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that a suitable permanent site for a new post primary school to serve the Ballinteer-Stepaside area has been identified and the acquisition process is underway.
Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the acquisition of a new site for the school is a priority for my Department and that the patron body, Educate Together, will be informed of the location for the school as soon as it is possible to do so.
Officials from my Department will be meeting shortly with representatives from the patron body to discuss arrangements to facilitate the commencement of the school in September 2016.
Schools Amalgamation
Questions (1210, 1316, 1330)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:1210. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an amalgamation of schools (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30716/15]
View answer
Tom Fleming
Question:1316. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to facilitate a meeting between her Department officials and the Board of Management of schools (details supplied) in County Kerry regarding progressing the proposed amalgamation of these schools which is imperative for the future needs of education in this Gaeltacht area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31849/15]
View answer
Brendan Griffin
Question:1330. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school amalgamation (details supplied) in County Kerry; if the matter will be progressed as a matter of urgency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32043/15]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1210, 1316 and 1330 together.
I wish to advise the Deputies that my Department has received a proposal to amalgamate the two schools in question directly from the schools concerned. My Department is aware that extensive consultations relating to the proposal have been undertaken between relevant stakeholders locally.
The amalgamation proposal submitted sought a level of capital works commensurate with a major capital project. Due to the competing demands on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to ensure that our school system is in a position to cater for significant demographic growth, my Department has indicated to the school authorities that it is not possible to provide an indicative timeframe for the progression of a major project at this time. However, my Department has asked the Patron and school authorities to consider alternative options including identifying the immediate capital works required to facilitate an amalgamation.
My Department will continue to liaise with the schools' Patron in the matter, and this can include discussion on the need for a meeting should this be required during the process.
School Transport Provision
Questions (1211)
Michael Creed
Question:1211. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding eligibility for concessionary school transport to primary schools for children who live outside the catchment area of the school which they propose to attend; if she will clarify that a pupil can be facilitated with concessionary transport for September, 2015 to a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30738/15]
View answerWritten answers
Under the terms of my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 km from, and are attending, their nearest national school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
In general children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis subject to a number of terms and conditions that are detailed in the scheme.
Bus Éireann has advised that a ticket for a seat on a concessionary basis has issued for the child in question.
School Transport Provision
Questions (1212)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:1212. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding backdated payment of the School Transport Grant for persons (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30757/15]
View answerWritten answers
In general, children with special educational needs are eligible for school transport if they are attending the nearest recognised mainstream school or unit that is or can be resourced, to meet their special educational needs under Department of Education and Skills' criteria.
An application for school transport for the child referred to by the Deputy was submitted on 24th July 2015 and Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, has advised that transport has been in place for this child since the start of the current school year.
A Special Transport Grant towards the cost of private transport arrangements may be provided at the discretion of the Department in certain situations including where Bus Éireann is not in a position to provide a transport service. Grants are only considered for the school year in which an application for transport is received.
Student Support Schemes
Questions (1213)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:1213. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding Student Universal Support Ireland grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30776/15]
View answerWritten answers
Under the residency requirement of Section 14(4) of the Student Support Act 2011, a student must have been resident in Ireland for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately prior to commencing an approved course in an approved institution in order to qualify for a grant. However, a student may qualify for a grant, having met the residency requirement during the course of their studies.
Teachers' Remuneration
Questions (1214)
Jonathan O'Brien
Question:1214. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the date on which the Teaching Conciliation Council will make a decision on whether teaching service in another EU member state before taking up a teaching position here, will count towards relevant service for the purposes of entering teaching on a higher pay scale. [30777/15]
View answerWritten answers
The issue raised by the Deputy is currently being considered at the Teachers' Conciliation Council. The Teachers' Conciliation Council is the recognised forum for dealing with matters relating to pay and conditions of service of teachers. The parties to the forum include representatives of the managerial authorities of schools, the teacher unions, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.
As the proceedings of the Conciliation Council are confidential it would not be appropriate for me to make any comment at this time.
Special Educational Needs Service Provision
Questions (1215)
Michael McCarthy
Question:1215. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding Special Needs Assistant hours in respect of a child (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30783/15]
View answerWritten answers
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs.
The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The criteria by which SNA support is allocated to pupils is set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.
The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
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, at www.ncse.ie.
Details of the manner in which a school or parent may appeal the level of SNA or resource teaching allocation which has been made to support a child in school, to the NCSE, is set out on its website.
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 its website.
Special Educational Needs Service Provision
Questions (1216)
Finian McGrath
Question:1216. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding special needs children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30792/15]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy is aware, July Provision is available to all special schools and mainstream primary schools with special classes catering for children with autism that choose to extend their education services through the month of July. My Department also provides July Provision for pupils with a severe/profound general learning disability. Where school based provision is not feasible, home based provision may be grant aided.
Some 385 schools were invited to participate in the July Education Programme in 2015. Of these a total of 190 schools took part in the programme by extending the school year for over 3,100 children. In addition in excess of 4,900 children were approved for the home based programme.
While the exact number of eligible children nationwide is not readily available, all children with autism or severe/profound general learning disability enrolled in school are eligible to apply for July Provision.
Debt Collection
Questions (1217)
Paul Murphy
Question:1217. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the guidelines, recommendations or regulations in place for Universities in the use of debt collection agencies in the collection of unpaid fees from students; the number of Universities that use debt collection agencies for this purpose; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30798/15]
View answerWritten answers
Third level institutions are autonomous institutions and my Department does not have any function in their day to day operational affairs, for which the Governing Bodies and the management staff of the institutions are responsible. The collection and administration of the student contribution and tuition fees, where a student is not eligible for funding under my Department's free fees schemes, is a matter for the third level institution to which a student is attending.
In relation to the specific issue of debt collectors, as referred to by the Deputy, I would hope that institutions deal with such students in a sensitive and understanding manner. As requested by my Department, institutions have facilities in place to allow students to pay the student contribution in two moieties in order to spread the financial cost of third level, rather than having to make one lump payment at the start of the academic year. I understand from the Higher Education Authority that three of the seven Universities use debt collection agencies.
School Accommodation Provision
Questions (1218)
Bernard Durkan
Question:1218. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress to date regarding extension to a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30806/15]
View answerWritten answers
The school to which the Deputy refers has been given approval for 2 mainstream classrooms under my Department's Devolved Additional Accommodation Scheme for 2014.
The project is expected to commence on site shortly.
Third Level Fees
Questions (1219)
Brendan Griffin
Question:1219. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the situation for returning Irish emigrants who have to pay full fees for college courses because they have been out of the country for too long; if the term limit will be increased or scrapped, given that the returning emigrants have been forced to emigrate in many cases due to the failings of the State in the first place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30825/15]
View answerWritten answers
As the Deputy will be aware, in order to qualify for tuition fee funding, students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Where students do not qualify for free fees funding they must pay the appropriate fee - either EU or Non-EU, as determined by each higher education institution. These institutions are autonomous bodies and the level of fee payable by students who do not meet the requirements of the free fees scheme is a matter for the relevant institution.
Due to concerns in relation to the fact that in some cases the higher non-EU fee was being charged to students who held EU/EEA/Swiss nationality but did not meet the residency clause for free fees, the Department requested higher education institutions to charge the more moderate EU fee to such students who have completed at least five academic years of study (primary or post-primary level) in Ireland/EU/EEA/Switzerland and commence their first undergraduate course of study in an approved institution here. This position took effect from the previous academic year, 2014/15. There are no plans to further amend this provision.
Schools Building Projects Status
Questions (1220)
Charlie McConalogue
Question:1220. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will progress the development of an Irish secondary school (details supplied) in Dublin 15; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30886/15]
View answerWritten answers
My Department has recently completed a nationwide demographic exercise to determine where additional post-primary school accommodation might be needed from 2017 onwards. I will announce the details of the new schools arising out of this exercise in due course.
A submission in relation to an Irish-medium post-primary school to serve the Dublin 15/East Meath area has been received by my Department and is duly noted. The primary basis for establishing new schools is demographic demand and where new schools are to be established, such schools will be subject to a patronage determination process. Where new post-primary schools are to be established, my Department will decide in advance the medium of instruction in a school, i.e. Irish or English, through an appropriate analysis of the feeder primary schools.
Apprenticeship Programmes
Questions (1221)
Tom Fleming
Question:1221. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will re-introduce the CERT Course for Apprentice Training for the Hospitality Industry, and locate the new training centre in Killarney, County Kerry where the centre was formerly based; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30914/15]
View answerWritten answers
CERT was a training organisation specifically for the hospitality sector. There are no plans to re-establish a dedicated training organisation for the sector but rather to deliver the required education and training through the mainstream higher and further education and training sectors. The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs will shortly be publishing an analysis of current and future skills requirements in the sector and this will assist in planning education and training provision throughout the country in this area.
Specifically on apprenticeship, the Apprenticeship Council was established in early 2014 and its first task was to formally invite proposals for new apprenticeship programmes from consortia of enterprise, professional bodies and education and training providers. Over 80 separate proposals were received all of which were evaluated by the Council. Following the evaluation process, the Council assigned Category 1 status to 25 new programmes at the end of July, meaning they are both sustainable and ready to enter a detailed planning and development stage. These include proposals in the hospitality sector, particularly in the culinary area. IT Tralee is associated with a number of these, as are the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Association of Ireland. As the hospitality industry is an important employer throughout the country, any new apprenticeships will have to be available for delivery nationwide. The details of delivery will form part of the planning process for the new apprenticeships, which the Apprenticeship Council is progressing with the proposers.
Student Accommodation
Questions (1222)
Ruth Coppinger
Question:1222. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will expand the provision of student accommodation to make accommodation affordable for students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30932/15]
View answerWritten answers
The report, Student Accommodation: Demand & Supply, which I published recently sets out clearly that the demand for student accommodation outstrips supply in certain areas and will continue to do so in the coming years.
There are 13 useful recommendations in this report some of which include capital financing, tax considerations and planning issues, as well as support for the rent-a-room scheme. I have introduced two immediate actions to begin this work. Firstly, the immediate establishment of an inter-departmental steering group to oversee this work. This group will provide a co-ordinating mechanism to ensure that the higher education institutions have access to information on new potential funding and delivery models.
And secondly, the awarding of a grant of €30,000, which will be provided by the HEA to the Union of Students' (USI) in Ireland to progress short-term solutions for students in need of accommodation. This funding will allow USI to develop their homes.usi.ie website, to communicate more effectively to student and homeowners, and to carry out research into this important issue. The Government is committed to addressing the housing shortage through the Construction 2020 strategy. This will not resolve all of our problems immediately, but I am confident that the implementation of Construction 2020 will provide us with a sustainable housing stock in the medium to longer term. The full report can be accessed at http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/Report-on-Student-Accommodation-Demand-and-Supply.pdf