Written Answers Nos. 403-418
403. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills for details, in tabular form, on the progress made in meeting 74% of industry demands domestically for information and communications technology, ICT, professionals by 2018, as set out in the 2014 ICT skills action plan, by year, total number and percentage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2194/16]
View answerICT graduate output from the higher education sector has doubled since the first ICT action plan was published in 2011. In 2012, 31% of demand was met by graduates from mainstream Level 8, 9 and 10 courses in ICT from Universities and Institutes of Technology. The total number of graduates from ICT courses has doubled since 2011. The 2014 ICT Action Plan contains a range of measures to seek to increase supply of graduates including awareness raising, incentivised places on mainstream courses and full-time and part-time ICT courses provided through Springboard+.
In 2014, total ICT graduate output was 57% of demand. The progress in increasing the supply of graduates in 2014 and the projected increase for 2015 is set out in the following table.
Progress towards ICT Action Plan targets
|
Source |
2014 |
2015 (Projected) |
|
L 8/9/10 mainstream graduate supply (SRS) |
2,261 |
2,552 |
|
Total L8 Springboard+ full-time ICT conversion graduate supply |
523 |
633 |
|
Total L8/9 Springboard+ part-time ICT graduate supply |
574 |
625 |
|
Incentivised L8 additional places 2014 (4-year) and 2015 (3-year) |
0 |
0 |
|
Total Irish-based Level 8+ graduate supply |
3,358 |
3,810 |
|
74% target of Level 8+ job openings |
4,328 |
4,819 |
|
Total NFQ Level 8 - 10 graduate supply as % of job openings |
57% |
59% |
It should be noted that the data above does not include non-Springboard+ Level 8 ICT graduates from the private higher education providers (e.g. National College Ireland, Dublin Business School, Griffith College et al).
404. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills when she will implement a judgment of the Labour Court which was delivered in February 2009; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2283/16]
View answerMy Department gives support and funding to a number of Education and Training Boards to operate Outdoor Education Centres. There are 12 centres in all. The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) lodged a claim with my Department for a substantial pay increase on behalf of the Directors of each of these Centres. Following protracted negotiations, my Department consented to an ad-hoc referral of the claim to the Labour Court. The Labour Court subsequently issued a non-binding recommendation on 9 February 2009 in respect of this claim.
As the Deputy will be aware, in recent years arising from the financial crisis any adjustments to pay have been informed and governed by legislation enacted under the various Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts and by the public service agreements. There is no provision outside of these for the awarding of pay increases and therefore it has not been possible to implement the pay increases as per the February 2009 Labour Court decision.
405. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills in the event of a secondary school teacher resigning from a union, if the extension of the grace period under the Lansdowne Road agreement applies in terms of calculating retirement pension level; if the teacher would go up the incremental scale after the ending of the Haddington Road agreement in June 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2340/16]
View answerThe position is that the extension of the grace period (during which a teacher who retires will have their superannuation entitlements calculated by reference to the pay scales and pensionable allowances applying to him/her on 30 June 2013) to 1 April 2019 applies to all teachers who are members of a public service pension scheme, regardless of which sector the teacher is working in or whether the teacher is a member of a trade union.
In relation to progression on the incremental scale, the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015 provides that, unless a collective agreement applies to a public servant, no increment shall be awarded to the public servant and the operation of the pay scale that applies in respect of the public servant shall stand suspended until 1 July 2018.
406. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will introduce a permanent voluntary redeployment scheme for teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1840/16]
View answer416. Deputy Peter Mathews asked the Minister for Education and Skills regarding the voluntary redeployment scheme and the Croke Park agreement, when the process will be available for secondary school teachers (details supplied) based in a school in County Cavan who seek redeployment to a school in Dublin; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2000/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 406 and 416 together.
The core function of the redeployment arrangements is to facilitate the redeployment of all surplus permanent and CID holding teachers to other schools that have vacancies. The redeployment of all surplus permanent teachers is key to my Department's ability to manage within its payroll budget and ceiling on teacher numbers.
The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to post-primary schools for the 2016/17 school year, including the redeployment arrangements for the 2016/17 school year are available on my Department's website.
407. Deputy Eric Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a matter (details supplied) regarding primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1841/16]
View answer440. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address the continued unequal salaries for primary school teachers who commenced teaching after February 2012 as this differentiation is contrary to the principle of equal pay for equal work and this discrimination is incentivising newly qualified teachers to leave the profession and in many cases to go abroad; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2238/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 407 and 440 together. Since 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 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 led 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. Circular letter 0066/2015 which issued in December 2015 sets out the revisions to the thresholds for the Pension Related Deduction from 2015 and revised salary scales for teachers which take effect from 1 January 2016.
408. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills to provide the additional accommodation urgently required by a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1847/16]
View answerI can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy recently submitted an application to my Department for capital funding for additional school accommodation. The application will be considered and a decision conveyed to the school authority when this process has been completed.
409. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if additional accommodation works will be provided for a school (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1859/16]
View answerMy Department has no record of receiving an application for additional accommodation from the school to which the Deputy refers. It is open to the school authorities to make an application should an additional mainstream class teacher be approved and subject to no accommodation being available within the school currently for this purpose.
410. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she has or will consider excluding the carer's support grant, formerly the respite care grant, from reckonable income for applications for student support grants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1906/16]
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.
411. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the spend on apprenticeship training and the number of apprentices in training by employment sector in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1965/16]
View answerThe information sought is provided in the following table.
End of Year Live Population by Sector and Trade 2010 - 2015 - (numbers of apprentices recorded as in employment at 31 December each year).
|
- |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Construction Total |
3808 |
2761 |
1693 |
1197 |
1437 |
1735 |
|
Brick and Stonelaying |
202 |
147 |
85 |
54 |
53 |
54 |
|
Cabinet Making |
150 |
101 |
34 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
|
Carpentry and Joinery |
1745 |
1169 |
718 |
406 |
471 |
657 |
|
Floor and Wall Tiling |
21 |
15 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
|
Painting and Decorating |
101 |
89 |
68 |
37 |
33 |
40 |
|
Plastering |
175 |
115 |
63 |
40 |
28 |
34 |
|
Pipefitting |
34 |
|||||
|
Plumbing |
1396 |
1098 |
687 |
604 |
779 |
798 |
|
Stonecutting and Stonemasonry |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
16 |
28 |
|
Wood Machinery |
5 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wood Manufacturing and Finishing |
13 |
23 |
29 |
42 |
51 |
84 |
|
Electrical Total |
3566 |
2997 |
2167 |
2030 |
2552 |
3099 |
|
Aircraft Mechanics |
137 |
126 |
113 |
124 |
136 |
132 |
|
Electrical |
3059 |
2557 |
1784 |
1622 |
2033 |
2491 |
|
Electrical Instrumentation |
113 |
89 |
82 |
102 |
163 |
211 |
|
Electronic Security Systems |
48 |
49 |
37 |
35 |
35 |
48 |
|
Instrumentation |
19 |
16 |
17 |
17 |
25 |
28 |
|
Refrigeration |
190 |
160 |
134 |
130 |
160 |
189 |
|
Engineering Total |
964 |
943 |
893 |
1021 |
1233 |
1441 |
|
Farriery |
23 |
32 |
31 |
23 |
20 |
20 |
|
Industrial Insulation |
10 |
10 |
10 |
11 |
16 |
28 |
|
M.A.M.F. |
421 |
392 |
359 |
395 |
480 |
527 |
|
Metal Fabrication |
370 |
361 |
322 |
365 |
441 |
552 |
|
Sheet Metalworking |
71 |
54 |
44 |
43 |
58 |
81 |
|
Toolmaking |
69 |
94 |
127 |
184 |
218 |
233 |
|
Motor Total |
1780 |
1586 |
1443 |
1440 |
1668 |
2016 |
|
Agricultural Mechanics |
132 |
109 |
89 |
98 |
112 |
140 |
|
Construction Plant Fitting |
163 |
142 |
127 |
147 |
166 |
199 |
|
Heavy Vehicle Mechanics |
383 |
309 |
286 |
277 |
344 |
429 |
|
Motor Mechanics |
914 |
861 |
808 |
815 |
932 |
1130 |
|
Vehicle Body Repairs |
188 |
165 |
133 |
103 |
114 |
118 |
|
Printing & Paper Total |
54 |
40 |
26 |
23 |
23 |
26 |
|
Printing |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Bookbinding |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Print Media |
51 |
38 |
24 |
23 |
23 |
26 |
|
Grand Total |
10172 |
8327 |
6222 |
5711 |
6913 |
8317 |
|
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
€'000 |
|
|
Cost per Year:* |
68,015 |
43.353 |
32.166 |
27.942 |
25.900 |
34.800 - Budget for 2015 |
|
*excludes provision costs in Institutes of Technology |
412. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills to list the category 2 and category 3 apprenticeships referred to in the 2015 Apprenticeship Council report on new apprenticeship programme proposals; when these categories will be completed and operationalised for immediate roll-out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1966/16]
View answerI understand that the Apprenticeship Council has provided feedback to category 2 and 3 consortia in relation to their proposals. The Council intends to engage more fully with those consortia as work on progressing category 1 proposals reaches a more advanced stage. Consortia engaged with the call for proposals on the basis that details would only be published of proposals approved for progression to a detailed planning stage. At this stage, I do not propose to publish details of category 2 and 3 proposals.
413. Deputy Colm Keaveney asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost in 2016 of extending the Fund for Students with Disabilities to students participating in part-time education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1983/16]
View answerThe HEA estimate that it would cost an additional €172,000 per year to extend the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) to students participating part-time in higher education.
414. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Education and Skills how many applications for a Third Level Maintenance Grant were refused in each of the years 2013 to 2015 as a result of an independent mature student being unable to provide proof of independent residence according to the Student Universal Support Ireland requirements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1997/16]
View answerThere were 196 students in the 2014/15 academic year and 278 students in the 2015/16 academic year (to date). The statistics requested are not available for 2013/14.
415. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of third level students from Counties Galway and Mayo who have started degree, diploma and certificate courses at the National University of Ireland Galway and Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology in the past five years but have subsequently dropped out without completing their course; the number of students in each college during that period who have started courses and the number who have completed those courses each year; the steps she is taking to ensure that students make the best choices when completing their Central Applications Office applications; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1998/16]
View answerPresently, the HEA can only analyse non-progression rates by county for the academic year 2012/13 to 2013/14. The following table shows the rate of non-progression by level between 2012/13 and 2013/14, for students from county Galway and Mayo attending NUIG and GMIT. The progression of students into, and through, higher education is supported at national level through a range of initiatives, including the on-going reform of the transitions from second-level to higher education, the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2015–2019, and the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning.
The HEA is also monitoring higher education institutions' success in improving progression rates through the process of strategic dialogue. Appropriate targets have been included in the compacts agreed between the HEA and individual institutions.
The HEA's studies on student progression, along with the qualitative data generated through the Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE), enhance the evidence-base for the development of policy and practice to tackle non-progression amongst students in higher education. The fourth Study in Progression in Higher Education 2012/13 to 2013/14 was published in January 2016 and is available at http://www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/hea-progression-irish-higher-education_final.pdf.
Table 1: % Non-Progression of students from Galway & Mayo attending GMIT & NUIG - 1st to 2nd year, 2012/13 – 2013/14)
|
Institute Name |
County |
Level |
|||
|
Level 6 Level 7 Level 8 |
All Levels |
||||
|
Galway-Mayo IT |
Galway |
28% |
27% |
13% |
25% |
|
Mayo |
33% |
31% |
13% |
28% |
|
|
National University of Ireland, Galway |
Galway |
12% |
12% |
||
|
Mayo |
11% |
11% |
Table 2: % Non-Progression of all students attending NUIG - 1st to 2nd year, 2008/09 – 2013/14
|
Discipline |
March 8-March 9 |
March 11 – March 12 |
March 12-March 13 |
March 13-March 14 |
|
Level 8 |
9% |
9% |
11% |
13% |
Table 3: % Non-Progression of all students attending GMIT - 1st to 2nd year, 2008/09 – 2013/14
|
Discipline |
March 8-March 9 |
March 11 – March 12 |
March 12-March 13 |
March 13-March 14 |
|
Level 8 |
22% |
24% |
29% |
18% |
|
Level 7 |
30% |
31% |
39% |
31% |
|
Level 6 |
34% |
37% |
30% |
30% |
417. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of examinations (details supplied) in St. John's College in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2009/16]
View answerThis is an operational matter for Cork Educational Training Board (CETB). I have asked the ETB to contact the Deputy directly to clarify the position.
418. Deputy Noel Grealish asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding or grant-aid is available from her Department for a charity called Special Heroes Ireland, which supports siblings of special needs children; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2043/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department provides funding to all recognised schools. Significant resources are allocated to ensure that pupils with special educational needs can participate fully in education. Some €1.37 billion, which represents approximately 15% of my Department's budget, will be spent this year to ensure that such children can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. A range of supports and services are provided to schools, to enable individuals to achieve their full potential, including additional learning and resource teaching support, Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support, special transport arrangements, building adaptations, enhanced capitation, funding for the purchase of specialised equipment, services of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), enhanced levels of capitation in Special schools and Special Classes and additional teacher training.
As Special Heroes Ireland is not a recognised school as defined by the 1998 Education Act it does not, therefore, qualify for State funding directly from my Department. The Department of Education and Skills has no responsibility or mandate for providing support directly to the organisation. As the Deputy will be aware all Departments must adhere to current legislation and public financial management policies set out for each Department.
