Written Answers Nos. 118-137
118. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a publicly funded organisation (details supplied) in County Kerry will be included on the public sector transfer list; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28145/18]
View answerMy department does not have a role in Public Sector transfers. Public Servants are employed under different legislative provisions and terms and conditions to Civil Servants. A Public Servant may apply for positions through an open recruitment competition for the Civil Service.
You will be aware that my department are currently developing a Civil Service Mobility scheme. This is one of a number of arrangements to be put in place to fulfill the requirements of Action 15 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan. The aim of the Mobility scheme is to create a fair, transparent and practical system that facilitates mobility across the Civil Service. This scheme is being launched on a phased basis, with Phase 1 of the scheme facilitating mobility for the general Civil Service grades of Clerical Officer and Executive Officer. It is intended that Phase 2 of the scheme, which will be introduced at a later stage, and will be open to the general Civil Service grades of Higher Executive Officer, Administrative Officer and Assistant Principal Officer.
A review of the Civil Service Mobility Scheme will be carried out after the launch of all phases. Plans to extend mobility to provide additional development opportunities and enable greater mobility across the public service will be assessed at this stage.
119. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the timeline for the completion of a new Garda station in Newcastle West, County Limerick. [28147/18]
View answerThe refurbishment and upgrade of Newcastle West Garda Station is included in the Capital Investment Plan 2016-2021 for An Garda Síochána. The Office of Public Works is currently developing plans for a new District Headquarters facility on the existing site in Newcastle West which is based on a brief of requirements received from An Garda Síochána. The construction works are expected to take 18 months to complete and it is anticipated that the necessary works in terms of design development, tender documentation should be completed by the end of 2019.
120. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the pay restoration measures implemented to date for public servants with the unwinding of FEMPI legislation; the schedule of further pay restoration measures planned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28251/18]
View answerI refer the Deputy to my answer to PQ 2235/18 on the 18 January 2018.
121. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the way in which a person (details supplied) can apply for a waiver of abatement rules under section 52 of the Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Act 2012 in cases in which their training and experience in a previous public service role is required for their role; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28261/18]
View answerAn application for an abatement waiver must come from the individual’s current employer and must be signed by the Secretary General (or equivalent) of the Department/Office. An abatement waiver, if successful, is only granted in exceptional circumstances and for a limited period. An application for an abatement waiver must be addressed to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
Appropriate documentation must accompany an abatement waiver application, including the following:
1. The letter signed by the Secretary General (or equivalent) of the Department, Office or Body stating the reasons why a waiver is sought;
2. Information on the competition(s) seeking a suitable appointee;
3. Details of the number of candidates interviewed;
4. The number of candidates on the panel;
5. The length of time for which a waiver is sought;
6. The criteria used for filling the position;
7. A plan of action for filling the position (where the position is permanent) in future without a waiver;
8. The employing Department/Body and contact name/details;
9. The Pension Paying authority and contact name/details; and
10. Any additional information which might support the waiver application.
122. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the issues surrounding the new entrant pay scales of primary level education teachers will be resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28370/18]
View answerThe Public Service Stability Agreement 2018-2020 (PSSA), provided that an examination of remaining salary scale issues in respect of post January 2011 recruits at entry grades would be undertaken within 12 months of the commencement of the Agreement.
Additionally this Government accepted an amendment at Section 11 of the Public Service Pay and Pensions Act 2017, that within 3 months of the passing of the Act, I would prepare and lay before the Oireachtas a report on the cost of and a plan in dealing with pay equalisation for new entrants to the public service.
This was a significant body of work and staff resources from within the Irish Government Economic Evaluation Service (IGEES) were assigned to collect, collate and examine the data and provide detailed point in time costs associated with the measure.
In accordance with the legislation I submitted a report to the Oireachtas on the 16th of March. This report, and the substantial amount of data and analysis underpinning it provide a valuable evidence base for consideration of this matter. The report shows that there has been strong recruitment since 2011 to the estimated 237 recruitment grades across the public service, with over 60,500 new entrants hired. This includes over 16,000 teachers and nearly 5,000 Special Needs Assistants. Full year costs based on a two point increment jump for those effected were estimated at approximately €200m.
Discussions on this issue with public service trade unions and representative associations, commenced in October of last year. Further discussions are continuing as the parties continue to work through the various aspects of this issue.
123. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if e-car charging points are provided at his Department's buildings in Dublin or in other locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28400/18]
View answerThere are no charging points in any buildings currently occupied by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. There is a very small number of charging points, maybe 4 or 5, in other buildings owned or leased by the Office of Public Works and occupied by central Government Departments and Agencies. These have been installed at the request of the occupying organisations.
124. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the survivors of the redress board undergo forensic style examinations in order to be believed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28253/18]
View answerI assume the Deputy means survivors of children’s residential institutional abuse who applied to the Redress Board, not survivors of the Redress Board. The Residential Institutions Redress Board was established in late 2002 to make fair and reasonable awards to persons who, as children, were abused while resident in any of 139 specified institutions. Awards were made following applications from survivors who provided evidence of having been in a specified institution and evidence also of injury arising out of abuse suffered while in residence. The amount of an award was determined by reference to the Board’s assessment of the severity of the abuse and the consequential injury. A Residential Institutions Review Committee was set up to review decisions and awards made by the Redress Board.
Redress schemes offer victims a potentially faster and less onerous justice process. This is acknowledged in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s special report 96 on the Cost of Child Abuse Inquiry and Redress which states that ‘The setting up of a redress scheme following the work of the Commission (to Inquire into Child Abuse) provided reparation to those who had suffered abuse in the institutions. Without such a scheme, civil litigation cases taken by former residents through the courts system could have resulted in substantially higher legal costs and could have led to a backlog of cases for many years as a result.’
The purpose of the Redress Board as established by the Oireachtas under the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002, was to make awards to the survivors of abuse. The statutory functions of the board as set out in section 5 of that Act include a requirement to “ensure in so far as is practicable, that hearings are conducted as informally as possible having regard to all the circumstances. The “forensic style examination” referred to in the Deputy’s question would clearly be at variance with this provision.
125. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students from Kuwait studying here; if his Department in conjunction with the Department of Education and Skills is working to attract more students from Kuwait here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28268/18]
View answerPresently, there are approximately 700 students from Kuwait studying in Irish Higher Education Institutions. The majority of these students are studying in the medical fields.
Enterprise Ireland, who are responsible for promoting the Irish education system internationally, through the Education in Ireland brand, are working closely with the Kuwaiti Ministry of Higher Education, to enhance the collaborations between Higher Education Institutions in Ireland and Kuwait in a wide range of other disciplines that will be of mutual benefit to both Countries.
126. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the grant promised for the refurbishment of a school (details supplied). [28113/18]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is currently in negotiations to purchase the building currently occupied by the school. When ownership transfers to my Department, arrangements to refurbish the building will be initiated. My Department will be in contact with the school authority at that point.
127. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a reply will issue to correspondence regarding a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28118/18]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school to which he refers is included in my Department's Capital Programme.
The project for this school has been identified for delivery as part of a programme for the appointment of a Programme Manager. My Department expects to be in further contact with the school authority shortly on the matter.
128. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the suspension of the BSc Hons in digital media and society at the GMIT Castlebar; if the decision to suspend the course will be reversed; if not, the reason therefor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28123/18]
View answer131. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills if further courses are due to be suspended at GMIT, Castlebar; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28154/18]
View answer132. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to secure the future sustainability of GMIT, Castlebar; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28155/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 128, 131 and 132 together.
The Government is committed to the future sustainability of the Castlebar campus of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT). This is the reason why I established the Working Group in March 2017 to develop a plan that would safeguard the future of the Castlebar campus.
The Report of the Working Group was published in December 2017. It provides a wide-ranging assessment of the context within which the Campus is currently operating, and outlines a proposed vision for the future of the Mayo Campus. The Working Group recommendations are primarily for GMIT to implement, including those with regard to course provision at the Castlebar campus.
One of the recommendations of the Sustainability Plan is that the Digital Media programme be re-pitched, in collaboration with industry, for the 2018/19 academic year. I understand that this recommendation has yet to be implemented by GMIT. In the interim GMIT retained the programme it as a CAO offering for 2018/19. However, predictive analysis carried out by GMIT determined that there was an insufficient number of applicants to make the programme viable. On that basis GMIT have taken the decision to suspend the programme for the 2018/19 academic year.
While GMIT took the decision to withdraw this course, it should be noted that the institute has reinstated other programmes at the Castlebar campus for 2018/19 - Sustainable Building Technology and the Heritage related programmes of History and Geography and Culture & Environment - subject to a viable number of applicants.
The Working Group’s recommendations will be implemented over the next five years, over the period 2018-2022. Formal progress reports will be submitted to the GMIT Governing Body and the HEA every four months for review. I would like to again assure the Deputy that my Department and the HEA will continue to work closely with GMIT on ensuring that the recommendations of the Working Group are implemented as soon as possible, and with appropriate consultation with relevant stakeholders, to ensure the future sustainability and success of the Castlebar campus.
129. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if additional funding has been secured for the 2018-2019 school year to ensure that seats will be available for those that apply for concessionary school bus passes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28128/18]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently over 116,000 children, including almost 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,500 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.
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.
Children are generally eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.
Seats for concessionary applicants are allocated after all eligible children have been accommodated on school transport services. This exercise normally takes place after the closing date for receipt of payments. Where seats are limited a random selection process is used.
Arising from commitments in the Programme for Government, a review of the Concessionary Charges and Rules element of the School Transport Scheme was undertaken.
The review was published in December 2016 and made recommendations on both the charges and the rules element of concessionary school transport.
With regard to the charges for concessionary school transport the recommended course of action was to continue with the current position whereby charges remain in place for those in receipt of concessionary places. I agreed with this recommendation on the basis that those applying for concessionary transport are making a conscious decision to do so, understand that they are not eligible for school transport and understand the implications of this choice at the time of application.
The report also recommended that the number of concessionary places should be reduced in line with the rules introduced in 2012 on a phased basis. Previous plans to advance this option were put on hold, pending the completion of the review.
However upon consideration of the review and following discussions with the Cross Party Working Group which I established to feed into the review, I decided that there should be no planned programme of downsizing in the coming year except in line with normal operational decisions within the current scheme.
The terms of the School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
130. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding school transport for the 2018-2019 school year in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28140/18]
View answer136. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding school transport for 2018-2019 in an area (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28172/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 130 and 136 together.
School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently over 116,000 children, including almost 12,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,500 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.
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.
Children are generally eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school.
Seats for concessionary applicants are allocated after all eligible children have been accommodated on school transport services. This exercise normally takes place after the closing date for receipt of payments. Where seats are limited a random selection process is used.
Routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis; no additional State cost will be incurred.
Arising from commitments in the Programme for Government, a review of the Concessionary Charges and Rules element of the School Transport Scheme was undertaken.
The review was published in December 2016 and made recommendations on both the charges and the rules element of concessionary school transport.
The report also recommended that the number of concessionary places should be reduced in line with the rules introduced in 2012 on a phased basis. Previous plans to advance this option were put on hold, pending the completion of the review.
However upon consideration of the review and following discussions with the Cross Party Working Group which I established to feed into the review, I decided that there should be no planned programme of downsizing in the coming year except in line with normal operational decisions within the current scheme.
The terms of the School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.
133. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an emergency works scheme application by a school (details supplied) in Dublin 11; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28157/18]
View answerMy Department’s Planning and Building Unit received an Emergency Works Application from the school in question in December 2015. The school authority were requested to scale back the works to repair only and apply for a replacement roof under the Department’s Summer Works Scheme (SWS) 2016/2017. An application for scaled back works was not received.
The school authority did submit a SWS application but applied for multiple projects which is not permitted under the SWS scheme as schools are only allowed apply for one project and as a result their application was not considered.
It is open to the school in question to submit a new Emergency Works Application for repair works only to the roof and apply under any future Summer Works Scheme to have the roof replaced. Schools seeking emergency works funding must complete an Emergency Works Application form, which is available on my Department’s website.
134. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding SUSI applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28163/18]
View answerThe means test arrangements of the Student Grant Scheme are applied nationally on the same basis to both employed and self-employed applicants. Gross income before the deduction of income tax or the universal social charge, is assessed with certain specified social welfare and health service executive payments excluded.
The assessment of income from the same starting point is deemed to be fair and reasonable because this approach eliminates any distortion which might arise from different spending decisions in different households.
The Student Grant Scheme provides for different levels of income thresholds where families have (i) less than 4 dependent children (ii) between 4 and 7 dependent children and (iii) 8 or more dependent children. Also, in recognition of the additional cost to families where more than one person is attending college, income thresholds may also be increased by up to €4,830 for each additional family member attending college at the same time. In this way, the Student Grant Scheme is responsive to the individual circumstances of particular families.
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 Office in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.
Also, tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education. Further information on this tax relief is available from the Revenue Commissioners at www.revenue.ie
135. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a national educational policy with regard to the management of peer sexual assault in post primary education; if one is being drafted; and the location in which it can be accessed. [28171/18]
View answerThe Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for the national criminal justice framework and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs is responsible for national policy in relation to the protection and welfare of children.
My Department’s role is to give guidance and direction to schools in relation to meeting their statutory and other obligations in respect of the protection of children, including in relation to the reporting of child abuse.
The statutory requirements of the Children First Act 2015 became fully operational on 11 December 2017 when the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs commenced the remaining provisions of the Children First Act 2015.
The Children First Act 2015 put in place a statutory obligation on certain professionals who work with children (referred to as mandated persons and including all registered teachers) to report child protection concerns at or above a defined threshold to Tusla. Under this Act, all concerns about sexual abuse must be reported by mandated persons to Tusla.
The Children First Act 2015 operates side-by-side with the Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children (2017) which was published by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on 2 October and also became operational on 11 December 2017.
The full commencement of the Children First Act, 2015 and the publication of the new Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children 2017 necessitated changes to the existing Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.
In December 2017, my Department published new Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary School 2017 which give direction and guidance to schools authorities and to school personnel in relation to meeting their new statutory obligations under the Children First Act, 2015 and in the continued implementation of the best practice (non-statutory) guidance set out in Children First National Guidance 2017 which requires all reasonable concerns about child abuse, including sexual abuse, to be reported to Tusla. The new procedures are published on my Departments website www.education.ie.
My Department’s procedures for schools also outline that under the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 it is a criminal offence to withhold information about a serious offence, including a sexual offence, against a person under 18 years or a vulnerable person. The offence arises where a person knows or believes that a specified offence has been committed against a child or vulnerable person and he or she has information which would help arrest, prosecute or convict another person for that offence, but fails, without reasonable excuse, to disclose that information as soon as it is practicable to do so to a member of An Garda Síochána.
The reporting obligations under the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 are in addition to the reporting obligations under Children First National Guidance 2017 and the Children First Act, 2015.
137. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a specialised reading school (details supplied) has been informed it will have no special needs assistant support in September 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28176/18]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.
The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.
In considering applications for SNA supports for individual pupils, the NCSE take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource.
SNA allocations to all schools can change from year to year as children with care needs leave the school, as new children with care needs enrol in a school and as children develop more independent living skills and their care needs diminish over time.
My Department’s policy is to ensure that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support. In line with this policy, I announced last month that 800 additional SNAs will be allocated for the beginning of the next school year, with a further 140 expected to be allocated by the end of the year.
By the end of this year, there will be a total of 15,000 Special Needs Assistants working in our schools, a 42% increase on 2011.
The NCSE Appeals Process may be invoked by a parent or a school where it is considered that a child was not granted access to SNA support on the grounds that Department policy was not met in accordance with Circular 0030/2014.
Schools may also appeal a decision, where the school considers that the NCSE, in applying Department policy, has not allocated the appropriate level of SNA support to the school to meet the special educational and/or care needs of the children concerned.
Where a school has received its allocation of SNA support for 2018/19, but wishes new enrolments or assessments to be considered, which were not taken into account when the initial allocation was made, they may continue to make applications to the NCSE. The closing date for receipt of any appeals in regard to SNA allocations is Friday, 28th September 2018.
As this question relates to a particular school I have referred the question to the NCSE for their direct reply.
