Written Answers Nos. 177-189
177. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a cluster of five schools (details supplied) in County Mayo has no dedicated psychological service available to it for the second school year running; the proposals in place to address this issue; his views on the provision of psychological services to schools in County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36926/16]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides an educational psychological service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are in the NEPS section of my Department's website. Under this scheme schools can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly.
I have made enquiries in the matter of the five schools detailed in the Deputy’s question and have been informed that in respect of three (Midfield, Culmore and Kinaffe National Schools ) there is a NEPS psychologist currently assigned and providing service to each.
NEPS psychologists are recruited via regional panels formed from national recruitment competitions administered by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). Two of the schools referred to by the Deputy (Swinford and Meelick National schools) lost its assigned NEPS psychologist to a career break and while attempts were made to fill the vacancy in the NEPS Castlebar office from the existing PAS panel (and indeed by internal transfer of existing personnel within NEPS) they were ultimately unsuccessful.
A new national recruitment competition has been put in place by PAS to fill vacancies within all NEPS Regions. The closing date for applications is now passed and work is currently ongoing in relation to the vetting of applicants, preparatory to the staging of interviews in this connection. It is envisaged, following this, that recruitment panels will be formed and active filling of vacancies will commence early in the New Year.
In the interim, schools whose service from NEPS are the subject of such vacancies have been advised that they may access assessment services via the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments described above and that they will continue to be able to access advice and assistance, in the event of a critical incident, from their local NEPS office.
My Department’s NEPS service will continue to communicate developments in this regard to the schools involved.
178. Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the construction of a new school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36927/16]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that the Letter of Acceptance for the preferred Tenderer for the project in question is expected to issue this week. I understand that all outstanding issues for the project have been resolved to enable this. My Department now expects that the project will commence on site early in the New Year.
179. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding funding for further education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36948/16]
View answerThe Department of Education and Skills currently provides more than €400m in student supports to assist some 80,000 disadvantaged students to participate in higher education.
Currently for the 2016/17 academic year students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible to have their postgraduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270. The conditions for the special rate of grant are that reckonable income must be below €22,703 and be in receipt of a qualifying payment as listed in Schedule 2 of the Student Grant Scheme 2016.
A €2,000 contribution is available towards the cost of fees if the postgraduate student’s reckonable income is below €31,500 increasing relative to the number of family dependents.
In line with the Programme for a Partnership Government commitment a Budgetary announcement for 2017 included the introduction of a full maintenance grant (worth almost €6000 per student) from September 2017 for postgraduate students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant.
In relation to other supports, students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. This Fund assists students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.
Tax relief at the standard rate of tax may also be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EU Member States and in non-EU countries. Further information on this tax relief is available from the Revenue Commissioners.
180. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the next round of capital funding for major school works will be announced. [36954/16]
View answer222. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the major capital projects which were announced to begin construction in 2016 and which have not commenced yet. [37458/16]
View answer223. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the major capital projects which were announced to go to construction in 2017 and which are now expected to proceed. [37459/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 180, 222 and 223 together.
In response to the Deputy’s questions, all major school projects which were on the Construction Programmes announced by the previous Ministers and have not reached tender and construction stage will continue to be progressed through the architectural and design stages and remain to be considered for progression to tender and construction stages over the course of 2017. It is my Department's intention to fully implement these programmes to completion.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the decision as to when an individual school project can commence the tender and construction stage depends on factors such as the stage reached by the project in the architectural process, the extent of contractual commitments and the availability of funding under the programme at that time. I also wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is liaising directly with each of these schools in relation to their projects. Details of the schools that are approved to advance to tender and construction stage over the course of 2017 will be updated to my Department's website www.education.ie at the appropriate time.
181. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the major school projects which were announced in previous years to go to construction by 2017 or earlier which have not proceeded in the year announced or which will not proceed in 2017. [36955/16]
View answerIn response to the Deputy’s question, all major school projects which were on the Construction Programmes announced by the previous Ministers and have not reached tender and construction stage will continue to be progressed through the architectural and design stages and remain to be considered for progression to tender and construction stages over the course of 2017. It is my Department's intention to fully implement these programmes to completion.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the decision as to when an individual school project can commence the tender and construction stage depends on factors such as the stage reached by the project in the architectural process, the extent of contractual commitments and availability of funding under the programme at that time. I also wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is liaising directly with each of these schools in relation to their projects. Details of the schools that are approved to advance to tender and construction stage over the course of 2017 will be updated to my Department's website www.education.ie at the appropriate time.
182. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of staff from his Department currently seconded to other Departments or agencies in the Civil Service per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36963/16]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is contained in the table.
Number of staff from the Department of Education and Skills currently seconded to other departments or agencies in the Civil Service per annum from 2010 to date in 2016.
|
Year |
Number |
|
2010 |
30* |
|
2011 |
2 |
|
2012 |
4 |
|
2013 |
5 |
|
2014 |
1 |
|
2015 |
9 |
|
2016 |
2 |
*This figure includes 27 Civil Servants who were seconded to FÁS.
183. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of staff from his Department who have appealed against secondment per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; the appeals mechanism involved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36979/16]
View answer184. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of staff from his Department currently seconded to a firm in the private sector per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; the details of the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36995/16]
View answer185. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of staff from his Department currently seconded from a firm in the private sector per annum from 2010 to date in 2016, in tabular form; the details of the company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37011/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 183 to 185, inclusive, together.
During the period in question mentioned by the Deputy no officials at my Department have taken up employment in the private sector on a secondment basis.
186. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his preferred options for the funding of third level education in the future, in view of the fact that a system of student loans may present an obstacle to students whose parents are in the lower income group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37048/16]
View answerThe Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education, published in July, identifies income-contingent loans as being one of the possible options for the future funding of the higher education sector. Other options include a predominantly State-funded system or a State-funded system supplemented with continuing student fees.
As committed to in the Programme for Government, I have referred the report to the Oireachtas Education Committee and this engagement will form part of the process for formulating a plan for the future funding of the sector. I do not want to pre-empt the work of the Committee, however, I look forward to working with it as it analyses all of the options put forward by the Expert Group and hears the voice of all stakeholders.
While Cassells deals with the medium and long term funding needs of higher education we also have to consider the immediate challenges and in that context I am pleased that we placed a particular focus on this area in Budget 2017. I secured additional funding for the sector for the first time in recent years. In 2017 an additional €36.5 million will be made available with €160 million additional over the next three years. This will allow the sector keep pace with demographic increases and introduce targeted initiatives in areas such as disadvantage, skills, research and flexible learning. Among those who will benefit from the additional third level funding being made available are students from disadvantaged backgrounds, lone parents and Travellers.
In Budget 2017 the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I announced a policy review with the aim of designing and implementing a sustainable and predictable multi-annual funding model for higher and further education and training involving increased Employer and Exchequer contributions from 2018. This review will be undertaken as part of the overall response to meeting the anticipated skills needs in the economy over the coming years, in line with the policy framework set out in the National Skills Strategy.
This review will include an analysis of the business case for enhanced investment in the higher and further education and training sectors. In this context it will identify key elements of the new funding model and of the expected impacts including those on employers. The review will include consultation with stakeholders.
The policy review will be published by the end of April 2017, and will complement the ongoing work by the Oireachtas Committee in relation to the Cassells report.
187. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which the student unions are likely to remain independent of college authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37049/16]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, Universities and Institutes of Technologies are autonomous institutions and my Department does not have any function in relation to their day to day operational affairs, for which the Governing Bodies and the management staff of the institutions are responsible.
My understanding is that Student Unions are separate entities from the Higher Education Institutions and I understand that they run their own affairs independently of the Higher Education Institutions.
Neither my Department, nor the HEA, has any role in relation to the regulation or operation of Student Unions in Higher Education Institutions.
188. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding Northern Irish and British students enrolling in universities here; and if, post-Brexit, their current EU rate fee arrangements would apply. [37060/16]
View answer196. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an amendment to the State's free fees initiative is envisaged to cater for Northern Ireland and UK students post-Brexit. [37166/16]
View answer208. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if students from Northern Ireland or Britain who apply to study a third-level course here in the next term will have their funding guaranteed as EU students for the duration of their course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37322/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 188, 196 and 208 together.
The Government has published a contingency framework which maps the key issues that will be most important to Ireland arising from the UK's decision to leave the EU. It contains the key actions that will be taken to address the contingencies.
My Department participated fully in and contributed to the preparation of this framework for the education sector and has identified student flows as a priority area.
My Department is conscious of the resulting pressures that may fall on the Irish higher education system following the UK's decision to leave the EU. The Department will be liaising with all relevant parties, including the relevant education departments in the UK in relation to these pressures. These include issues with regard to the movement of students between this State and the UK, fees and student grant arrangements. The Higher Education Authority has also initiated discussion around the implications of BREXIT for the sector.
The Irish Universities Association has confirmed that all UK students currently enrolled in an Irish university will continue to enjoy the same conditions as other EU students regarding fees and contributions for the duration of their degree.
189. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the provision of a gaelcholáiste in north Kildare, as previously indicated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37061/16]
View answerThe new schools which will open in 2017 and 2018 to cater for increased demographic demand nationwide were announced in November 2015. At that time it was stated that a Gaelcholáiste to serve the North Kildare area will open in 2019, subject to sufficient viability of the Irish-medium Aonad, which is currently part of Maynooth Community College.
The Gaelcholáiste will operate under the patronage of Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board with An Foras Pátrúnachta. My Department will continue to work closely with the Education and Training Board and An Foras Pátrúnachta in relation to the establishment of this Gaelcholáiste.
