Written Answers Nos. 196-208
196. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Education and Skills following the publication of the action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.7 to prepare and publish a national student accommodation strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35093/16]
View answer197. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Education and Skills following the publication of the action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.8; if he will outline the findings of the initial assessment with regard to bringing on stream proposals capable of delivering an additional 7,000 student accommodation places by end of 2019; if he will identify the locations and number of units to be provided in each location; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35094/16]
View answer198. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Education and Skills following the publication of the action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.9 to establish dedicated delivery structures, such as AHBs in the higher education institutions sector to access Housing Finance Agency funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35095/16]
View answer199. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Education and Skills following the publication of the action plan for housing and homelessness four months ago, the status of the progress made to date on action 4.11 to establish funding mechanisms for institutes of technology to support the development of their student accommodation capacity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35097/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 196 to 199, inclusive, together.
Alleviating the housing crisis is a cross-Government priority and the available analysis indicates that the lack of suitable rental accommodation for students is driving up rents in the private rental sector, particularly in areas where demand for rental property is high. This is contributing to what we know is already a considerable strain on some students and their families to participate in higher education with knock-on effects on completion rates. The reality is that dealing comprehensively with this issue will only take place as part of a more general programme to address the major housing and homelessness issue.
Accordingly, my colleague Mr. Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, on 19 July 2016 published “Rebuilding Ireland – an Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness”, following Government approval of this comprehensive and ambitious Plan. The full plan can be accessed at: http://rebuildingireland.ie/Rebuilding%20Ireland_Action%20Plan.pdf.
My Department worked closely with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government in developing this Plan, with a specific focus on student accommodation, and I very much welcome the commitments contained in the plan and I look forward to working with colleagues on a cross-Departmental basis to ensure that the commitments contained in the Plan are implemented as soon as practicable.
The current position in respect of the specific measures relating to student accommodation as detailed in Rebuilding Ireland is as follows:
(i) The Department of Education and Skills in conjunction with a number of other key stakeholders will prepare and publish a national student accommodation strategy, which will set out a broad framework for delivery of an enhanced level of accommodation and which will inform local authority housing strategies and the land management process in general, in order to provide suitably located and affordable sites. This will be prepared with a view to developing a national policy on specific needs and mechanisms for the development of appropriate on-campus and off-campus student accommodation.
Action: Rebuilding Ireland details that this plan will be in place by Q2 2017 and my Department is working on the development of this plan with a view to meeting the timescale envisaged in Rebuilding Ireland.
(ii) My Department will work with stakeholders to prioritise and progress viable projects to provide additional student accommodation in key urban areas. This will be done with a view to bringing on stream proposals capable of delivering an additional 7,000 student accommodation places by end 2019, on or off campus, in addition to projects already committed to.
Action: Rebuilding Ireland details that the initial assessment will be completed during Q4 2016 and officials from my Department are working closely with officials from the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government with a view to meeting the timescale envisaged in Rebuilding Ireland.
(iii) Dedicated delivery structures, such as Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) will be established in the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) sector to access Housing Finance Agency (HFA) funding, and complete any required policy, regulatory or legislative changes necessary. This will be done with a view to providing additional funding mechanisms for the HEI sector, in conjunction with the HFA.
(iv) The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will enable student accommodation projects for 100 units or more to go straight to An Bord Pleanála, as well as maximise the opportunities for joint venture projects on local authority sites to proceed through the Part 8 process and prepare guidance on planning policies around student accommodation developments. This will be done to enhance certainty and reduce delivery timescales and costs associated with bringing student accommodation proposals forward.
Action: To facilitate early action on new processes and structures which are key to the delivery of housing and the regulation of the housing sector, the Government approved the publication of the General Scheme of a Planning and Development (Housing and Residential Tenancies) Bill in September and is now prioritising its drafting and full publication to enable a number of legislative actions and reforms highlighted across the five pillars of the Action Plan. This includes facilitating (for a limited time-period) planning applications for large-scale housing developments and student accommodation developments, being made directly to An Bord Pleanála and facilitating Higher Education Institutes to borrow monies from the Housing Finance Agency for the purposes of financing student accommodation provision. Officials from my Department have been linking in directly with officials in the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government and with representatives of the Higher Education Institutions around the modalities and practicalities for implementing these measures once the proposed legislation has been implemented.
(v) The Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government will help to fund a Student Housing Officer to work with the Union of Students in Ireland, local authorities, AHBs and housing providers, to identify and expand short-term capacity enhancing measures in the student accommodation sector. This will be done with a view to assisting students in finding appropriate accommodation.
Action: Funding for a Student Housing Officer to work with the Union of Students in Ireland has been agreed for 2016 with a commitment to examine future funding needs going forward. This builds on the funding of €30,000 which was provided to Union of Students in Ireland (USI) by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to fund their 2016 #HomesForStudy campaign.
(vi) Funding mechanisms will be established for Institutes of Technology to support the development of their student accommodation capacity. This is to facilitate the Institute of Technology sector in developing their potential for on-campus student accommodation through addressing current borrowing capacity and funding constraints.
Action: I believe that a borrowing framework for the IOT sector would deliver significant benefits. My officials are in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to examine ways Institutes of Technology can be facilitated in developing on-campus student accommodation through addressing borrowing capacity and funding constraints.
(vii) The Department of Housing Planning Community and Local Government in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills will carry out an assessment of scope for provision of additional student accommodation on local authority or other publicly-owned lands with a view to maximising the potential for student accommodation provision on suitable sites as part of mixed developments.
Action: Work is ongoing in the Department of Housing, Planning Community and Local Government on developing a comprehensive database of publicly owned lands in key developable areas with a view to identifying land suitable for housing development. The database of publicly owned lands will also inform the scope for provision of additional student accommodation.
In addition to these developments, I should point out that a number of our Higher Education Institutions have Student Accommodation projects ongoing, or in the pipeline, with a number of additional on-campus Student Accommodation bed-spaces coming online from September 2016. Maynooth University have 296 new on-campus bed spaces, and UCD have 350 new on-campus bed spaces, which came on stream for the commencement of the 2016/17 academic year. Six other Higher Education Institutions are currently engaged in, or going through the planning phases for student accommodation projects, namely National University of Ireland Galway, Trinity College Dublin, University of Limerick, Dublin City University, University College Cork and Dublin Institute of Technology.
The Actions in the Plan in relation to Student Accommodation build on the report, Student Accommodation: Demand & Supply, which was published last year by the Minister for Education and Skills. The full report can be accessed at:
http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/Report-on-Student-Accommodation-Demand-and-Supply.pdf.
The previous Minister for Education and Skills introduced two immediate actions following the publication of this report. Firstly, and as already pointed out, funding was provided by the HEA to the Union of Students' (USI) in Ireland to progress short-term solutions for students in need of accommodation. This funding allowed USI to develop their homes.usi.ie website, to communicate more effectively to students and homeowners, and to carry out research into this important issue.
Secondly, this led to the establishment of an inter-departmental steering group to examine the recommendations contained in the HEA Report and to provide a coordinating mechanism to ensure that the higher education institutions have access to information on new potential funding and delivery models.
200. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will implement new marking systems for the examinations to take into account students whose schools have been closed under health and safety and child protection provisions. [34437/16]
View answer201. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide grinds or extra hours for leaving certificate students so that they can get their syllabus finished in time for their examinations; and if the date for the leaving certificate can be deferred so as to enable the students to complete their leaving certificate syllabus. [34438/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 200 and 201 together.
The Leaving Certificate programme is designed to be delivered over a full two years with a considerable degree of flexibility available to schools in how and when the full range of syllabus material is covered. Where loss of class time occurs for any exceptional reason, schools and teachers will seek to ensure that their students are supported in covering all of the necessary course material in to order prepare adequately for examinations. The commitment of our teachers and schools to their students is acknowledged and appreciated in this respect.
202. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that a school (details supplied) has applied for funding to secure a permanent site for the school; the reasons for the significant delay in the construction of the permanent building for the planned 1,000 pupils; and when the work will be completed. [34444/16]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Design Team for the school building project in question has recently been authorised to proceed to tender and subject to no issues arising it is envisaged that construction should commence in the first half of 2017 with a construction period of 24 months.
203. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress by his Department in conjunction with the County Donegal ETB in the design and tender process for the new buildings for a school (details supplied) that is to commence construction in 2017; if there is a delay in his Department sanctioning the ETB hiring a design team; if so, the reason for such a delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34455/16]
View answerThe Project Brief and Budget for the new building referred to by the Deputy are currently being finalised in my Department. My Department expects to be able to issue these to the ETB in question shortly. This will enable the ETB to appoint a Design Team to progress the project.
204. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the proposal by KWETB for a new national training centre for pre-apprenticeship and post-apprenticeship training in Maynooth, County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34461/16]
View answerThe proposal from Kildare Wicklow ETB (KWETB) for the development of a new Education and Training Facility in Maynooth, County Kildare, requires a substantial capital investment.
In May this year my Department informed KWETB that there is currently no dedicated capital funding for Further Education and Training projects and that the Department's overall capital budget for 2016 was fully allocated. My Department’s 2017 capital allocation is also fully allocated. However, my Department, in consultation with SOLAS, will keep this proposal under consideration in the context of competing demands for capital investment should capital resources become available in 2017 and also in the context of capital estimates for future years.
205. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding will be approved for additional accommodation at a school (details supplied); and if he will expedite the approval needed. [34476/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has completed its assessment of an application from the school in question.
In that regard, my Department has informed the school authority that it is not in a position to approve the school’s application concerned as it considers that the level of school accommodation is adequate to meet its staffing needs.
206. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for a post-primary school for the Firhouse and Ballycullen, Dublin 24, area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34487/16]
View answerMy Department uses a Geographical Information System to identify the areas under increased demographic pressure nationwide. The system uses data from the Central Statistics Office, Ordnance Survey Ireland, the Department of Social Protection and information from my Department's own databases. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic analyses to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Among the new schools announced to open in 2017 and 2018 arising from such demographic analyses is a new post-primary school which will open in 2018 to cater for the demographic needs of the Firhouse/Oldbawn school planning area. The patronage process for this school was recently completed and Educate Together were awarded patronage of the school. When fully developed, this school will provide 1,000 pupil places, supplementing provision in the greater area.
Officials in my Department have been working closely with officials from South Dublin County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding in order to identify and procure a suitable site for the new post-primary school. A comprehensive technical assessment of a number of potentially suitable site options has been undertaken by my Department in conjunction with the Local Authority. The most suitable site will be identified following this process and negotiations with the Landowner will commence. It is not possible to indicate a timeline for the completion of the acquisition of a site for the school due to the complexity of the conveyancing process.
The building project for the school is included in my Department's Six Year Capital Investment Programme 2016-2021 and is listed to proceed to tender and construction during the period 2019 to 2021.
The school will open as scheduled in September 2018 in suitable interim accommodation pending delivery of its permanent accommodation.
207. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of proposed additional rooms at two national schools (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34488/16]
View answerFunding was approved under the Additional Accommodation Scheme 2015 to enable the Boards of Management of the schools in question to provide additional accommodation for their schools.
I am pleased to inform the Deputy that additional funding was recently approved to enable the project to proceed to construction.
208. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills the stage his plans are at for the provision of permanent buildings for two schools (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34489/16]
View answerThe permanent accommodation for the schools to which the Deputy refers is being provided under my Department's Design & Build Programme.
An application for planning permission for the development was lodged in July following which a request for additional information was received. A reply was submitted to South Dublin County Council on the 21st October 2016. My Department awaits the outcome of the planning process.
