Written Answers Nos. 71-79
73. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of pupils at primary and post-primary levels that lost out on school transport for the 2016 to 2017 school year due to a change in the criteria for eligibility for such transport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30180/16]
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 school transport scheme which were announced in Budget 2011 derived from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the Scheme and were implemented from the commencement of the 2011/12 school year.
There was no change in criteria for eligibility in the 2016/2017 school year from a school transport perspective. There were vehicle 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.
74. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education and Skills when plans to restore the capitation grant to schools as set out in the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 will be realised and if the restoration will include a prohibition on the practice of schools seeking so-called voluntary contributions from parents (details supplied). [30187/16]
View answerI do recognise the need to improve capitation funding for primary and post-primary schools having regard to the reductions that were necessary over recent years. Budget 2017 represents the start of a major programme of reinvestment in education, and the first phase of implementation of the Action Plan for Education, aimed at becoming the best education system in Europe within a decade.
The Action Plan outlines hundreds of actions to be implemented over the 3 year period 2016 to 2019. One of the actions as part of the plan is to strengthen the focus on reducing school costs for parents. The plan also integrates with the commitment in the Programme for a Partnership Government to increase capitation funding and to set out capitation rates to schools on a rolling 3-year basis, allowing for forward planning by schools.
It was not possible to provide additional funding in Budget 2017 in relation to this element of the Action Plan due to the many competing demands for the available funding. However, this commitment remains a priority for me as soon as possible to address during the lifetime of the Action Plan.
My Department's position in relation to voluntary contributions is that they are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay. I have no plans to alter this position so long as schools ensure that the contributions are sought in a manner that makes this clear to all concerned.
Separately, the Deputy will be aware that the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill, which was published on 6 July 2016, contains a provision prohibiting the charging of fees or seeking payment or contributions for an application for admission to a school or for the enrolment or continued enrolment of a student in a school.
I also intend to introduce a stronger complaints procedure and a charter for parents. It is important that schools should consult parents on matters relating to their children's education, including those matters which have cost implications, and schools should be responsive to the views and concerns of parents. In that regard requiring schools to have a parent charter will ensure that schools will interact better with parent associations and with individual parents.
I will shortly seek Government approval for the Heads of a Bill to provide for replacing Section 28 of the Education Act, 1998 and the drafting of principles which will form the framework of a Parents' and Learners' Charter in every school.
75. Deputy Frank O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he will consider raising the income threshold for social housing in view of the fact the current thresholds exclude a lot of persons on incomes too high to satisfy the eligibility criteria but too low in real terms for them to afford the current and escalating prices in the home rental and home purchase markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30022/16]
View answerThe Social Housing Assessment Regulations 2011 prescribe maximum net income limits for each housing authority, in different bands according to the area, with income being defined and assessed according to a standard Household Means Policy.
The income bands and the authority area assigned to each band were based on an assessment of the income needed to provide for a household's basic needs plus a comparative analysis of the local rental cost of housing accommodation across the country. The limits also reflect a blanket increase of €5,000 introduced prior to the new system coming into operation, in order to broaden the base from which social housing tenants are drawn and thereby promote sustainable communities.
I am satisfied that the current income limits generally provide for a fair and equitable system of identifying those households unable to provide accommodation from their own resources. These limits will continue to be kept under review by my Department, as part of the broader social housing reform agenda set out in the Social Housing Strategy 2020.
The Government recognises the significant challenges facing the housing market in Ireland at present. The recently published Rebuilding Ireland: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, (available online at http://rebuildingireland.ie) sets out a practical and readily implementable set of time-based actions to help create a fully functioning and sustainable housing system that will deliver for people by addressing the shortage of affordable housing, rising rents and the unacceptably high level of homelessness.
The Plan is divided into five pillars, with each targeting a specific area of the housing system for attention. Pillar 3, entitled Build More Homes, has a key objective of increasing the output of private housing to meet demand at affordable prices. Pillar 4 deals with the Rental Sector and includes the development of a new affordable rental scheme to enhance the capacity of the private rented sector to provide quality and affordable accommodation for households currently paying a disproportionate amount of their disposable income on rent.
76. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the changes being made to the mobilisation of fire engines in County Meath; the performance indicator differences between the old system and the new system; the impact on the investment and resources with regard to persons and vehicles of the Meath fire brigade over the next five years in each of the fire stations; the impact on the salary for fire persons in County Meath over the next five years; his plans for a full-time fire service in Navan; if the Meath fire service will be brought up to the same level of pump service as the Dublin fire service; the number of calls being received by the eastern regional fire control in Tara Street pertaining to County Meath; the number of calls where fire engines were not mobilised for each of the past five years; and the fire service mobilisation procedure for road traffic collisions in County Meath. [30034/16]
View answerFire services are provided by local authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003. Under section 10 of the 1981 Act, a fire authority, in this case Meath County Council, is required to make provision for the delivery of fire services in its functional area, including the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of premises. In general, I have no role in relation to the detailed operational matters, such as local mobilisation procedures and staffing arrangements, referred to in the question and queries on these should be referred to the local authority concerned.
In relation to Fire Service mobilisation, my Department has provided information and analysis to assist individual fire services in improving response times by giving effect to the principle of “mobilising the nearest available response”. While this principle applies across most of the country already, the evidence suggests that up to 5% of the population would benefit from a re-alignment of the sequence of mobilisation of fire service resources from fire stations using the “nearest available response” rather than traditional administrative or “station ground” boundaries. Any query in relation to the application of the principle of “nearest available response” in Meath is a matter for Meath County Council.
In relation to the staffing requirements in each local authority, it is the responsibility of each Chief Executive, under the Local Government Act 2001, to employ such staff and to make such staffing, funding, recruitment and organisational arrangements as may be deemed necessary for the purposes of carrying out the functions of the local authorities.
My Department operated a delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium on recruitment in relation to local authorities. The Department examined all staffing sanction requests on a case by case basis having due regard to the continued delivery of key services in the context of staffing and budgetary constraints. In considering sanction requests, public safety, maintaining key front line services and economic considerations we re given precedence. Fire-fighter numbers in Ireland, including in Meath, were maintained at a constant level from the introduction of the moratorium in 2009 until its removal in December 2015. Since the lifting of the moratorium, my Department has received no application for additional posts in the Meath Fire Service. As staff in Fire Service are public servants, their remuneration and salaries are governed by relevant national pay arrangements including the Lansdowne Road Agreement, which runs to 2018.
As part of a 2016–2020 capital investment programme in fire service infrastructure, some projects in Meath are scheduled to receive support from my Department. This investment will help maintain a quality infrastructure and ensure that fire stations, the fire service appliance fleet and equipment and mobilisation and communications facilities in Meath are in line with national norms.
Fire Service statistics, including those relating to call-outs, are available on my Department’s website at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/search/sub-topic/statistics-fire-service-activities.
Details relating specifically to call-outs in County Meath for the period 2011 - 2015 are set out in Table 1.
Table 1
Details of Meath Fire Service Call-outs 2011 - 2015
|
Meath |
Fire |
Non-Fire# |
False |
Total |
|
2011 |
609 |
238 |
261 |
1108 |
|
2012 |
534 |
235 |
246 |
1015 |
|
2013 |
558 |
213 |
75 |
846 |
|
2014 |
331 |
50 |
63 |
444 |
|
2015 |
841 |
328 |
50 |
1219 |
# Hazardous Substances, Rescues, RTA's etc.
77. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Peadar Tóibín den Aire Tithíochta, Pleanála, Pobail agus Rialtais Áitiúil cad é an líon daoine a bhfuil cumas feidhmeach acu sa Ghaeilge agus atá ag obair ina Roinn. [30071/16]
View answer78. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Peadar Tóibín den Aire Tithíochta, Pleanála, Pobail agus Rialtais Áitiúil an bhfuil sprioc leagtha amach maidir le líon daoine a bhfuil cumas feidhmeach acu sa Ghaeilge a bheith ag obair sa Roinn de réir reachtaíochta agus an bhfuil an sprioc sin bainte amach go fóill. [30086/16]
View answer79. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Peadar Tóibín den Aire Tithíochta, Pleanála, Pobail agus Rialtais Áitiúil an bhfuil beartas earcaíochta faoi leith i bhfeidhm chun aon chuóta maidir le líon daoine a bhfuil cumas feidhmeach acu sa Ghaeilge, má tá a leithéid ann, a bhaint amach. [30101/16]
View answerMolaim Ceisteanna Uimh. 77 go 79, cuimsitheach, a fhreagairt le chéile.
Tá thart ar 18 ball foirne faoi láthair i mo Roinn atá inniúil ar a chuid nó a cuid oibre a dhéanamh trí mheán na Gaeilge agus is féidir na baill seo a dhíriú chuig réimsí oibre faoi leith ina bhfuil gá le Gaeilge nuair is gá. Leanfaidh mo Roinn ag soláthar deiseanna do bhaill foirne a gcuid scileanna Gaeilge a fheabhsú trí oiliúint teanga ag leibhéil éagsúla a chur ar fáil.
Mar chuid dá phleanáil d'fhórsa saothair, rinne mo Roinn imscrúdú ar líon na bpost ina bhfuil inniúlacht sa Ghaeilge riachtanach. Dearbhaíodh nach raibh aon phost den chineál seo sa Roinn ag an am agus, mar sin, níl aon chuóta faoi leith le haghaidh daoine a bhfuil cumas feidhmiúil acu sa Ghaeilge a earcú. Mar chuid de phleanáil leanúnach d’fhórsa saothair, déanfar monatóireacht agus athbhreithniú rialta ar na cúinsí.
