Written Answers Nos. 116-125
116. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views with regard to a course in an institute of technology (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29047/16]
View answerThe information sought by the Deputy is being compiled and will be forwarded to him when available.
117. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that funding that has been promised by his Department for the past 16 years (details supplied) is made available to an educational institution in order to complete a vital piece of infrastructural development. [29062/16]
View answerThere are many competing demands on the limited capital budget for higher education.
The Department of Education and Skills is aware of the proposed infrastructural development referred to by the Deputy and it will be considered within the context of competing demands. I am not in a position to commit to a funding allocation at this point.
118. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reverse the decision not to grant home tuition to children with ASD between the age of two and a half and three years old unless it is provided in the home and not in a preschool environment as had previously been the case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29082/16]
View answerMy Department's Home Tuition Grant Scheme provides funding towards the provision of early educational intervention for children between 2.5 and 3 years of age with an ASD diagnosis.
Children who receive tuition under the Department’s Home Tuition scheme typically receive this tuition in their home. The scheme also provides parents with an option to enter into a group arrangement with other parents of children for whom home tuition has been approved. Parents wishing to enter into such an arrangement must notify my Department in advance for approval and providers selected by these parents must comply with additional terms and conditions which reflect the general provision of the scheme. and which apply equally to all such providers.
These terms and conditions include the requirement that eligible children must be over the age of 3. Notwithstanding this, my Department has facilitated the inclusion of individual children in such settings under the home tuition scheme where requested by parents and with the consent of the providers. The Department has continued to facilitate such requests this year. There have been no changes to the scheme's eligibility criteria for children between 2.5 and 3 years of age. In addition the formal terms and conditions which apply to both home based tuition and provision under grouped arrangements have not been changed.
119. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will re-establish CERT under SOLAS to ensure that the shortages in trained chefs and other personnel in the hospitality sector are met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29083/16]
View answerThere are no plans to establish a dedicated training organisation for the Hospitality Sector, but rather to deliver the required education and training through the mainstream higher and further education and training sectors, in line with provision for all other sectors. The Government's basic position is not to establish new agencies to deal with new policy challenges, as was done at times in the past, but to deal with those challenges through existing structures.
Last year, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs carried out a study on the future skills needs of the sector. The objective was to assess demand arising within the sector in Ireland including hotels, restaurants, bars, canteens and catering over the period to 2020. The aim was to ensure that there will be the right supply of skills to help drive domestic hospitality sector business and employment growth. The report of the study was published in November 2015.
The report provides a clear and coherent framework for the development of talent in the hospitality sector in the years ahead to help drive both hospitality business and employment growth which is one of the key goals of the Government’s Tourism Policy Statement – People, Place and Policy-Growing Tourism to 2025. A key recommendation in the report was the need to set up a National Oversight and Advisory Group comprising all the key hospitality stakeholders.
Established earlier this year, the Hospitality Skills Oversight Group is being chaired for the first year by SOLAS. Membership of the Group includes the Restaurants Association of Ireland, Irish Hotel Federation, Irish Hospitality Institute, Licenced Vintners Association, Vintners Federation of Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Department of Education and Skills, Department of Social Protection, Higher Education Authority, Skillnets, SOLAS, ETBs, IoTs, DIT and Quality and Qualifications Ireland. The role of the Group is to monitor progress on the implementation of the recommendations of the EGFSN and to provide a forum for on-going collaboration in addressing the skills needs of the sector and to identify and progress actions to overcome barriers on its implementation.
The Group has met several times since it was established and a number of key actions are being progressed including an audit of courses and culinary facilities within both the further and higher education sectors with a view to obtaining a complete overview of existing courses and facilities, identifying gaps in provision and encouraging collaboration and sharing of facilities where possible.
Since the EGFSN study has been carried out, new developments in providing for the skill needs of the sector have included:
- Approximately 220 free hospitality-related higher education places under the 2016 Springboard + programme.
- A proposal to develop a new Commis Chef Apprenticeship is at an advanced stage and is due to commence in the coming months, with training courses taking place in Education and Training Boards (ETBs) along with a work placement component.
- A proposal to develop a Chef de Partie Apprenticeship has been approved for development funding by the Apprenticeship Council at its last meeting in September.
- New Career Traineeships in Hospitality are being rolled out by a number of ETBs on a pilot basis with over 100 participants engaging so far. These are shorter courses, typically of up to 12 months duration.
In addition, Skillnets Limited is scoping opportunities to establish a dedicated network to serve the needs of the sector and has held a series of meetings with representatives of the industry.
The skill needs of the hospitality sector will also be addressed through the new skills architecture established under the Government’s National Skills Strategy 2025, which includes the 9 Regional Skills Fora.
120. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason his Department has repeatedly failed to provide adequate accommodation for the children attending a school (details supplied) in view of the fact that some children spend their school days in a classroom which measures a total of 24 sq. m, while his Department's guidelines for new classrooms is 80 sq. m. [29095/16]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers opened in September 2012 in temporary accommodation, pending delivery of the school's permanent school building, which will meet the Department's guidelines.
In December 2012, outline planning permission to provide a permanent school building for the school to which the Deputy refers was submitted to the relevant local authority but was refused on the grounds of site access. This was appealed by my Department to An Bord Pleanála but subsequently withdrawn to facilitate submission to the local authority of an amended outline planning permission in 2013, which was also refused on similar grounds.
This decision was appealed by this Department to An Bord Pleanála but refused. However, the Board considered that the matter of assessing alternative means of accessing these lands would benefit from a co-ordinated approach by my Department and the planning authority in the interests of achieving a comprehensive and balanced solution to ongoing access issues on this educational campus.
My Department and the local authority have met to discuss appropriate access routes with a view to a further planning application being submitted as soon as possible. My Department is also actively in discussion with relevant landowners to advance this process to a satisfactory conclusion.
121. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will issue a final reply to correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29097/16]
View answerA final reply has now issued to the person referred to by the Deputy in relation to her service and salary.
122. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views relating to difficulties in the State agency Caranua; the actions being taken to address such; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29099/16]
View answerCaranua has responded directly to the needs of survivors by extending its services to include, for example, contribution to funeral costs, household goods, home decoration, reconnecting with family members and home place, etc. I understand that a maximum personal allocation of €15,000 has been introduced to ensure that the Fund, which is limited, is distributed fairly. I understand also that Caranua’s application process has been made easier with its application forms and information booklets having been redesigned.
If the Deputy would like to provide specific details about the difficulties he is referring to, I would be happy to raise the matters with Caranua or ask it to provide a direct response. I should point out that Caranua is an independent statutory body and I have no role in relation to its day to day operations.
If the Deputy’s concerns relate to an individual case he should raise the matter directly with Caranua. Contact details are available on the website www.caranua.ie .
123. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will continue to provide school transport for persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29112/16]
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.
Changes to the eligibility criteria for my Department's Primary School Transport Scheme were announced in December 2010 by the then Government as part of measures contained in Budget 2011 and derived from recommendations contained in the Value for Money review of the scheme. Children who had an eligibility for school transport prior to the introduction of these changes retain this eligibility for the duration of their primary school education provided there is no change in their circumstances. Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme, has confirmed that one of the children in question is retaining eligibility for school transport under the former eligibility criteria. However, Bus Éireann has also advised that the sibling in question was incorrectly categorised as eligible for school transport.
Children who are incorrectly categorized as eligible for school transport, are allowed retain their eligibility for the remainder of the school year in which the error is discovered; thereafter, the terms of the scheme will be applied.
This means that from the commencement of the 2017/18 school year, the sibling in question may avail of concessionary transport only to the school attended.
The terms of this scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
The Programme for Government commits to review the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme and this review is currently underway.
124. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if pupils attending schools in Kilkenny city from Inistioge, County Kilkenny, can avail of the Bus Éireann school bus which services Inistioge rather than travel to Thomastown, Kilkenny, to link up with a private bus service; if he will engage with the local community to establish the numbers of pupils and arrange for the appropriate sized bus; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29113/16]
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.
If the Deputy wishes to forward the details of the children in question, I will have the matter examined.
125. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if, in view of the fact that a school (details supplied) is presently closed, the parents want to know, his plans for the national school going forward; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29122/16]
View answerMy Department has been in contact with the Patron of the school referred to by the Deputy in relation to its future viability. The Patrons’ office has advised my Department that the school has not enrolled any pupils for the current school year. The Patron's office has also advised that it is considering the future viability of the school and in that regard will liaise with my Department. Any proposal in relation to the future of the school must involve consultation with the relevant stakeholders and follow decisions taken at local level.
