Written Answers Nos. 130-140
130. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the student grant appeals board will accept a late student grant appeal from a person (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10637/17]
View answerI understand that the student referred to by the Deputy, appealed the decision of the awarding authority to the SUSI appeals officer and a decision letter issued from the appeals officer on the 21st of July 2016. The student was advised that if she was not satisfied with the decision of the appeals officer, she could appeal the decision to the Student Grants Appeals Board (SGAB) within the statutory time limits.
Under Section 21(2) of the Student Support Act 2011, an applicant has 30 days from the date of the Appeals Officer's decision in the awarding authority, to submit an appeal to the Student Grants Appeals Board. Under Section 21(3) of the Act, the Board may extend this period by a further 30 days if it is satisfied that the applicant has given reasonable cause to do so. The Board has no discretion to alter or extend the time period beyond that allowed for in the Act.
I have been advised that the student in question submitted an appeal to the SGAB on 13 January 2017. As the appeal was outside the statutory time limits, it was rejected by the SGAB.
131. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 97 of 7 December 2016, the reason for the delay in supplying the information requested; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10653/17]
View answerOfficials from my Department have again liaised with the Higher Education Authority in relation to this matter and have been advised that University College Cork (UCC) has to date not received any income from the Irish Management Institute (IMI) for the validation of degrees. However, UCC receives funding related to joint programmes based on credit input that UCC has in courses offered by the IMI. Details of that funding is set out in the following table.
Also attached is a table with the details of the debt and borrowings for each of the years 2000 - 2016 for UCC.
UCI/IMI Joint Programme Income
|
Year |
€'000 |
|
2011 |
7.8 |
|
2012 |
45.6 |
|
2013 |
69.5 |
|
2014 |
52.4 |
|
2015 |
97.6 |
|
2016 |
25.7* |
*Partial 2016 only.
University College Cork (UCC) - Information on Surplus/Deficits and Borrowings
|
# |
Surplus/Deficit |
Borrowings |
|
# |
€'000 |
€'000 |
|
1999/2000 |
-358 |
2,915 |
|
2000/2001 |
-370 |
11,871 |
|
2001/2002 |
696 |
11,925 |
|
2002/2003 |
-458 |
34,990 |
|
2003/2004 |
-2,646 |
63,694 |
|
2004/2005 |
-6,287 |
38,619 |
|
2005/2006 |
4,542 |
56,245 |
|
2006/2007 |
-6,341 |
66,265 |
|
2007/2008 |
-5,961 |
65,471 |
|
2008/2009 |
6,109 |
58,919 |
|
2009/2010 |
17,799 |
53,910 |
|
2010/2011 |
3,958 |
50,569 |
|
2011/2012 |
854 |
55,019 |
|
2012/2013 |
-4,401 |
50,980 |
Notes:
1. Data is not available in respect of financial years 2013/14 as statements have not yet been audited by the C&AG.
2. Borrowings based on loans, overdrafts and obligations arising under financing arrangements
132. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reform the model of leadership in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10673/17]
View answerIt is widely accepted that the quality of school leadership is a key determinant of school effectiveness and the achievement of good learning outcomes. Indeed international research indicates that school leadership is second only to classroom teaching as an influence on pupil learning.
Budget 2016 provided 250 posts to second level schools to enable Deputy Principals to be more fully available to assist the school principal with the leadership of the school. At primary level Budget 2016 provided for additional release days for teaching principals to range between 15 and 25 days depending on the size of the school.
Budget 2017 has provided for the equivalent of 170 additional posts to second level schools to employ an additional Deputy Principal to assist the school principal with the leadership of the school. With effect from September 2017, schools with pupil enrolment in excess of 700 will be allocated additional Deputy Principal posts.
Budget 2017 also provides for the commencement of the restoration of middle management posts in both the primary and post-primary sector.
The recently established Centre for School Leadership (CSL) is a collaboration between my Department and the representative professional bodies for school principals. It has been created to offer professional and practical support to schools leaders. This support structure for leadership teams in schools will attempt to ensure that school leaders have opportunities to access, share and create knowledge and experience within their leadership roles. The work of the Centre draws on best international practice and research in the professional development of school leaders. Priorities for the Centre include a new post graduate qualification for aspiring school leaders, a mentoring programme for newly appointed school principals, coaching support for serving principals, a review and alignment of leadership programmes with Department standards.
Last year my Department published “Looking at Our School 2016", a quality framework for primary and post primary schools which is designed to support the efforts of teachers and school leaders, as well as the school system more generally, to strive for excellence in our schools.
The current review of the post of responsibility structure in schools will, in the context of restoration of posts, address the further development of a distributed leadership model.
133. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide primary and post-primary average class size figures for Ireland and for other EU member states; his plans to tackle large class size concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10674/17]
View answer150. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated timeframe for, and cost of, the Government commitment to reducing the pupil-teacher ratio in junior and senior infants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10692/17]
View answer152. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration will be given to further improvements in the pupil-teacher ratio to help bring class sizes towards the EU average in budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10694/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 133, 150 and 152 together.
Budget 2016 provided for an improvement in the staffing schedule in primary schools by 1 point, from 1 teacher for every 28 pupils to 1 teacher for every 27 pupils for the 2016/17 school year and it should be noted that the current staffing schedule of 27:1 for primary schools has restored it to the position it was at prior to the fiscal crisis.
The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level and it is my intention to make further improvements to class sizes over the life of the Government.
My focus in Budget 2017 was on obtaining additional funding to provide for demographic growth, and additional special education and school leadership resources for our schools.
Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools in the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represents the start of a major 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 budget provides for over 2,400 additional teaching posts for our primary and post-primary schools in the coming school year. The 2017/18 school year will see a significant increase in teacher numbers (almost 4,700) in our schools compared to the 2015/16 school year.
The Statistics Section of my Department's website contains extensive data relating to schools, including information on class sizes.
134. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there are remaining sections of the Teaching Council Act to be commenced; the timeframe for commencing such sections; and the number of fitness to teach complaints received and processed to date since he commenced these provisions in July 2016. [10675/17]
View answerThe only remaining section of the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 to be commenced is Section 39, which deals with continuing education and training and professional development of teachers. I am advised by the Teaching Council that Cosán, the national framework for teacher’s learning (CPD) has entered a development phase which is due to conclude in 2020. This will then pave the way for the commencement of this section of the Act.
I commenced the sections of the Teaching Council (Amendment) Act 2015 relating to fitness to teach in July 2016. The Deputy will appreciate that the fitness to teach process is independent of my Department and she should contact the Council directly for information on the number of complaints received.
The Deputy should note that, under Section 55 of the Teaching Council Act, the Council is obliged to submit an annual report of its activities and proceedings under the Act to me as Minister. Fitness to teach was commenced on 25 July 2016, during the current reporting year. I look forward to the next annual report which will be due after 28 March next.
135. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to publish a draft of the education (parent and student charter) Bill; the details of the proposed pre-legislative scrutiny process; and the timetable for this. [10676/17]
View answerOn 5 December 2016, I published the General Scheme of an Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2016. The Government have approved the draft outline of a new law, which will require every school to consult with parents and students, and publish and operate a Parent and Student Charter.
The publication of this draft legislation will fulfil a key commitment in the Action Plan for Education to improve information and complaint procedures for parents and students relating schools.
The draft legislation defines the principles that will guide how schools will engage with students and parents.
Following consultation with our education partners, including the National Parents Council (Primary), National Parents Council (Post Primary) and the Irish Second-level Students Union, I will finalise national guidelines on a Parent and Student Charter.
The draft Bill has now gone to the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills for pre-legislative scrutiny. On 12 December 2016, I wrote to the Chairperson of the Committee requesting that the Committee might consider carrying out pre-legislative scrutiny on the General Scheme of an Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill simultaneously with Deputy Jim Daly's Private Members Bill regarding the establishment of an Ombudsman for Education.
137. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the specific measures he plans to deal with concerns regarding third level student support and funding challenges for third level institutions. [10678/17]
View answerMy Department is investing in a significant programme of student supports in the 2017/18 academic year in order to assist students from under-represented groups to participate in and complete higher education.
In total, my Department will provide almost €450m on access measures in 2017.
This encompasses the student grant scheme which is expected to assist circa 80,000 students in 2017/18. The grant scheme is complemented by the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities, as well as a programme of scholarships and bursaries.
The Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education, published in July 2016, clearly outlines the funding challenges facing the higher education sector. The report also makes a number of recommendations for consideration for the future. As committed to in the Programme for Government, I have referred the report of the expert group to the relevant Oireachtas Committee for its consideration, in order to build political consensus on the most appropriate future funding model for the higher education sector.
While the Cassells report deals with the medium and long term funding needs of higher education we also have to consider the immediate challenges. In that context, I am pleased to have secured additional funding for the sector, in Budget 2017, for the first time in nine years. An additional €36.5m has been made available in 2017 as part of a €160m three year funding package. 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 addition, 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. The 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. It will include an analysis of the business case for enhanced investment in the higher and further education and training sectors and of the most effective funding mechanisms to deliver outcomes in respect of our ambitions in this area. In this context, it will identify key elements of the new funding model and of the expected impacts, including those on employers. It will also include consultation with stakeholders. It is expected that the review will be published by the end of April 2017 and will complement the ongoing work by the Oireachtas Committee in regard to the Cassells report.
138. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether there is a clear pay disparity between teachers recruited before 1 January 2011 and those recruited thereafter, with regard to pay equality for teachers; his further views on whether it is unacceptable to maintain such pay disparities; his plans to address pay equality issues beyond the steps already agreed relating to restoration of a qualification allowance payment; the cost of restoring teachers recruited since 1 January 2011 to the previous pay scale; the elements which make up this cost; and the number of teachers affected. [10679/17]
View answerAs a consequence of the financial crisis, there was a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure so as to stabilise the country's public finances. These included pay reductions and also reductions to the pay of new entrant public servants, including teachers, since 2011. Collective agreements reached between the Government and the public service unions provided vital industrial peace during this very difficult period for the State.
The Haddington Road/Lansdowne Road Agreement has allowed a programme of restoration to start. I have used this to negotiate substantial improvements in pay for new teachers. The agreement reached with TUI and INTO will see pay rises of between 15-22% (between €4600 and €6700) for new entrant teachers.
In education, there is a well-established increment system. Teachers are not paid equally. For example, the pay scale for teachers appointed prior to 2011 ranges from €32,009 to €60,155 depending on the date that the individual began teaching. Part of the negotiation to date has secured a convergence of the scales of recruits at different periods. Any further negotiation on new entrant pay cannot focus on just one sector. A broader assessment of pay and new entrant pay will be informed by the analysis of the Public Service Pay Commission.
Following discussions, the Teachers Conciliation Council published a set of proposals in November for consideration by ASTI members aimed at finding a resolution to their dispute. The proposals provided ASTI members with an opportunity to benefit from the programme of pay restoration described above, including the agreement reached with TUI and INTO, which will see pay rises of between 15-22% (between €4600 and €6700) for new entrant teachers. In addition, there were other immediate undoubted benefits for individual ASTI members in accepting the proposals including:
- Avoiding an increment freeze
- Inclusion of the S&S allowance of €1,592 into the pay scale
- Continued alleviation of the FEMPI Act pay reductions
- The Ward Report measures and a revised sequence for filling posts which enable fixed-term and part-time teachers to gain permanent, full-time jobs more easily and quickly than before
- An increase in the quantum of the Croke Park hours that can be worked on other than a whole-school basis
- A review of the usage of the Croke Park hours
- Protection against compulsory redundancy
- The €1,000 increase now being paid to public servants on 1 April 2017, brought forward from 1 September 2017 under the LRA, as a result of Government moves to address the anomaly that arose in the context of the recent Labour Court Recommendations in respect of the Garda Associations.
ASTI members have voted to reject the proposals put forward aimed at resolving their dispute and in consequence, to reject the Lansdowne Road Agreement. It is regrettable that many ASTI members will now suffer permanent financial losses and loss of other benefits as a result of this choice.
The proposals represented the final outcome of the process and there will be no further offer made to ASTI. The Government is committed to continuing to work with unions inside the agreement in progressing consideration of pay and conditions issues. The work of the Public Service Pay Commission is now underway in this regard.
139. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has reviewed the recently published Labour Party's Equal Status Admission to Schools Bill; his views on the aims and objectives of the Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10680/17]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, I have made my position clear on the issue of the role of religion in school admissions. I have stated that, while it is to be welcomed and respected that many parents wish their children to receive education in their faith, I believe that it is unfair that preference is given by publicly funded religious schools to children of their own religion who might live some distance away, ahead of children of a different religion or of no religion who live close to the school. I have also stated that I believe that it is unfair that parents, who might otherwise not do so, feel pressure to baptise their children in order to gain admission to the local school. In that respect I agree with the aims of the Labour Party’s Bill.
I intend to reform the school admissions system in relation to the role that religion can play in the admissions process. I have set out four possible approaches for dealing with the issue, in primary schools in the first instance, including:
A catchment area approach, prohibiting religious schools from giving preference to children of their own religion who live outside the catchment area ahead of non-religious children who live inside the catchment;
A ‘nearest school rule’, allowing religious schools to give preference to a religious child only where it is that child’s nearest school of that particular religion;
A quota system, which would allow a religious school give preference to children of its own religion in respect of only a certain proportion of places, meaning that the remaining places would be allocated based on other admissions criteria – proximity to the school, lottery etc.;
An outright prohibition on religious schools using religion as a factor in admissions, meaning that all places would be allocated based on other factors. Within this approach, there is capacity to allow religious schools to require parents or students to indicate some support or respect for the ethos of the school.
I am also mindful of the need to avoid possible pitfalls and unintended consequences with each of these approaches, including most importantly possible impacts on minority religions and on the wishes of Protestant, Jewish, Islamic and other communities to be able to run schools in accordance with their ethos and admit children from their communities to attend those schools.
Other possible consequences to be avoided include possible breaches of the constitution, technical and administrative difficulties impacting on the capacity to effectively run the system of over 4000 schools and the possibility of creating ‘postcode lotteries’, such as other countries have experienced, resulting in pronounced divergence in the quality of schools in more advantaged compared to less advantaged areas.
On 24th January I commenced a process of consultation on this issue which will run until 20th March. The details of the consultation process and how to make a submission are available on my Department’s website www.education.ie and specifically at the following link:
http://www.education.ie/en/Parents/Information/School-Enrolment/Role-of-Religion-in-School-Admissions.html.
I am interested in hearing the views of the groups who stand to be impacted by changes as well as any members of the public with views on the issue.
This phase of receiving written submissions is part of the broader 12 week consultation process which will include additional steps, including any follow-up consultation that is required, collation of responses and development of next steps.
These steps will require additional time, and I am conscious of legislative deadlines impacting on this work, in particular the Equal Status (Admissions to Schools) Bill, referred to by the Deputy, which is due before the House again shortly.
140. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to issue a directive on implementing pay deductions for members of teachers' unions which rejected working additional hours under the Croke Park agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10681/17]
View answerASTI's withdrawal from the Croke Park hours means that the union has repudiated the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The financial and other consequences for ASTI members of failure to co-operate with the terms of the agreement were formally notified to ASTI in June 2016. It was indicated at that time that in the event of continuing failure to co-operate in the medium term, further additional measures may also ensue.
A number of measures are being applied since July 2016 or will be applied to ASTI members in consequence:
- The pay increases for 2012 new entrant teachers that are effective from 1 January 2017 and 1 January 2018 do not apply;
- Increments are frozen until July 2018;
- Missing out on inclusion of the S&S allowance of €1,592 into the pay scale – the first moiety of this due on 1 September 2016 (€796) has not been paid;
- The alleviation of the FEMPI Act pay reductions for higher earners has been withdrawn, meaning a further pay reduction of up to €1,769 per teacher;
- Non-application of the €1,000 increase being paid to public servants on 1 April 2017, as brought forward from 1 September 2017 under the LRA;
- The Ward Report measures have been withdrawn and the revised sequence for filling posts is not being applied – both of these would enable fixed-term and part-time teachers to gain permanent, full-time jobs more easily and quickly than before;
- Promotion posts announced in Budget 2017 will not be available;
- The additional teacher allocation/ reduction in class contact time from September 2017 for teachers with Junior Cycle classes will not apply;
- No S&S opt-out option;
- No S&S opt-in option;
- Missing out on chance to influence use of Croke Park hours through a review;
- Potential for job losses through compulsory redundancy;
- Withdrawal of enhanced redundancy payment where a teacher is made redundant;
- Potential delay or loss of the pay increase of €1,000 due on 1 September 2017 and the reversal of the pay reductions for higher earners due on 1 April 2017.
Following discussions, the Teachers Conciliation Council published a set of proposals in November for consideration by ASTI members aimed at finding a resolution to their dispute. ASTI members have chosen to reject the proposals put forward aimed at resolving their dispute and in consequence, to reject the Lansdowne Road Agreement. It is regrettable that many ASTI members will now suffer permanent financial losses and loss of other benefits as a result of this choice.
The proposals represented the final outcome of the process and there will be no further offer made to ASTI. The Government is committed to continuing to work with unions inside the agreement in progressing consideration of pay and conditions issues. The work of the Public Service Pay Commission is now underway in this regard.
