Written Answers Nos. 198-204
198. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the position regarding a grant for a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41897/15]
View answerAs part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.
This service compliments the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. Staff in SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.
If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.
Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the required timeframe.
199. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the changes made to the pupil-teacher ratio for two-teacher, three-teacher and four-teacher schools; the subsequent modifications which she introduced recently, as they relate to the number of pupils required to retain a teaching post in these schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41904/15]
View answerAs part of the Budget 2012 decisions, the number of pupils required to gain and retain a classroom teaching post in small primary schools was gradually increased between September 2012 and September 2014, as set out in the following table.
The 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.
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.
The retention figures are reduced to 19, 53, and 83 for 2, 3 and 4 teacher schools respectively. Separately, a threshold of 15 pupils applies for the appointment and retention of the 2nd mainstream classroom teacher for those schools situated 8 km or more from the nearest school of the same type of patronage/language of instruction.
These improvements particularly recognise the challenges faced by very small schools that are more than 8 km from the next nearest school of the same type.
The Deputy will be aware that I have announced a 1 point improvement to the primary staffing schedule in the context of Budget 2016. The improved staffing schedule which is available on the Department website will be implemented for the 2016/17 school year. The staffing arrangements for all schools for the 2016/17 school year will be published early in 2016. Budget 2012 measure for a phased increase in pupil thresholds for small primary schools:
|
- |
2011/12 |
2012/13 |
2013/14 |
2014/15 |
|
2 teacher school |
12 |
14 |
17 |
20 |
|
3 teacher school |
49 |
51 |
54 |
56 |
|
4 teacher school |
81 |
83 |
85 |
86 |
200. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out her views on a matter (details supplied) regarding an Educate Together national school for Dublin 6 and 6W; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41971/15]
View answerThe policy on school patronage divesting is to use existing educational infrastructure to enable diversity of provision in an area where there is no demographic imperative to establish a new school. This was the approach recommended in the report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary School Sector.
Arising from the Forum's report, a number of areas were surveyed where the population was stable but there was demand for choice in provision. Dublin 6 was one such area and the preferred patron identified was Educate Together. The Department is working with the Catholic Church to secure a solution that will meet the demand. At this stage, I am not in a position to make any further statement. I can assure the Deputy every effort is being made to expedite the process.
201. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will be made on the special needs assistant allocations for a school (details supplied) in County Meath. [42006/15]
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.
202. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will receive a decision on an application for a Student Universal Support Ireland grant; the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42045/15]
View answerAs part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.
This service compliments the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. Staff in SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.
If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.
Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the required timeframe.
203. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will list all new State agencies or bodies established under the aegis of his Department since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41876/15]
View answerI refer to the reply to Question No. 246 of 19 November 2015 which sets out the position on this matter.
204. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he or any agency under the aegis of his Department have acted on a matter (details supplied) in County Longford, where the Circuit Court has indicated the view that this is a serious issue for the entire Shannon river basin and has national implications with regard to European Union directives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41894/15]
View answerI am aware of the issue raised by the Deputy and my Department has actively engaged on it with Longford County Council. This issue arises from a disused piggery which presents a water pollution risk and which has been the subject of court proceedings. While primary responsibility under the Water Pollution Acts rests with the local authority, my Department has participated in the task force established at the behest of Longford District Court in order to consider the possible means by which this pollution risk could ultimately be eliminated. The task force has met on three occasions and has monitored the on-going position while considering options for the containment of the risk and ultimate site resolution opportunities.
In November 2015, my Department provided funds of €50,000 to Longford County Council to alleviate the immediate risk of pollution to waters. This funding was used to remove some 220,000 gallons of soiled water from the site which alleviated the emergency situation and created additional storage capacity on site.
While a final engineering solution to this problem is being prepared, a site survey report commissioned by Longford County Council indicates the presence of some hazardous waste at a number of locations around the site and advises that this material should be removed before any further works are carried out. In this context, and in order to ensure that the presence of this hazardous waste material in no way impedes future works which may be required to prevent pollution, my Department has written recently to Longford County Council and has committed funding to support the costs associated with managing this particular aspect of the case.
