Michael Healy-Rae
Question:85. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application (details supplied) under the summer works scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21881/16]
View answerSummer Works Scheme Applications
Questions (85)
Written answers
I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department received an application from the school in question under the Summer Works Scheme (2016-2017), Category 1, Gas Works. The school in question did not provide mandatory information required in accordance with the terms of the scheme and thus the application was deemed invalid. I wish to advise the Deputy that under the scheme the onus is on schools to ensure that full and complete applications are submitted in accordance with the scheme.
Schools Building Projects
Questions (86)
Seán Sherlock
Question:86. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application by a school (details supplied) for building and ancillary works. [21882/16]
View answerWritten answers
Funding was devolved to the Cork Education and Training Board (CETB) under my Department's Major Devolved Projects Scheme to provide an extension project, including a Special Needs Unit, at the school to which the Deputy refers.It is understood that the CETB has completed the pre-qualification of contractors for the project and my Department is awaiting a request from the CETB for the project to move to tender. In the meantime, the enabling works to which the Deputy refers commenced on the 11th July last under a separate contract.
School Staff
Questions (87)
Michael Healy-Rae
Question:87. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the appointment of new teachers in a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21904/16]
View answerWritten answers
The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2016/2017 school year is set out in Circular 0007/2016. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the 30 September 2015. The Staffing Schedule includes the provision where schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts on developing grounds. The Department has not received an application for a developing post from the school referred to by the Deputy.The staffing arrangements at primary level also include an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board.
Questions Nos. 88 and 89 answered with Question No. 77.
Special Educational Needs Service Provision
Questions (90)
Michael McGrath
Question:90. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will permit persons (details supplied) to choose what they regard as the most appropriate preschool placement for their child with special needs in terms of using the entitlement to a home tuition grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21911/16]
View answerWritten answers
The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports, including the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.The NCSE will continue to monitor and review the requirement for special class places in particular areas and has capacity to establish such new special classes where necessary subject to the willingness of schools to open classes.The purpose of the Home Tuition Scheme, which is administered by the Special Education Section of my Department is to provide a compensatory educational service for children with Special Educational Needs who are seeking an educational placement, either in a Special School, a Special class, including an early intervention class within a mainstream school, or a mainstream class. In the event that no such placement is available, home tuition can be provided until such a placement becomes available. Home tuition can not be provided as an optional alternative to an available placement within the school system. My Department has been informed by the NCSE that they have identified a number of placement options for the child referred to by the Deputy and accordingly Home tuition cannot be granted in this case.The parents of the child should continue to liaise with their local SENO in planning the transition of their child to school.
Schools Building Projects Status
Questions (91)
Fergus O'Dowd
Question:91. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will urgently meet with a school (details supplied) which was removed from the list of agreed major projects for construction in 2016; if he is aware of the major concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21912/16]
View answerWritten answers
The brief for the school building project to which the Deputy refers is to provide an extension of seven classrooms and refurbishment of the existing accommodation to cater for a 16 classroom school. The staffing at the school is currently a Principal with 11 mainstream teachers and two special education teachers. The enrolments for 2015/16 school year were 295 pupils which reflects an incremental growth of 2% over the last five years. The design team for this project was appointed in February 2012 when the project commenced architectural planning. However, the project was not included in the 5 year construction programme announced in 2012. The project was subsequently included in the 6 year construction programme announced in November 2015.The building project for the school in question is now at an advanced stage of architectural planning. All statutory approvals have been obtained, tender documents have been prepared and the Stage 2b submission has been approved by my Department. However, on 1st January 2016 there were 66 major projects under construction. Since the start of this year 14 more major projects have been progressed to construction and there are currently 36 projects authorised to progress through the tender process with a view to starting on site in the coming months. That represents a total of 116 major projects either under construction or progressing to commence construction in 2016. These projects were authorised to proceed under previous Minister O'Sullivan, and this means that the existing contractual commitments for 2016 now fully account for the funding which was allocated for 2016 by the previous Minister. The project for the school in question was not at a sufficiently advanced stage to be considered for inclusion with those projects when they were authorised to proceed to tender earlier this year.This has meant that the progression of the major extension and refurbishment project for the school in question to tender stage is not possible at this time. Department officials wrote to the Board of Management on 28th April notifying them of this. A meeting with senior officials in my Department's school building unit can be arranged and my Department will contact the school authorities directly in this regard.
Housing Assistance Payment Data
Questions (92, 93)
Joan Burton
Question:92. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons receiving the housing assistance payment, HAP, in each local authority; the average amount being paid to HAP recipients in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21749/16]
View answerJoan Burton
Question:93. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of persons housed via the housing assistance payment from the homeless list in the Dublin region and each local authority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21750/16]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 93 together.
The implementation of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a key Government priority and a major pillar of the Social Housing Strategy 2020. It is now available to all qualified households in 19 local authority areas with over 11,000 households supported since the scheme commenced.
With regard to the number of persons receiving the Housing Assistant Payment (HAP) in each local authority, my Department has made available on its website information on the number of persons receiving HAP in each local authority area for Q1 2016 at:
http://www.environ.ie/housing/social-housing/social-and-affordble/overall-social-housing-provision.
The information requested on the number of persons receiving HAP in each local authority area for Q2 2016 is being compiled and will be made available on my Department’s website as soon as possible.
Funding for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme has increased year on year, since it commenced in September 2014, in order to meet the continuing costs of existing HAP households, and the costs of additional households being supported. In 2016 Exchequer funding allocated to HAP was €47.7m. The majority of this funding is to support on-going rent payments to landlords in respect of existing HAP households and the cost of additional HAP tenancies as households find accommodation through the scheme during the year. Funding also includes the operational costs of the HAP Shared Service Centre and the costs of the HAP administrative payment made to local authorities operating the scheme.
The annualised cost of the average monthly rent paid to landlords in 2015 is estimated as €6,804. This is not a representative cost given the scheme’s distribution and phased introduction since September 2014. In the future, this average landlord payment cost will increase arising from the introduction of the revised maximum rent limits from 1 July 2016, as well as the additional flexibility in relation to the application of the rent limits that has been made available to local authorities to use when they deem necessary.
Under HAP, local authorities make payments, subject to rent limits, on behalf of the HAP recipient directly to the landlord in respect of rent. The HAP recipient will then pay a rent contribution to the local authority. The rent contribution is a differential rent – that is, a rent set by the local authority based on income and the ability to pay.
Under the HAP scheme, eligible households source their own accommodation in the private rented sector; this accommodation must be within the HAP rent limits, which are based on the size of the household and the rental market in the relevant local authority area.
The Homelessness Pilot of the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) scheme has been operational since February 2015 across the four housing authorities in the Dublin Region, i.e. Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council and is being implemented through the Dublin Region Homeless Executive (DRHE). The focus of the pilot scheme is to transition qualified households from emergency accommodation into private rented tenancies.
As of 11 July 2016, 475 homeless households, referred by the homeless units, including the Homeless HAP Pilot Scheme being managed by the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive, are being supported by the HAP scheme in the following local authority areas:
|
Local Authority |
HAP Tenancies Referred from Homeless Units |
|
Carlow County Council |
1 |
|
Clare County Council |
2 |
|
Cork City Council |
1 |
|
Cork County Council |
8 |
|
Galway City Council |
1 |
|
Galway County Council |
3 |
|
Kildare County Council |
12 |
|
Kilkenny County Council |
16 |
|
Limerick City & County Council |
13 |
|
Louth County Council |
27 |
|
Mayo County Council |
2 |
|
Monaghan County Council |
15 |
|
Offaly County Council |
4 |
|
Sligo County Council |
5 |
|
Tipperary County Council |
10 |
|
Waterford City & County Council |
27 |
|
Dublin Regional Homeless Executive |
328 |
|
Total |
475 |