Written Answers Nos. 160 - 181
160. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Finance if he will review a case (details supplied) regarding a vehicle registration tax, VRT, centre in County Cavan; the reason for the errors; and the number of errors of this nature that have been made by the VRT centre to date in 2017. [25961/17]
View answerI am informed by Revenue that, when registering the car on 12 May 2017, the operator in the Kells Centre inadvertently selected the incorrect car make code at the time of registration. When the customer called back on 17 May 2017, the Revenue IT systems were down due to a technical fault and could not be accessed by either the Kells Centre or by Revenue for the day. However, the operator did inform her manager immediately who arranged for the amendment to be made on 18 May 2017.
Revenue informs me that this is the first time that this particular error has been made in any of the NCTS Centres. Revenue also informs me that Kells NCT carried out 6,917 inspections and registrations in the period 2015 to date. The number of amendments required post-registration was 31, which is 0.4% of the all registrations.
In this case, the operator apologises for the inconvenience caused and for the customer feeling that the NCT staff were not apologetic or helpful. Revenue is satisfied that the level of customer service provided by NCTs when registering used vehicles is of a high standard generally and regrets that in this instance the customer’s experience represents a deviation from the usual high standard.
161. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance when he will reinstate the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passenger Tax Concessions Regulations, SI 353 of 1994; his plans to extend the criteria to include persons born with congenital conditions (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26027/17]
View answerThe Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Scheme provides relief from VAT and VRT, up to a certain limit, on the purchase of an adapted car for transport of a person with specific severe and permanent physical disabilities, payment of a fuel grant, and an exemption from Motor Tax.
To qualify for the Scheme an applicant must be in possession of a Primary Medical Certificate. To qualify for a Primary Medical Certificate, an applicant must be permanently and severely disabled within the terms of the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994.
The Senior Medical Officer for the relevant local Health Service Executive administrative area makes a professional clinical determination as to whether an individual applicant satisfies the medical criteria. A successful applicant is provided with a Primary Medical Certificate, which is required under the Regulations to claim the reliefs provided for in the Scheme. An unsuccessful applicant can appeal the decision of the Senior Medical Officer to the Disabled Drivers Medical Board of Appeal, which makes a new clinical determination in respect of the individual. The Regulations mandate that the Medical Board of Appeal is independent in the exercise of its functions to ensure the integrity of its clinical determinations.
The criteria to qualify for the Scheme are necessarily precise and specific. After six months a citizen can reapply if there is a deterioration in their condition.
The Scheme represents a significant tax expenditure. Between the Vehicle Registration Tax and VAT foregone, and fuel grant provided for members of the Scheme, the Scheme represented a cost of €65 million in 2016. This does not include the revenue foregone to the Local Government Fund in respect of the relief from Motor Tax provided to members of the Scheme.
I recognise the important role that the Scheme plays in expanding the mobility of citizens with disabilities and that the relief has been maintained at current levels throughout the crisis despite the requirement for significant fiscal consolidation. From time to time I receive representations from individuals who feel they would benefit from the Scheme but do not qualify under the six criteria. While I have sympathy for these cases, given the scale and scope of the Scheme, I have no plans to expand the medical criteria beyond the six currently provided for in the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers (Tax Concessions) Regulations 1994.
162. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Finance if exceptions can be made to a Revenue Commissioners rule stating that tax cannot be claimed back for an adapted car for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26036/17]
View answerAs previously stated in response to the recent Parliamentary Question No. 150 of 16 May 2017, if the person concerned is dissatisfied with the decision, she has the option of lodging an appeal under Section 145 & 146 of Finance Act 2001 by writing to Revenue's Central Repayments Office, MTEK Building, Armagh Road, Monaghan.
The independence of the Revenue Commissioners in the performance of their functions has legislative underpinning in Section 101 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011.
163. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which the Christian Brothers are to pay their outstanding debts to the redress scheme: if there is a requirement for them to pay in cash or if land transfers would be acceptable, particularly in cases in which doing so would safeguard a school and its facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25457/17]
View answer173. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the fact that the Christian Bothers intend to pay the full amount of their debt to the redress scheme at the expense of a school (details supplied) in County Dublin by selling off the school's playing fields; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25456/17]
View answer174. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which the Christian Brothers are to pay their outstanding debts to the redress scheme; if there is a requirement for them to pay in cash or if land transfers would be acceptable, particularly in cases in which doing so would safeguard a school and its facilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25458/17]
View answer175. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an agreement was made by the Christian Brothers to ensure the use of the playing fields attached to a college (details supplied) would be used by the college and its pupils as long as it was in existence; if the Christian Brothers move to sell the playing fields to a property developer represents a breach of that agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25459/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 163 and 173 to 175, inclusive, together.
In the aftermath of the publication, in May 2009, of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (the “Ryan Report”) many of the religious congregations that managed institutions in which abuse took place offered additional voluntary contributions towards the cost of the State’s response to that abuse which is now expected to reach some €1.5 billion.
The response of the Congregation of Christian Brothers was to voluntarily offer an additional cash contribution of €30 million for the proposed fund for former residents, a contribution of €4 million for counselling and the transfer of its portfolio of 49 school playing fields and associated lands to a new independent trust involving the State and the Edmund Rice Schools Trust to which the playing fields are licensed.
The Government subsequently decided that the €4 million in counselling would not be reckoned as a contribution. The proposal to transfer the playing fields was the subject of discussion between the Congregation and previous ministers. Counter proposals were put to the Congregation regarding future ownership of the fields but these were not accepted. The Congregation has recently written to me indicating its willingness to engage further with my Department on how the transfer could proceed and be reckoned as a redress contribution.
To date the Congregation has paid €21.2 million of its pledged cash contribution and has indicated that it intends to pay the remaining €8.8 million either later this year or in 2018. Completion of this contribution is vitally important as it will help to ensure that Caranua, the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund, will have the full €110 million in cash contributions offered by the religious congregations available to it. This will enable Caranua to provide much needed supports to former residents who are in need of assistance.
I appreciate that the Christian Brothers wish to follow through on their commitments. It is however, a matter for the Congregation to make its own decisions in regard to how it will fund the remaining element of its pledged cash contribution and I have no role in that process. It would, however, also be very disappointing if the educational needs of current and future generations of children were compromised in achieving this goal. I would hope that the Congregation takes this fully into account during their deliberations. My Department is writing to the Congregation on the matter of the proposed sale of land adjacent to the school referred to by the Deputy, seeking clarification on a number of relevant matters including the current status of the proposed sale and whether consideration was given to future educational needs prior to the decision being taken to dispose of the land.
I am not privy to any agreement that may have been made between the Congregation of Christian Brothers, the Edmund Rice Schools Trust and the authorities of any particular school in regard to school playing fields. I should note also that there is no agreement in place between my Department and the Congregation in regard to the transfer of its playing fields and associated lands to any new ownership structure.
164. Deputy Shane Cassells asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will include Quality and Qualifications Ireland employees in the public service common pool; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25484/17]
View answerThe common recruitment system provided for the filling of certain posts (at Grade IV to VII level) by competition on a cross-sectoral basis confined to employees of Health Boards, Local Authorities, VECs, Institutes of Technology and certain other health and local government agencies.
Earlier this year agreement was reached with employers and unions in the education sector to exclude Education and Training Boards and Institutes of Technology from the cross-sectoral common recruitment system. These bodies are now part of an education sector candidate pool, and there are no education bodies or agencies in the common recruitment system. No other statutory bodies or agencies under the aegis of my Department, including Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), are part of any common recruitment or candidate pool, and there are no plans to include them.
165. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills the timeframe to end the pay and inequality that teachers endure, in view of the fact that it has been six years of discrimination; and the timeframe which will be given for the Public Service Pay Commission to act on the issue of pay inequality. [25731/17]
View answer166. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has no plans to address pay inequality for teachers, his views on whether this is contrary to the principle of equal pay for equal work. [25732/17]
View answer167. Deputy Timmy Dooley asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to end pay inequality for teachers in order that they will have equal pay for equal work in view of the fact that the economy is growing and it is time to make work pay. [25733/17]
View answer190. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills the Government's timeframe to end the pay inequality that newly qualified teachers face in view of the fact that the financial emergency measures in the public interest have been in operation for six years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25574/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 165 to 167, inclusive, and 190 together.
As 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. A previous Government reduced the salaries and allowances payable to all new entrants to public service recruitment grades by 10% with effect from 1 January 2011. This decision also required that such new entrants would start on the first point of the applicable salary scale, which in the case of teachers had the effect of reducing their starting pay by a further 4-5%. Later in 2011, the Government placed a cap on the overall level of qualification allowances that could be earned by teachers.
Subsequently in 2012, following the public service-wide review of allowances, the Government withdrew qualification allowances for new teachers altogether. However, the Government partially compensated for this by deciding that new entrant teachers would henceforth commence on a new salary scale which had a starting point higher than the starting point of the old scale.
The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration for public servants 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. The agreements also provide for earlier permanency for younger teachers, new promotion opportunities and new flexibilities in working hours.
The agreements have restored an estimated 75% of the difference in pay for more recently recruited teachers and deliver full equality at later points in the scale. This is substantial progress and strikes an equitable balance with other claims for funding on my Department, particularly needs such as enhanced service for children with special educational needs, for disadvantaged schools, for growing schools, for Higher Education and for apprenticeships.
It must be borne in mind that the pay reduction for post-2011 entrants to the public service applied to all public servants and not just teachers, and that any restoration of these measures in respect of teachers would be expected to be applied elsewhere across the public service. While I am not in a position to provide an estimate of the total cost of restoring all post-1 January 2011 entrants in all areas of the public service to the pre-2011 pay scale arrangements, I can say that in the case of education and training sector employees, including teachers, the estimated current full year cost would be in the order of €85 million. Clearly, the cost across the entire public service would be substantially higher.
However there are other types of equality that we must also bear in mind, for example equality between public servants and people who work elsewhere or don’t work at all. It would also not be equal or fair for us to do unaffordable deals with particular groups of public servants that mean that we do not have the money left in the public purse to provide increases in social welfare payments for vulnerable groups, tax reductions for people at work, or investments in improvements in public services that people rely on.
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 recently published analysis of the Public Service Pay Commission. The Government established the Commission to examine pay levels across the public service, including entry levels of pay. The Government also supports the gradual, negotiated repeal of the FEMPI legislation, having due regard to the priority to improve public services and in recognition of the essential role played by public servants.
I accept that the teacher unions have outstanding pay demands and that the new entrant deal does not travel the full distance that they set out to achieve. However, it does represent significant progress, and the door is not closed to the trade union movement seeking to advance the issue further in the context of public service pay talks. My colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, invited the Public Services Committee of ICTU to discussions on public service pay and a continued approach to the unwinding of the FEMPI legislation and these discussions are now underway.
168. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter with regard to a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25310/17]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, a new school building project for the school referred is included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme. The project brief is to deliver a replacement 8 classroom school on a greenfield site.
When considering the scope of a brief for a school building project my Department takes many factors into consideration including enrolment trends, the availability of other primary school places in the area and the utilisation of overall capacity within the catchment area. It is also important that school size is monitored and that a balance is preserved among all schools in the catchment area to ensure that one school is not expanding at the expense or viability of another.
My Department is satisfied that, having regard to the capacity of schools in the area in question, there is sufficient accommodation to meet demand, with no identified requirement for additionality.
169. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 318 of 2 May 2017, the reason a school (details supplied) has not been allocated enough SNA teaching hours to meet demand within the school. [25324/17]
View answerIt is important to clarify that Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support and Low Incidence Teaching Hours (LITH) are separate and distinct special educational needs supports which are allocated to recognised schools to support pupils with special educational needs.
SNA support is provided to schools to assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. SNAs do not have a teaching role. SNA support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills, as set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.
This Circular clarifies the role of the Classroom Teacher and Resource/Learning Support Teachers, which is to provide for the education of a child, and the role of an SNA, which is to support those teachers in assisting with care needs. The classroom teacher is responsible for educating all pupils in his/her class, including any pupil with a special educational need. Additional teaching support is, however, also allocated to recognised mainstream schools to support pupils with special educational needs. Such additional teaching support is made in addition to any SNA provision ensuring that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.
Where a school or parent wish to appeal the level of SNA support which has been made to their school/child respectively, they may do so via the NCSE SNA appeals process which is available at: www.ncse.ie.
Up to and including this school year, all mainstream Primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources under the General Allocation Model (GAM) to cater for children with high incidence special educational needs. Separately, pupils who are diagnosed within the low incidence category i.e. those with more complex needs as defined by my Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05, were supported through an allocation of individual additional resource teaching hours allocated by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
A new model for allocating special education teachers to primary schools has been introduced for the coming school year (2017/18) as set out in Circular 0013/2017. Allocations issued to all schools on 7th March and details have also been published on the NCSE website at: http://ncse.ie/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Special-Education-Teacher-Allocation-Primary-2017_18-updated-30_03_2017.pdf.
This new model will give greater autonomy to schools to allocate resources to the pupils who most need these resources, regardless of their diagnosis.
No school will receive an allocation for the support of current pupils with complex needs which is less than the allocation they had received to support pupils with low incidence special educational needs in the preceding year. This means that schools can continue to support students in line with their needs.
In circumstances where a parent is dissatisfied as to the extent of additional teaching support which has been allocated to their child under this new model for 2017/18 school year, the parent should raise the matter with the school Principal in the first instance. Where a parent is dissatisfied with the manner in which the issue is addressed by the school Principal, the parent should raise the matter directly with the Board of Management of the School, who are the body which has responsibility for the management of the school.
170. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has received correspondence from a person (details supplied) in County Donegal in which a number of serious issues have been outlined concerning schooling; the steps he will take to address this person's concerns; if a reply to the correspondence will now issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25325/17]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs, who have additional care needs, in accordance with DES criteria, as set out in Circular 0030/2014.
The NCSE allocates a quantum of SNA support for each school annually, taking into account the care needs of all of the qualifying children enrolled in the school, and on the basis of the assessed care needs of all of the children concerned, rather than solely by reference to a pupil's disability categorisation. SNA support is not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource.
Schools applying for SNA support are required to submit a Personal Pupil Plan for each pupil specifically outlining the pupil’s identified special care needs, be linked to the individualised planning in place for each student and show how the SNA will be deployed to assist the pupil.
I am informed that, while the school had proposed a plan for the delivery of care support for the children in question utilising the SNA support provided by the NCSE, the plan was not agreed between the school and the children's parents. I am also advised that the children in question are now enrolled and attending another school in the area.
SNA support has been allocated by the NCSE to the school to which the children are now enrolled to cater for their additional care needs. My Department's National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) are involved in the development of the children's Personal Pupil Plans (PPP), with the school. SNA support is in place to enable the children to attend school while the PPPs are being developed.
The plan must focus on the pro-active development of students’ independence skills and set out the programmes and strategies that are being used to meet the child’s needs, demonstrate how the school intends to actively reduce, and where appropriate, eliminate dependency on SNA support within a reasonable timeframe. The plan should include time-bound targets for the development of independence skills.
A reply from my Department to the parent in question will issue shortly, in relation to the correspondence received.
171. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he obtained an independent valuation for the Harold's Cross stadium before his Department purchased the stadium from Bord na gCon; the valuation arrived at; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25360/17]
View answerThe valuation obtained by my Department in relation to the Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium was undertaken in line with Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circulars 11/15 and 17/16. The protocol provides for the Valuation Office to furnish a binding estimate of value.
The valuation report was carried out by the Valuation Office, in accordance with the RICS Valuation Professional Standards and the International Valuation Standards as issued by the International Valuation Standards Council, and indicated a value of €23 million for the property.
172. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that children from Gleneely, County Donegal, are unable to attend their school of choice (details supplied) due to the nearest distance rule and that these children are therefore educated separately from their siblings; and his plans to address the matter. [25402/17]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently almost 116,000 children, including some 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
Changes to the eligibility criteria for my Department's 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.
The school transport approach complements the overall Department policy which is to ensure that specific school accommodation needs for defined geographical areas are addressed in an orderly fashion.
Children who had an eligibility for school transport prior to the introduction of these changes retain this eligibility for the duration of their post primary school education provided there is no change in their circumstances though siblings applying for transport from 2012 onwards are subject to the revised eligibility criteria.
The terms of the scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
176. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 102 of 4 May 2017, if recognition will be given to a probational visit by the inspectorate in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25468/17]
View answerThe Teaching Council is the independent, statutory body with responsibility for setting standards for post-qualification professional practice, including probation. Decisions on the recognition and eligibility of a teaching position for the purposes of probation are the responsibility of the Teaching Council and are not a matter for my Department or the Inspectorate. The Teaching Council has informed the DES Inspectorate that the teacher referred to in the Deputy’s question was not working in an eligible position for the purposes of probation at the time of the inspection visit on 24 January and, consequently, that this visit is not recognised for the purposes of fulfilling the probationary requirements of the Council.
177. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding trade union membership of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25471/17]
View answerDecisions in respect of union membership are matters for the individual teacher concerned and my Department does not have a position on this issue. Issues of eligibility for membership of a particular union should be addressed to that union.
The current position is that the Lansdowne Road Agreement as set out in Section 2 of Circular 0045/2016 applies to teachers employed in Education and Training Board schools and centres (apart from Designated Community Colleges). The Agreement also applies to teachers employed in Designated Community Colleges, Community and Comprehensive Schools and Voluntary Secondary Schools who are TUI members. The Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Acts 2013 and 2015 as set out in Section 3 of the Circular applies to all other teachers employed in such schools. The circular is available on my Department’s website and can be accessed at:
http://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0045_2016.pdf.
As is the norm with public service collective agreements, the Lansdowne Road Agreement was negotiated with trade unions which are recognised as representing staff in the public service (including teachers). It is normal practice in the public service that the decision of the trade union recognised as holding representative rights for a particular grade or sector will determine the position for all relevant staff in that grade/sector. This context does not allow for acceptance or rejection of collective agreements by staff on an individual basis.
Accordingly, there is no proposal at this time to treat teachers separately based on the fact that they are not a member of a trade union. However, since the announcement of the ASTI ballot result my Department has received a number of queries from both ASTI members and teachers who are not members of a trade union about union membership. Therefore, having regard to the circumstances of the dispute with the ASTI, this is an issue that I will keep under review going forward.
178. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding will be granted to upgrade the toilets at a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25492/17]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that sanitary works are appropriate to the Summer Works Scheme (SWS). The current SWS was announced in late 2015 and is being applied on a multi-annual basis for the years 2016 and 2017. I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has no record of receiving an application from the school referred to under SWS 2016 and 2017. Unfortunately, we are not accepting further applications at this time.
The school may wish to use its minor works grant, which all primary schools received last November, to carry out the works in full or on a phased basis, as that grant permits, if the school considers it to be a priority.
179. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25494/17]
View answerAdditional teaching supports for pupils with special educational needs in primary schools are currently provided through two channels. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), has up to and including the current school year, allocated Low Incidence Teaching Hours (LITH) to schools to support children who have an identified special educational need within the low incidence, or more complex, category of special need, as defined by the Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05.
Separately, all mainstream Primary schools have a permanent allocation of additional teaching support, under the General Allocation Model (GAM), to cater for pupils whose educational psychological assessment place them in the high incidence disability category. It is a matter for individual schools to use their professional judgement to identify pupils who will receive this support and to use the resources made available to the school to intervene at the appropriate level with such pupils. Schools are supported in this regard by the National Educational Psychological Services.
Pupils with Dyslexia & ADHD can avail of additional teaching support/learning support from within the school’s current level of GAM support. Parents should discuss with the school Principal in the first instance, or with the Board of Management of the school as to how a pupil can be supported under the school’s general allocation. It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with my Department's guidance including Circular Sp Ed 02/05 - Organisation of Teaching Resources for Pupils who need Additional Support in Mainstream Primary Schools and the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) Continuum of Support Guidelines. The teaching time afforded to each individual pupil is decided and managed by schools, taking into account each child's individual learning needs.
The new model for allocating special education teachers to schools which has been introduced for the 2017/18 school year, replaces teaching resources allocated under the Low Incidence Teaching Hours and the General Allocation Model for primary schools. The aim of this new model is to deliver better outcomes for children with special educational needs. Substantial research, analysis, consultation with service users and stakeholders, and piloting have gone in to the development of this model and all of the evidence points to the fact that this new system will deliver better outcomes for children.
The new Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for allocating special educational teaching support to schools. Allocations based on the school profiles issued to all schools on 7th March, details have also been published on the NCSE website. My Department’s Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools sets out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools.
The new model will give greater autonomy to schools to allocate resources to the pupils who most need these resources, regardless of their diagnosis. No school will lose supports as a result of the implementation of the new model. In addition, no school will receive an allocation, for the support of pupils with complex needs, less than the allocation they received to support such pupils during the 2016/17 school year. No allocation made for such pupils by the NCSE will be removed from schools as long as that pupil remains in the school.
I am informed by the NCSE that an application for LITH support was received after the allocation process for 2016-2017 concluded; heretofore, that application would have been considered for the 2017/18 allocations process. All schools, including the school in question, have received their allocation under the new model for 2017/18. The SENO has explained the new process to the parents of the child in question in a recent email. The SENO has also had discussions with the school principal in relation to same.
In circumstances where a parent is dissatisfied as to the extent of additional support teaching time which has been allocated to their child from within a schools allocation, the normal course of action open to a parent would be to raise this matter with the school Principal in the first instance, and to request that additional teaching be provided to their child.
180. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) has had its resource teaching hours decreased in circumstances in which it had no opportunity to appeal the decrease in hours in view of the fact the change came outside the appeals window; and if he will address other issues with regard to its allocation. [25519/17]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Departments Circular DES 0013/2017 set out details of a new model for allocating Special Education Teachers to mainstream schools.
Following publication of this Circular on 7 March, all schools received a letter from the National Council for Special Education which set out details of the allocation which is being made to schools under the new allocation model from September 2017.
In April my Department became aware that a school had inadvertently incorrectly completed the Primary School Profile Questionnaire and had as a consequence received too high of an allocation for the social context element of this school profile.
In completing the primary school social context survey, whereby schools were asked to indicate the disadvantage levels in their schools, schools with an enrolment of 160 or more pupils were asked to base their responses to section 3 of the survey, which covered various aspects of disadvantage, on the number of pupils in a single grade level (specifically 2nd class, or if there was no 2nd class, the next most senior grade level) in their schools.
The intention of using different denominators was to reduce the workload on principals completing the survey. A value was then proportionally applied to the school.
The school had based responses to Section 3 on the entire school, as opposed to 2nd Class only.
The Educational Research Centre (ERC) was asked to review this matter and advised that having reviewed the data, the effect was that the social context/disadvantage allocation for the school had been greatly inflated due to the fact that the incorrect denominator was used by the school to report numbers based on the whole school.
Whereas this problem was not identified during the data checking process prior to the model being finalised, without being aware of the circumstances pertaining to individual schools, it would have been impossible for data checking to identify such a problem.
Having reviewed the circumstances of the school which had come to the attention of the Department, the ERC also reviewed the position of social context allocations for other schools who had received very high social context allocations in their profiles.
The quality assurance technical check revealed that an over allocation of resources had been made for seventeen schools which had also used the incorrect denominator, including the school referred to in the Deputy’s question.
The ERC recalculated the profiles for all of these schools, based on the correct proportionate application of the survey data, and new allocation letters issued to all of the effected schools at the earliest possible opportunity, in May 2017.
In relation to the school referred to by the Deputy, this school has received an allocation of 93.13 hours for September 2017, which is a very significant allocation for a school of this size.
The school profile, when revised to correct for the error, indicated that the allocation which would be required for this school should be 82.50 hours, based on the school profile.
However, as all schools will receive an allocation at least equivalent to the allocation they received in the 2016/17 school year this school has been allocated 93.13 hours.
My Department must treat all schools equally in relation to the allocation process and where incorrect data was supplied by the school and used in the allocation it was incumbent on my Department to correct this matter. However, it is important to point out that the amendments arose as a result of incorrect information supplied by the school.
Whereas the date for submission of an appeal to the NCSE has closed, should the school wish to seek a review of this allocation decision, they should write to my Department regarding this matter.
181. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the refusal of funding for an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit in a school (details supplied); if he will grant funding in view of the demand for the unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25523/17]
View answerThis Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.
Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.
Most students with ASD can access the curriculum in a mainstream class for most or all of their day/week.
It is the policy of this Department that these students should be given every opportunity to achieve in mainstream settings and the Department provides a range of in-school supports including Resource teaching and SNA support to enable them to do so.
Almost 18,000 students in schools have been diagnosed with autism. The Department of Education and Skills invests over €300m annually in providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools enabling:
- 63% of students to attend mainstream schools
- 26% to attend special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and
- 11% to attend special schools.
Some students, although academically able to access the curriculum in mainstream, may find it too difficult to manage full-time placement there. This can be due to significant difficulties in areas such as behaviour or sensory needs which have not been ameliorated, even with appropriate intervention, in mainstream.
Enrolment in an ASD special class should only be considered where it has been demonstrated that a student requires the support of a special class because he/she is unable to learn effectively in a mainstream class for most or all of the school day even with appropriate supports.
Students enrolling in ASD Special Classes must have a report from a relevant professional or team of professionals (for example, psychologist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist) stating that:
- S/he has ASD
- S/he has significant learning needs that require the support of a special class setting and the reasons why this is the case.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), in consultation with the relevant education partners, is responsible for the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas where there is an identified need.
The NCSE has informed the Department of Educational and Skills that, in general, they are satisfied that there are sufficient ASD special classes placements to meet existing demand in the Kildare area for the forthcoming school year.
There are currently 59 ASD special classes in the Kildare area, including 6 Early Intervention classes, 41 primary ASD classes and 12 post primary ASD classes.
The NCSE, in looking to open special classes, must take into account the present and future potential need for such classes, taking particular account of the educational needs of the children concerned. The NCSE will also take account of location and sustainability in looking to establish special classes in certain areas.
The NCSE has not currently identified the need to establish an ASD special class in the area referred to by the Deputy. The NCSE will continue to monitor and review the requirement for special class places in the Kildare area.
My Department will continue to support the NCSE in opening ASD special classes in areas where there is an identified need.
