Written Answers Nos. 43-66
43. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the indications from the ASTI that it will ballot for strike action on the grounds of the use of financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, legislation against it. [28389/16]
View answerI understand that ASTI is currently conducting two ballots of their members – one on industrial action relating to new teachers’ pay and a second ballot on industrial action, including withdrawal from supervision and substitution duties, in relation to terms and conditions. In addition, ASTI have issued a directive to their members to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. These are the 33 hours of additional work per year (less than one hour per week) that were agreed under the Croke Park agreement, to facilitate staff meetings, parent-teacher meetings, etc., without closing schools. ASTI's decision to withdraw from these hours means that the union has repudiated the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
In opting to withdraw from the LRA, ASTI members are also opting to forego a series of benefits and protections. These include avoiding an increment freeze, continuation of the alleviation of the FEMPI Act 2013 pay cut for higher earners, the addition of the €1,592 Supervision and Substitution allowance to the pay scale and protection against compulsory redundancy. Further significant consequences of withdrawing from the Lansdowne Road Agreement are the withdrawal of the benefits introduced under the Ward Report and the non-application of the revised sequence for the filling of posts/hours, both of which measures enable new teachers to gain permanent employment and full hours more quickly than before. In addition, newly qualified ASTI members will not receive the benefits of the recent agreement reached with TUI and INTO on new entrant pay.
In relation to ASTI’s current ballots, it would not be appropriate for me to comment while the ballots are ongoing. However, I have previously stated my belief that continuing dialogue between my Department and the ASTI would be in the best interests of schools, parents, students and teachers as is evidenced by the agreements reached with the INTO and TUI. It is regrettable that ASTI seem determined to pursue a route of confrontation rather than dialogue. Despite this, my Department is making arrangements to continue the ongoing discussions with ASTI in relation to their issues of concern.
44. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on progress being made to resolve the ongoing industrial relations issues between his Department and the ASTI union; and if he will ensure that no child will be deducted marks by the State Examinations Commission as a result of these issues. [28286/16]
View answerASTI has issued a directive to their members to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. These are the 33 hours of additional work per year (less than one hour per week) that were agreed under the Croke Park agreement, to facilitate staff meetings, parent-teacher meetings, etc., without closing schools. ASTI's decision to withdraw from these hours means that the union has repudiated the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The Government has committed to fully implementing the Lansdowne Road Agreement in accordance with the timelines agreed, subject to the continued cooperation of the unions. The Lansdowne Road Agreement remains the framework for public service pay. It is the only framework available for managing the needs of the public service while implementing the reforms that enable us to deliver better public services in the future.
In opting to withdraw from the LRA, ASTI members are also opting to forego a series of benefits and protections. These include avoiding an increment freeze, continuation of the alleviation of the FEMPI Act 2013 pay cut for higher earners, the addition of the €1,592 Supervision and Substitution allowance to the pay scale and protection against compulsory redundancy.
Further significant consequences of withdrawing from the Lansdowne Road Agreement are the withdrawal of the benefits introduced under the Ward Report and the non-application of the revised sequence for the filling of posts/hours, both of which measures enable new teachers to gain permanent employment and full hours more quickly than before. In addition, newly qualified ASTI members will not receive the benefits of the recent agreement reached with TUI and INTO on new entrant pay.
I previously offered that my Department would suspend the implementation of measures associated with ASTI’s repudiation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, if the union suspends their directive to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. This would provide a more constructive context for talks to take place and would avoid disruption in schools. It would also mean that thousands of ASTI teachers would receive the payment for supervision and substitution as well as other benefits and protections under the Lansdowne Road agreement. Unfortunately, ASTI have refused this offer thus far but it remains open.
Despite this, my Department is making arrangements to continue the ongoing discussions with ASTI in relation to their issues of concern. I believe that continuing dialogue between my Department and the ASTI would be in the best interests of schools, parents, students and teachers as is evidenced by the agreements reached with the INTO and TUI. It is regrettable that ASTI seem determined to pursue a route of confrontation rather than dialogue.
In respect of issues relating to the reform of the Junior Certificate, a key element of the new Framework are Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs). These assessments will be undertaken by students across the junior cycle, one in 2nd year and one in 3rd year. The second CBA will be followed by a written Assessment Task which will be externally marked by the State Examinations Commission. The Assessment Task is worth 10% of the marks for the final examination.
Earlier grounds for objection of the ASTI to the new Framework have been addressed. Under the 2015 Framework agreed with the unions, teachers are now not involved in assessing their own students for State certification purposes.
However, teachers of English who are members of ASTI have been directed by their union that, while they are to teach the new specification, they are not to undertake the Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs) with their students. Therefore, students who are taught by a teacher who is a member of the ASTI will not receive a grade for their CBAs. Since the second CBA is linked to the written Assessment Task these students cannot complete the Assessment Task.
Officials from my Department recently met with the ASTI on this matter, where the position regarding the written Assessment Task was made very clear. In cases where the Assessment Task is not completed the State Examinations Commission cannot award any marks in respect of this mandatory component. Therefore, candidates for Junior Cycle English in 2017 who do not complete the assessment task can only be marked and graded based on a maximum of 90% of the available marks.
Given the very unfair position in which the ASTI directive now places teachers and students of English, my Department asked ASTI to provide an immediate derogation from their directive for current teachers of English, while talks on the Junior Cycle proceed, in order that current third year English students of ASTI members are no longer unfairly and unjustifiably disadvantaged. The ASTI have yet to respond on this request.
45. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in primary schools in the upcoming budget; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28379/16]
View answerThe Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level.
Budget 2016 provides for a one point improvement to the staffing allocation to primary schools, which has been implemented for the 2016/17 school year. This sees the primary staffing schedule operate on the basis of a general average of 1 classroom teacher for every 27 pupils. Lower thresholds apply for DEIS Band 1 schools.
The commitments in the Programme for Government, including the pupil-teacher ratio, will be considered in the context of the budgetary process.
46. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the large number of students from north-west Kildare who cannot get a school bus place despite his Department's commitment that no child would lose his or her place on school buses pending the outcome of a review by his Department; the position regarding the establishment of a cross-party committee to review the outstanding problems with the school transport scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28353/16]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
During the 2015/16 school year in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only.
Transport on a concessionary basis is subject to a number of conditions which are detailed in the School Transport Scheme such as the existence of spare seats on the bus after all eligible children have been catered for and payment of the school transport charge.
The Programme for Government commits to review the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme prior to Budget 2017. As announced in July, a cross party group was established to feed into this review.
Pending this review, there was no planned programme of downsizing school buses in the current school year. There were route changes and variations in line with normal operational decisions that occur from year to year, and any impacts in terms of increases or decreases of available places nationally was marginal, in line with what occurs every year.
It is important to point out that there has been no impact on children who are eligible for school transport.
47. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the initiatives he will implement to increase the uptake of apprenticeships; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22541/16]
View answerThe Programme for Government commits to providing 50,000 apprenticeship and traineeship places up to 2020. SOLAS and the Apprenticeship Council are preparing a detailed 3 year plan to deliver on this commitment, which will include managing the pipeline of new apprenticeships and setting out the timing and nature of new calls for proposals. This plan will be published shortly and will set out specific annual targets as well as bringing forward a range of specific actions to enable and support the development of new apprenticeships and traineeships.
Currently the Apprenticeship Council is overseeing the expansion of the apprenticeship system into a range of new areas, following a call for proposals from employers and education and training providers. 25 proposals have been prioritised by the Council for development.
The Insurance Practitioner Apprenticeship, the first of the new programmes developed through the Apprenticeship Council’s call for proposals, launched in September. This will be followed by the Industrial Engineer Apprenticeship due to launch this month. Further new apprenticeships are scheduled to launch later this year/early next year in various sectors including medical devices, polymer processing and financial services.
As the Deputy will be aware, the route to an apprenticeship is through gaining employment with an approved employer. A campaign to promote apprenticeship is currently being developed by SOLAS in consultation with key partners including the Apprenticeship Council. The campaign will raise awareness and promote the value of apprenticeship for individual apprentices and for employers and it will cover both existing apprenticeships and the new apprenticeships now coming on stream.
48. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views regarding the way the Teaching Council withdraws payment to teachers for late subscriptions when there can be legitimate reasons for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28055/16]
View answerUnder the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with statutory authority and responsibility for regulating the teaching profession including registering teachers, and maintaining the state register of teachers. The overall aim is to ensure that we have high quality teaching and a safe school environment for all students.
The Deputy should note that the Teaching Council does not pay or withdraw payment from teachers. Teacher salaries are paid by my Department or by Education and Training Boards (ETBs), as appropriate.
The position is that Section 30 of the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 provides that a person who is employed as a teacher in a recognised school, but who is not on the register of teachers, shall not be remunerated in respect of his or her employment out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, other than in exceptional circumstances where, even though the employing school or ETB has made every effort, a registered teacher cannot be found to take up the position. Statutory Instrument 32/2014 governs such circumstances.
Section 34 of the Teaching Council Acts makes provision for a situation where a registered teacher fails to apply for renewal of his/her registration in accordance with the Acts (section 33). In that case the Teaching Council is required to inform the teacher and the teacher is retained on the register for a further month. If his or her application is still not received he or she is then removed from the register. The Deputy may wish to note also that, routinely, a number of attempts are made by the Council to contact a teacher, including by post, phone and text where the contact details are available to the Council, before the teacher is removed from the register.
49. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will approve a new school building to progress to tender stage for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28042/16]
View answerThe building project referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning. All statutory approvals have been obtained 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 50 more major projects have been progressed to construction or 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 and carry a significant contractual commitment into 2017.
While the project for the school in question was included on the 5 year Construction Programme 2012-2016 it 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.
Officials of my Department will continue to closely monitor expenditure on existing contractual commitments over the coming months and, as funding allows, other projects, including the project for this school, which will be considered for progression through the tender process with a view to starting on site as soon as possible.
50. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the expert group on future funding for higher education chaired by a person (details supplied); if he will rule out the imposition of a student loan scheme and tuition fees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28386/16]
View answerThe Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education, published in July, clearly outlines the funding challenges in the higher education sector and offers a number of approaches and recommendations for consideration. As committed to in the Programme for Government, I have referred the report to the Education Committee as part of the process for formulating a plan for the future of the sector. This will ensure that all views can be heard and considered.
The Expert Group examined arrangements for funding higher education internationally. The spectrum of different funding approaches was set out in the discussion paper published by the Group in November 2015 and which is available on my Department's website. The paper also considered countries which operate a system of tuition fees supported by student loans such as Australia, England and the Netherlands. The Group consulted and considered the applicability of the different approaches in the Irish context.
I do not want to pre-empt the Education Committee's work or discussions in this regard, but the analysis and consideration of the different options put forward in the Group's final report will provide a solid basis for further engagement on this issue.
51. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether present disputes may affect the morale of secondary school teachers and the ability of the system to deliver excellence and innovation as per the programme for Government. [28376/16]
View answerASTI has issued a directive to their members to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. These are the 33 hours of additional work per year (less than one hour per week) that were agreed under the Croke Park agreement, to facilitate staff meetings, parent-teacher meetings, etc., without closing schools. ASTI's decision to withdraw from these hours means that the union has repudiated the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The Government has committed to fully implementing the Lansdowne Road Agreement in accordance with the timelines agreed, subject to the continued cooperation of the unions. The Lansdowne Road Agreement remains the framework for public service pay. It is the only framework available for managing the needs of the public service while implementing the reforms that enable us to deliver better public services in the future.
In opting to withdraw from the LRA, ASTI members are also opting to forego a series of benefits and protections. These include avoiding an increment freeze, continuation of the alleviation of the FEMPI Act 2013 pay cut for higher earners, the addition of the €1,592 Supervision and Substitution allowance to the pay scale and protection against compulsory redundancy.
Further significant consequences of withdrawing from the Lansdowne Road Agreement are the withdrawal of the benefits introduced under the Ward Report and the non-application of the revised sequence for the filling of posts/hours, both of which measures enable new teachers to gain permanent employment and full hours more quickly than before. In addition, newly qualified ASTI members will not receive the benefits of the recent agreement reached with TUI and INTO on new entrant pay.
I previously offered that my Department would suspend the implementation of measures associated with ASTI’s repudiation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, if the union suspends their directive to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. This would provide a more constructive context for talks to take place and would avoid disruption in schools. It would also mean that thousands of ASTI teachers would receive the payment for supervision and substitution as well as other benefits and protections under the Lansdowne Road agreement. Unfortunately, ASTI have refused this offer thus far but it remains open.
Despite this, my Department is making arrangements to continue the ongoing discussions with ASTI in relation to their issues of concern. I believe that continuing dialogue between my Department and the ASTI would be in the best interests of schools, parents, students and teachers as is evidenced by the agreements reached with the INTO and TUI. It is regrettable that ASTI seem determined to pursue a route of confrontation rather than dialogue.
52. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills when it is expected a review of the school transport system is likely to be undertaken with the objective of the streamlining of school transport in rural areas where parents and children have been greatly inconvenienced by changes which separate siblings and force parents to send their children to schools neither of their choice nor necessarily the nearest, as in the case of Johnstown and Kilshanroe, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28391/16]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
During the 2015/16 school year in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only.
Transport on a concessionary basis is subject to a number of conditions which are detailed in the School Transport Scheme such as the existence of spare seats on the bus after all eligible children have been catered for and payment of the school transport charge.
As committed to in the Programme for Government, a review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme is currently being undertaken.
Pending the completion of this review, there was no planned programme of downsizing school buses in the current school year. There were route changes and variations in line with normal operational decisions that occur from year to year, and any impacts in terms of increases or decreases of available places nationally was marginal, in line with what occurs every year.
It is important to point out that there has been no impact on children who are eligible for school transport.
53. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the objectives and progress of the review of school transport; and when he expects to finalise the objectives of the review. [28289/16]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
During the 2015/16 school year in the region of 114,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, were transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The Programme for Government commits to review the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme prior to Budget 2017.
This Review which has commenced will encompass an overview of the School Transport Scheme including the current position regarding school transport on a concessionary basis, identify issues regarding the concessionary charges and rules element and make recommendations on concessionary school transport.
Pending this review, there was no planned programme of downsizing school buses in the current school year. There were route changes and variations in line with normal operational decisions that occur from year to year, and any impacts in terms of increases or decreases of available places nationally was marginal, in line with what occurs every year.
It is important to point out that there has been no impact on children who are eligible for school transport.
54. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the recent decline experienced by Irish universities in international rankings; and the way he plans to restore to proper levels the teaching staff ratios and to enhance the reputation abroad of Irish third-level institutions. [28287/16]
View answerWhile there is a decline in the Rankings of some Irish Institutions, Ireland performs ahead of most European countries relative to our population size and has the highest level of tertiary attainment rate for 30 – 34 year olds in Europe.
We do have to be cautious about how we interpret the results of these commercial global rankings. It is clear that performance in rankings are often highly reliant on surveys of opinion and of citations in journals which do not adequately capture the full range of activities taking place in our third level institutions. Nonetheless they are widely read and can be informative.
I want a strong Higher Education system that serves the needs of all students, enterprise and other stakeholders through high quality teaching and learning, upskilling and reskilling, research and innovation as well as supporting the most disadvantaged to participate in higher education as part of the overall goal of delivering the best Education and Training system in Europe by 2026. It is important that we ourselves choose the goals and objectives and then benchmark ourselves against best international practice. The first Systems Performance Report prepared by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and published in 2014 shows that the higher education system in Ireland is performing well against a range of international benchmarks.
I have acknowledged that funding is a key concern. The Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education clearly outlines the funding challenges and offers a number of approaches and recommendations for consideration for the medium term. Higher Education funding in the short term is also the focus of discussion as part of Budget 2017. As committed to in the Programme for Government, I referred the report to the Education Committee as part of the process for formulating a plan for the future. This will ensure that all views can be heard and considered.
We will require a broad consensus to enable us to move forward with a realistic and achievable strategy for funding the system into the future. I hope to work with the Education Committee as it analyses all of the options put forward by the Expert Group and allows the voice of all stakeholders and all sides of the debate to be heard.
In addition, my Department is working with the HEA on a revised System Performance Framework for higher education institutions which will establish clear goals for the system for the next 5 years across priority areas such as access, research and developing our pipeline of human capital. My Department, in co-operation with the HEA, is also undertaking a review of current state funding mechanisms to ensure the right tools and incentives are in place to achieve these goals.
55. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to create more equal access to third-level education. [28335/16]
View answerThe National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education, 2015-2019, provides the framework for promoting equity of access to higher education.
The vision of the National Access Plan is to ensure that the student body entering into, participating in and completing higher education at all levels reflects the diversity and social mix of Ireland's population.
The Plan identifies the main target groups for my Department in relation to promoting access to higher education:
- Entrants from socio-economic groups that have low participation in higher education.
- First time, mature student entrants.
- Students with disabilities.
- Part-time/flexible learners.
- Further education award holders.
- Irish Travellers.
My Department has allocated approximately €400 million to support these target groups in the 2016/17 academic year. The range of student supports that are available include the Student Grant Scheme, the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities.
The National Access Plan also contains a number of new actions that will benefit these target groups. These include reaching out directly to disadvantaged communities, developing a national policy for recognition of prior learning, and addressing non-completion in higher education. These actions are currently being progressed by my Department in conjunction with the Higher Education Authority.
In fulfilment of one of the actions in the National Access Plan I recently announced funding of €2.7 million over 3 years for measures that will increase participation in initial teacher education by the target groups in the National Access Plan. The intention is to challenge centres of teaching excellence to come up with innovative solutions to this policy issue. This measure will help to provide positive role models in the classroom for students in disadvantaged areas.
In publishing the report of the expert group on future funding of the higher education sector, I indicated my intention to ensure that any additional funding for higher education would be supported by new performance-based funding mechanisms and new targets for improved outcomes for the users and funders of the service. This will include new targets to further widen access to and participation in higher education for students from disadvantaged areas and other underrepresented groups.
56. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will advance an application for a new school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28043/16]
View answerI can confirm that a building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme.
This school project necessitates the acquisition of a suitable site and this process is currently in train. The architectural planning process for the new school building will commence as soon as the site is secured. My Department will be in further contact with the school in this regard at that point.
57. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address the serious situation where teachers who are not members of unions are being treated as unionised based on the primary membership union in the particular school where they are teaching. [28056/16]
View answerAs is the norm with public service collective agreements, the Lansdowne Road Agreement was negotiated with trade unions which are recognised as representing staff in the public service (including teachers). It is normal industrial relations practice in the public service that the decision of the trade union recognised as holding representative rights for a particular grade or sector will determine the position for all relevant staff in that grade/sector. This context does not allow for acceptance or rejection of collective agreements by staff on an individual basis.
58. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the recent Times Higher Education World University Rankings which show no Irish university in the top 200 globally ranked universities; his plans to address this via a significant capital and research programme at least equivalent to the previous five-year funding cycle of the programme for research in third-level institutions or otherwise; his plans to commit investment in the recurrent grant to higher education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28352/16]
View answerWhile there is a decline in the Rankings of some Irish Institutions, Ireland performs ahead of most European countries relative to our population size and has the highest level of tertiary attainment rate for 30 – 34 year olds in Europe.
We do have to be cautious about how we interpret the results of these commercial global rankings. It is clear that performance in rankings are often highly reliant on surveys of opinion and of citations in journals which do not adequately capture the full range of activities taking place in our third level institutions. Nonetheless they are widely read and can be informative.
I want a strong Higher Education system that serves the needs of all students, enterprise and other stakeholders through high quality teaching and learning, upskilling and reskilling, research and innovation as well as supporting the most disadvantaged to participate in higher education as part of the overall goal of delivering the best Education and Training system in Europe by 2026. It is important that we ourselves choose the goals and objectives and then benchmark ourselves against best international practice. The first Systems Performance Report prepared by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and published in 2014 shows that the higher education system in Ireland is performing well against a range of international benchmarks.
I have acknowledged that funding is a key concern. The Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education clearly outlines the funding challenges and offers a number of approaches and recommendations for consideration for the medium term. Higher Education funding in the short term is also the focus of discussion as part of Budget 2017. As committed to in the Programme for Government, I referred the report to the Education Committee as part of the process for formulating a plan for the future. This will ensure that all views can be heard and considered.
We will require a broad consensus to enable us to move forward with a realistic and achievable strategy for funding the system into the future. I hope to work with the Education Committee as it analyses all of the options put forward by the Expert Group and allows the voice of all stakeholders and all sides of the debate to be heard.
In addition, my Department is working with the HEA on a revised System Performance Framework for higher education institutions which will establish clear goals for the system for the next 5 years across priority areas such as access, research and developing our pipeline of human capital. My Department, in co-operation with the HEA, is also undertaking a review of current state funding mechanisms to ensure the right tools and incentives are in place to achieve these goals.
59. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a new model of in-school speech and language therapy will be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28392/16]
View answerThe Programme for a Partnership Government states that a new model of In-School Speech and Language Therapy will be established. It commits to investing an extra €500million in education by 2021, through measures including childcare subventions and HSE Speech and Language Therapists, to bring the number up to 1,102 (a 25% increase).
The Programme for a Partnership Government also contains a commitment to examine the adequacy of the present policies and provision, and their scope for improvement, particularly in relation to speech and language difficulties and early intervention.
As Speech and Language Therapists are currently employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE), officials at my Department are currently engaging with colleagues in the Department of Health and the HSE to develop a plan for the implementation of this commitment. The implementation plan will identify the actions to be taken and the specific timeframe for the delivery of this commitment.
In the interim my Department continues to provide an extensive range of supports for pupils with Specific Speech and Language Disorder (SSLD).
This includes provision for the establishment of special classes for pupils with SSLD in primary schools.
Applications to establish such classes are considered by the school's assigned Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) and those meeting the criteria for establishment are approved by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). The criteria for enrolment in a Special Class for pupils with SSLD is set out in my Department's Circular 0038/2007.
Pupils who are not enrolled in a special class for SSLD and who meet the criteria for Specific Speech and Language Disorder, as outlined in my Department's Circular, may qualify for additional teaching support where he/she is enrolled in mainstream school.
Pupils with mild speech and language difficulties may qualify for supplementary teaching support from within the school's general allocation of learning support/teaching support. It is a matter for individual schools to use their professional judgement to identify pupils who will receive this support and to use the resources available to the school to intervene at the appropriate level with such pupils.
60. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to restore the ex-quota provision of guidance counselling to secondary schools; his views on the benefits to pupils of ex-quota guidance, including advice and direction on third-level options and career, but also importantly, the necessity of ex-quota guidance in view of the serious issues of youth mental health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28288/16]
View answerThe Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 has a specific action to enhance guidance counselling at second-level as resources permit.
A significant move was made last month with the restoration of half of the cut in provision for guidance counselling. This was the equivalent to the restoration of 300 posts.
The delivery of the 50% restoration through a change in the staffing schedule allows each school to determine how best to allocate the additional resources to meet the guidance needs of the school. The circular issued earlier this year by my Department outlining the allocation of teaching resources clearly stated that this additional resource is to complement existing resources in order to best meet the guidance needs of the school in line with the school's guidance plan.
I favour having a separate and transparent allocation for guidance.
I hope to build on the present increase in provision for guidance, but this will have to be considered each year in a budgetary context.
I am also reviewing other areas of policy that can assist schools in having a series of initiatives to support the resilience of students.
61. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for an assessment of the effectiveness of current laws, policies and spending on special needs and disability supports in the education system, with a view to publishing a roadmap to meet the rights of children with special educational needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28374/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that Section 20 (1) (j) of the Education for Persons with Special Needs Act 2004 sets out that one of the functions of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is to advise the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to any matter relating to the education of children and others with disabilities.
In recent years, the NCSE has provided my Department with a number of policy advice papers on:
The Future Role of Special Schools and Classes in Ireland
The Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in Ireland
The Education of Children with Challenging Behaviour arising from Severe Emotional Behavioural Disorders
Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools
Delivery for Students with Special Educational Needs: A proposed new model for allocating teaching resources for Students with Special Educational Needs
Details of these reports can be found at http://ncse.ie/policy-advice.
I have also recently requested the NCSE to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme.
The policy advice paper 'Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools' included an assessment of the legislative and administrative practices underpining the provision of special educational needs supports and also the current polices and manner of providing supports for children with special educational needs in schools.
The report also made a number of recommendations aimed at developing a better or more effective alternative to the current resource allocation model.
It is therefore intended to bring into effect many improvements to the provision of special educational needs support, through policy developments across a range of areas, in conjunction with NCSE policy advice.
As committed to in the Programme for a Partnership Government, I also plan to examine the adequacy of the present policies and provision, and their scope for improvement, particularly in relation to speech and language difficulties and early intervention. In doing so, I will also take into account the recommendations contained in the NCSE policy advice papers.
In the meantime the provision of supports for children with special educational needs continues to be improved on an ongoing basis.
Funding for special education provision in 2016 will amount to some €1.5 billion, which is equivalent to over 17% of the gross overall current allocation for education and training. It has increased by 10% in the past two years.
We now have the highest level of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support, Resource Teaching allocations and Special Class provision that we have ever had, which will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.
I recently announced that from September next 12,900 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) will be available for allocation to primary and secondary schools, which is 860 more posts, or a 7% increase in the number of posts over the number available last year. In total the number of SNA posts available has increased by almost 22% from 10575 posts available in 2011.
There are currently over 11,800 learning support and Resource Teacher posts in mainstream primary and post primary schools providing additional teaching support to pupils with special educational needs.
In May of this year the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocated 7,015 Resource Teaching posts to mainstream schools for September 2016, which is an increase of approximately 9% over the number allocated at September 2015.
In total, 7,452 resource teacher posts will be available for allocation to schools for 2016/17, which represents an increase of 41% from 5265 posts available in 2011.
In addition, approximately 150 new Special Classes will be opened for the 2016/17 school year, which means there will be over 1,150 special classes in place, compared to 548 special classes in 2011.
The provision which is being made ensures that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.
62. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to make additional funding available in the upcoming budget to institutes of technology, which have been disproportionately affected by the cuts to third-level institutions since 2007; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28377/16]
View answerThe Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education, published in July, clearly outlines the funding challenges in the higher education sector and offers a number of approaches and recommendations for consideration in the medium to long term. As committed to in the Programme for Government, I have referred the report to the Education Committee as part of the process for formulating a plan for the future of the sector and in order to develop a consensus on how that can be achieved.
In relation to the Institutes of Technology (IoTs), the Higher Education Authority (HEA) are closely monitoring the financial position of all of the IoTs and in particular are working closely with those in financial difficulty to ensure appropriate mechanisms are put in place to eliminate any deficits as quickly as possible. In this regard, the HEA has a policy framework in place for engaging with vulnerable IoTs, which includes a requirement for Institutes to submit detailed financial plans setting out a return to a balanced budget situation.
The issue of funding for the higher education sector in the short term is the subject of discussions in the context of Budget 2017.
63. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on discussions with the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland in view of the ballot for industrial action due to issues with terms and conditions, the Lansdowne Road agreement and Croke Park hours. [28383/16]
View answerI understand that ASTI is currently conducting two ballots of their members – one on industrial action relating to new teachers’ pay and a second ballot on industrial action, including withdrawal from supervision and substitution duties, in relation to terms and conditions. In addition, ASTI have issued a directive to their members to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. These are the 33 hours of additional work per year (less than one hour per week) that were agreed under the Croke Park agreement, to facilitate staff meetings, parent-teacher meetings, etc., without closing schools. ASTI's decision to withdraw from these hours means that the union has repudiated the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
The Government has committed to fully implementing the Lansdowne Road Agreement in accordance with the timelines agreed, subject to the continued cooperation of the unions. The Lansdowne Road Agreement remains the framework for public service pay. It is the only framework available for managing the needs of the public service while implementing the reforms that enable us to deliver better public services in the future.
In opting to withdraw from the LRA, ASTI members are also opting to forego a series of benefits and protections. These include avoiding an increment freeze, continuation of the alleviation of the FEMPI Act 2013 pay cut for higher earners, the addition of the €1,592 Supervision and Substitution allowance to the pay scale and protection against compulsory redundancy. Further significant consequences of withdrawing from the Lansdowne Road Agreement are the withdrawal of the benefits introduced under the Ward Report and the non-application of the revised sequence for the filling of posts/hours, both of which measures enable new teachers to gain permanent employment and full hours more quickly than before. In addition, newly qualified ASTI members will not receive the benefits of the recent agreement reached with TUI and INTO on new entrant pay.
I previously offered that my Department would suspend the implementation of measures associated with ASTI’s repudiation of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, if the union suspends their directive to withdraw from the Croke Park hours. This would provide a more constructive context for talks to take place and would avoid disruption in schools. It would also mean that thousands of ASTI teachers would receive the payment for supervision and substitution as well as other benefits and protections under the Lansdowne Road agreement. Unfortunately, ASTI have refused this offer thus far - but it remains open to them.
I believe that continuing dialogue between my Department and the ASTI would be in the best interests of schools, parents, students and teachers as is evidenced by the agreements reached with the INTO and TUI. It is regrettable that ASTI seem determined to pursue a route of confrontation rather than dialogue. Despite this, my Department is making arrangements to continue the ongoing discussions with ASTI in relation to their issues of concern.
64. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Taoiseach the number of emigrants who have returned here for employment since the Government came to office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28247/16]
View answerStatistics on migration are included in the CSO's annual Population and Migration Estimates release. The principal source of information for the estimation of annual migration flows published by the Central Statistics Office, incorporating both emigration and immigration, is the Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS); the published estimates are classified by sex, broad age group, origin and destination, and nationality. The latest release was published in August 2016 and the latest annual figures available are for the year to April 2016.
The release shows that an estimated 79,300 persons migrated to Ireland in the year from April 2015 to April 2016. Of the 66,900 aged 15 years and over, 33,300 were classified with the principal economic status of at work.
In the year to April 2016, 21,100 immigrants had Irish nationality. The sample nature of the QNHS survey does not currently support a cross tabulation by nationality and principal economic status; therefore, a breakdown of the number of returning Irish migrants who are classified as at work can't be provided. The annual migration results between 2011 and 2016 are subject to revision following publication of final data from Census of Population 2016.
65. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he had any bilateral at the informal EU council in September 2016. [28157/16]
View answerI did not have any scheduled bilateral meetings in the margins of the summit of European leaders in Bratislava on 16 September, although I did of course greet and have informal exchanges with my counterparts.
66. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he has spoken to Chancellor Merkel recently regarding EU immigration in particular. [28159/16]
View answerI last met with Chancellor Merkel in Berlin on 12 July. Our discussion focussed on the outcome of the UK referendum and its implications for Ireland, Germany and the European Union more generally.
Over the past year, including at meetings of the European Council and most recently at the informal summit of 27 in Bratislava earlier this month, I have had many constructive exchanges with the Chancellor. The meeting in Bratislava specifically addressed the issue of migration and the Declaration and Roadmap which issued following the meeting set out what was decided.
