Written Answers Nos. 179-190
179. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for a special needs assistant for a child (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39873/15]
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 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, which is 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 at www.ncse.ie. Once allocated, 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. 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 the NCSE 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 the NCSE website. As this question relates to an allocation for an individual child, I will arrange to have the matter referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply to the Deputy.
180. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a determination will be made in regard to funding of a project for a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39874/15]
View answerI can confirm that my Department has recently received a revised proposal for funding towards a building project from the school to which the Deputy refers. This proposal is currently being considered and my Department will be in further contact with the school authority concerned as soon as the assessment process has been concluded.
181. Deputy Tony McLoughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the formally approved allocation of €4.3 million for the proposed link building capital development project at Saint Angela's College in County Sligo, which was put on-hold in 2010; if this will be included within the new Educational Capital Plan 2016 to 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39894/15]
View answerAs part of the budgetary process in November 2011 a Government decision was taken to concentrate available educational capital resources on delivering school places and to restrict investment in higher education infrastructure to legally binding contractual commitments that existed at that time. The project referred to by the Deputy had not reached the point of being a legally binding contractual commitment by November 2011. Going forward, the needs of the College will be considered in the context of capital resources available for the higher education sector and having regard to competing demands. In 2014, the College received approval to carry out necessary health and safety works. The approved funding has been drawn down.
182. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills the measures she will implement to increase the retention of qualified teachers; if she will revisit the changes to pay, terms and conditions for newly qualified teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39930/15]
View answerSince the beginning of the financial crisis, there has been a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure. The previous Government reduced the salaries and allowances payable of all new entrants to public service recruitment grades (including teachers) by 10% with effect from 1 January 2011 and required that such new entrants would start on the first point of the applicable salary scale. Subsequently, following the public service-wide review of allowances and premium payments, the Government decided to withdraw or modify allowances for new beneficiary public servants with effect from 1 February 2012. Under this decision, certain allowances were withdrawn for new beneficiary teachers, including qualification allowances. However, the Government partially compensated for this by deciding that new entrant teachers would henceforth commence on a new salary scale which had a starting point higher than the starting point of the old scale. These measures were implemented at a time of very difficult financial and budgetary circumstances for the State. Alleviation of the salary imbalance between those who entered the public service since 2011 and those who entered before that date began under the Haddington Road Agreement. Improved pay scales for post-1 January 2011 and post-1 February 2012 entrants to teaching were agreed and implemented under the terms of that Agreement. In addition, allowances payable to post-1 January 2011 entrants and such allowances as remain payable to post-1 February 2012 entrants were restored to pre-2011 levels. The Lansdowne Road Agreement will, through salary increases and a reduction in the Pension-Related Deduction, begin the process of restoring the reductions to public service pay which were implemented over recent years. The issue of equalised pay scales was not one which could be resolved in the discussions which lead to the Agreement. However, the flat-rate increases contained in the Agreement will be proportionately more favourable to new entrants to teaching (who are lower on the pay scale) than to longer serving teachers.
In addition, in order to address concerns about the casualisation of employment in the teaching profession, my Department implemented at the commencement of the 2015/16 school year the seven key recommendations of the Expert Group on Fixed-term and Part-time Employment in Teaching, which was established under the Haddington Road Agreement. Circulars 23/2015 and 24/2015 detailing the arrangements and procedures for the implementation of the recommendations of the report were published on March 27th 2015. One of the key features of the new procedures is that the qualification period for the granting of an initial Contract of Indefinite Duration (CID) is reduced from a period of continuous employment in excess of three years with the same employer to a period of continuous employment in excess of two years.
183. Deputy Gabrielle McFadden asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the tender process regarding a school (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39968/15]
View answerThe major building project for the school to which the Deputy refers is at an advanced stage of architectural planning – Stage 2b, which includes the applications for Planning Permission, Fire Cert, Disability Access Cert and the preparation of Tender Documents. A shortlist of prequalified contractors has been selected. All relevant statutory approvals have been obtained and the Design Team are currently working on the preparation of the tender documentation.
Once the Stage 2b Tender documentation is submitted to the Department, the Department will carry out its review and subject to no issues arising the project will then progress to tender and construction stages. The building project is on the current Five Year Construction Programme.
184. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on correspondence regarding a school (details supplied) in Dublin 18; if she will arrange to meet the principal and teachers to discuss the continuous problems the school is facing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39969/15]
View answerThe correspondence referred to by the Deputy covered many areas and I have set out below the position in relation to each of them. In relation to teaching posts, the criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts, including GAM/EAL (learning/language support) is published annually on the Department website. The staffing arrangements for the 2015/16 school year are set out in Circular 0005/2015. Under these arrangements 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. Appendix C of Circular 0005/2015 lists the GAM/EAL allocation for all schools. Schools have autonomy on how to deploy the resource between language support and learning support depending on their specific needs. The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has recommended the introduction of a new resource allocation model for schools, which will allow schools to allocate resources to pupils taking into account their individual learning needs, as opposed to being based primarily on a diagnosis of a particular disability. A pilot of this new resource allocation model is currently taking place in a number of schools. In relation to school buildings, I want to assure you that funding is being made available as part of the Government's continued commitment to fund improvement and upgrading works in existing school buildings throughout the country. In this regard, I am pleased to be able to tell you that, earlier this month, I was able to announce that a minor works grant will be paid to primary schools later this year. I also announced that a multi-annual Summer Works Scheme will be run in 2016 and 2017. The Summer Works Scheme for 2016 is now open for applications on the Esinet portal with full details of the Scheme itself on the Department's website www.Education.ie. The school in question can apply for funding under the 2016 Scheme for any high priority works needed to the building. In relation to funding, my Department provides capitation funding to all recognised primary schools. The amount of grant paid to an individual primary school for capitation and ancillary services is determined by the school's enrolment, subject to a minimum grant for both capitation and ancillary services in respect of schools with enrolments up to 60, and a maximum ancillary services grant in the case of schools with enrolments of 500 or more. I have no plans to change these arrangements. In 2015 the capitation grant is €170 per pupil, and the Ancillary Services Grant is €147 per pupil. The Deputy may wish to note that Circular 40/2009 clarifies issues relating to the allocation of funding for primary schools. The circular states that capitation funding provided for general running costs and funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities. I do recognise however the need to improve capitation funding for primary schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years. In Budget 2015 I was able to secure the first increase in education spending in recent years and a further increase in education spending was achieved in Budget 2016. I am determined to continue pressing the case for increased investment in education. While I am unable to meet the Principal and teachers of this school I hope the information provided in this answer helps to clarify the position for them regarding the issues raised in their correspondence. If they have any further queries in relation to these issues they can contact my Department directly re same.
185. Deputy Joanna Tuffy asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to revise the rules regarding student grants for second-chance students (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39986/15]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Student Grant Scheme is reviewed annually. The review of the Student Grant Scheme 2016 is ongoing. As such, all aspects of the Scheme remain under review at this point.
186. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his Department's view on private waste firms using a pay-by-weight service from July 2016; if he will engage with such firms in relation to customers who will be adversely impacted by this, due to waste caused by medical conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39807/15]
View answerGovernment waste policy is predicated on the waste hierarchy as set out in the EU’s Waste Framework Directive. A number of specific measures have been, and will continue to be, introduced to reduce the amount of waste generated in the State and to increase the segregation of waste which cannot be prevented in line with Government policy. The introduction of pay by weight charges for the collection of household waste is one such measure. During the period in which local authorities were directly involved in the collection of household waste, a minority of individual Councils offered different levels of discount to selected households, based on different qualification criteria.
As local authorities exited the waste collection market, some required the private operators which took on the Councils’ customers to provide a level of discount for existing waiver customers only, and even then for a limited time. The vast majority of contractual commitments for private operators to provide a waiver have now expired. In that context, the number of households in receipt of waiver discounts is likely to decline over time, especially as some householders were able to take advantage of special reduced offers elsewhere which actually undercut the waiver price. However, selected private operators still offer some level of discount to former waiver customers on a voluntary basis.
In addition, a very limited number of local authorities make financial contributions towards the cost of, or pay for, the collection of waste from certain households. Again, the qualification criteria and level of support differ from area to area. Such expenditure means that these local authorities divert funding from other areas to support these waiver provisions.
The vast majority of local authorities no longer collect waste and that the market is now serviced by a diverse range of private operators, where the fees charged are a matter between service provider and customer and the services offered vary across the country. In that regard, it is becoming increasingly apparent that a national waiver scheme could not be imposed in the context of an open market for waste collection.
187. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided in 2015 under the improvement works in lieu of local authority housing scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39812/15]
View answer188. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided in 2015 under the mobility aids grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39814/15]
View answer189. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided in 2015 under the housing aid for older persons scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39815/15]
View answer190. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided in 2015 under the housing adaptation grant for people with a disability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39816/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 187 to 190, inclusive, together.
A total funding allocation for 2015 of €11m nationally was made to support local authorities in undertaking adaptations and extensions to their social housing stock to meet the needs of tenants with a disability or to address serious overcrowding, and for improvement works in lieu of provision of local authority housing. Details of the 2015 allocations are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/GeneralNews/MainBody,41581,en.htm.
A total funding allocation for 2015 of €50.5m nationally was made for the Housing Adaptation Grants Schemes for Older People and People with a Disability. Three separate schemes are available – the Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability, the Mobility Aids Grant and the Housing Aid for Older People. Details of the 2015 allocations are available on my Department’s website at the following link: http://www.environ.ie/en/GeneralNews/MainBody,41581,en.htm.
The detailed administration of these schemes, including the apportionment of funding between the various grant measures and the assessment, approval and payment of grants to individual applicants, is the responsibility of the relevant local authority.
