Written Answers Nos. 229-246
229. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the significant cost burden placed on parents of children in digital schools using tablet computers instead of textbooks; the steps he is taking to support parents financially to help meet such costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30427/18]
View answerThe decision to use tablet devices is a matter for the Board of Management of a school. Where the introduction of digital devices is planned, consultation with members of the school community including parents is advised. The cost and other implications must be fully considered by the Boards of Managements before a decision is made. I believe it is important for schools, in conjunction with parents, to retain local autonomy for decisions on the use of tablet devices and how best to manage their integration into classroom practice. In making this decision each school should consider all the available information.
The Professional Development Service for Teachers Technology in Education (PDST-TIE) offers advice to schools and have developed an advice sheet, on the adoption of tablets in schools, on its website which covers areas such as what tablets can offer a school, educational and purchasing considerations, and software.
I am keenly aware of the challenges faced by educators and parents, in relation to costs of digital devices including eBooks, and my Department continues to work to help support schools and families meet these costs. In 2017 a circular letter issued to schools with measures to be adopted to reduce the cost of school uniforms and other costs. This circular also instructed schools to consult with parents and their school community on the issue of ensuring costs are reasonable for parents, and how to avoid costs acting as a barrier. This circular specified that wherever possible, generic rather than branded items should be specified (e.g. uniform, clothing, IT tablets, sports equipment etc.). The issue of costs to parents will also be included in the Guidelines that will issue with the Education (Parent and Student Charter) Bill 2018.
Direct assistance is provided through the School Books Grant Scheme for books including eBooks for children in all recognised primary and post-primary schools. All schools are encouraged to operate such a scheme, under which some €7 million in funding to primary schools in 2017.
In addition, the Digital Strategy for Schools 2015-2020, sets out a plan to embed the use of digital technology in teaching, learning and assessment. The Strategy recognises that schools require investment in their ICT infrastructure. Funding of €210m has been committed to support the implementation of this strategy with €60m issued to schools over the 2016/17 and 2017/18 school years. This will increase to €50m a year over the lifetime of the strategy.
232. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of travel expenses for him and those that travel with him since his appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30509/18]
View answerI set out the details as requested by the Deputy.
The figures for 2016 cover the period from my appointment as Minister for Education and Skills in May to the end of December. The figures for 2017 cover the entire year and the figures for 2018 cover the period January to June. Please note that I have not claimed subsistence allowance for any official travel, either at home or abroad.
Table one shows the total value of domestic mileage claims since my appointment in May 2016. Please note that this is not specific to events which I attend.
|
Table 1. Minister for Education and Skills’ Home Travel |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Domestic Travel - Mileage |
€5,002.21 |
€8,540.73 |
€5,438.35 |
Table two shows the value of claims made by ministerial staff who accompanied me on official domestic business. As above, the 2016 figure covers the period May to December and the 2018 figure covers the period January to June.
|
Table 2. Ministerial staff travelling with the Minister for Education and Skills |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Domestic Travel - Accommodation |
- |
€1,039.57 |
€829.00 |
|
Domestic Travel - Mileage |
€5,416.07 |
€4,800.71 |
€2,250.32 |
|
Domestic Travel - Subsistence Allowance |
€911.95 |
€2,869.11 |
€2,813.31 |
|
Total |
€6,328.02 |
€8,709.39 |
€5,892.63 |
Table three shows the travel cost related to foreign travel. This includes my own costs, and costs of accompanying officials including both ministerial staff and staff from other business units of the Department. It has not been possible to separate my costs from those staff who accompanied me. Please note that the figures for flights do not include the cost of flights which were subsequently refunded by the EU Commission.
|
Table 3. Foreign Travel |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
Accommodation & Subsistence Allowance |
€4,608.50 |
€14,225.66 |
€9,395.68 |
|
Flights |
€7,801.07 |
€10,172.33 |
€2,470.28 |
|
Total |
€12,409.57 |
€24,397.99 |
€11,865.96 |
233. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a matter (details supplied) regarding a new school building will be addressed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30520/18]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, the school to which she refers is included in my Department’s 6 year construction programme.
Officials in my Department continue to liaise with officials in Fingal County Council in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding in relation to the identification and acquisition of a suitable location for the school in question and have identified a preferred site option within the relevant school planning areas. Negotiations with the landowner in respect of this proposed acquisition are currently ongoing.
In the interim the school will be accommodated from September 2018 at the former Institute of Horology property, Mill Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 on a temporary basis.
Due to commercial sensitivities relating to site acquisitions generally, the Deputy will appreciate that I am not in a position to provide further details in relation to the permanent site for the school at this time but I can confirm that the school patron is being kept appraised of developments in respect of the site acquisition process.
234. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason parents in Duleek, County Meath are excluded from the patronage competition for a new secondary school in areas (details supplied). [30525/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Government recently announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022), including a new 600 pupil post-primary school to be established in 2019 to serve the Drogheda and Laytown school planning areas as a regional solution. This announcement follows nationwide, demographic exercises carried out by my Department into the future need for primary and post-primary schools across the country and the 4-year horizon will enable increased lead-in times for planning and delivery of the necessary infrastructure.
A patronage process is run after it has been decided, based on demographic analysis, that a new school is required. This patronage process is open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons. Parental preferences for each patron, from parents of children who reside in the school planning areas concerned, together with the extent of diversity currently available in these areas, are key to decisions in relation to the outcome of this process.
An Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) has been developed by my Department to provide objective information to all parents which will allow them to make an informed choice about their preferred model of patronage for their child’s education. Parental preferences were previously collected based on direct engagement with patron bodies. The Online Patronage Process System (OPPS) website is currently live for the post-primary schools to be established in 2019.
All new schools established since 2011 to meet demographic demand are required to prioritise enrolments from the designated school planning area(s) which the school was established to serve. Therefore, only parents of eligible children residing in the relevant school planning area(s) can express a preference with regard to the patronage of the new school. This does not preclude schools from enrolling pupils from outside of the designated school planning area, rather it reflects the need to accommodate in the first instance the demographic for which the school was established.
As the Deputy may be aware, there are currently 27 primary schools located in the Drogheda school planning area, including 2 primary schools in Duleek. Parents of children, including children attending a primary school in Duleek, who are due to start post-primary education in the 5 year period 2019 to 2023 and who are resident in the Drogheda school planning area may be eligible to express a preference with regard to the patronage of the new post-primary school. Parents can visit the OPPS website at https://patronage.education.gov.ie to check their eligibility and to view the relevant school planning area map.
235. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the townlands and district electoral divisions included in each of the school planning areas in which a second-level school patronage competition is under way. [30526/18]
View answerIn order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data in a way that takes account of the significant local and regional variations in demographic trends and enrolment projections, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas, of which some 40 are in Dublin.
Using school planning area boundaries within my Department’s Geographic Information System (GIS) allows data within those boundaries, including data for enrolments in schools, child benefit and other relevant data to be added to the mapping information, grouped and analysed. The GIS records the number of primary and post-primary schools within each planning area, the combined enrolments for all of the schools within each area, including total enrolment and enrolment in each class group, together with child benefit data for the 0-4 age group relevant to the area.
In most areas, school planning areas were based on traditional school catchment areas where all primary schools were assigned to a post-primary feeder area (typically a population centre or town), containing one or more post-primary schools. The school planning areas were developed for use with the GIS in 2008 and with the introduction of Small Areas in Census 2011, these areas were amended to align with Census Small Areas. The current school planning areas take account not only of local groupings of schools, but also of natural boundaries, Census Small Areas and other local conditions. These school planning areas are used in the demographic exercise as a basis for the assessment of areas of growth and to inform recommendations on the establishment of any new schools required in that school planning area.
As the school planning areas were aligned with the Census Small Areas and a townland or electoral division can fall into more than one school planning area, the information is not readily available in the format requested by the Deputy.
A patronage process is currently under way in respect of four post-primary schools announced to be established in 2019 for the following school planning areas:
- Laytown and Drogheda (Regional Solution),
- Galway City and Oranmore (Regional Solution),
- Donaghmede_Howth_D13; and
- Wicklow.
A list of the Census Small Areas which are located within each of the above school planning areas are outlined in the following link for the Deputy's information.
236. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position with regard to the completion of two new secondary schools in Maynooth. [30527/18]
View answerAs the Deputy maybe aware the delivery of the two schools in question has been devolved to Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB).
Since the liquidation of the contractor, KWETB, its design team and officials from my Department's Planning and Building Unit have been working closely to ensure that a new contractor is appointed as quickly as possible to complete both schools. A notice has been published on the eTenders website, with a closing date of 23rd July 2018, seeking expressions of interest from contractors wishing to be considered for the completion of the project. Identification of all outstanding works necessary to complete both schools is also ongoing.
The current works programme indicates a retendering of the project in November 2018 with a view to having a contractor back on site by the end of March 2019 and an expected completion date of June 2020.
My Department is also liaising with KWETB to ensure that both schools have the necessary accommodation to meet pupil needs pending the delivery of their new school buildings.
237. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of departmental circulars issued in respect of primary schools, their staff or management in each of the years 2000 to 2017. [30528/18]
View answer238. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of departmental circulars issued in respect of voluntary post primary schools, their staff or management in total in each of the years 2000 to 2017. [30529/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 237 and 238 together.
In accordance with the various functions and divisions of my Department, numerous departmental sections issue circulars which may relate, to some extent, to matters pertaining to staff or management in schools. For example, in 2017, over 80 circulars issued, a significant proportion of which would have had relevance to school management and staff.
A comprehensive database of Circulars since 2006 is accessible and searchable through the Department’s website www.education.ie.
If the Deputy wishes to provide further detail on any specific issue of interest, my Department will seek to be of assistance.
239. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of departmental circulars issued in respect of post-primary schools, the education and training board, ETB, sector, their staff or management in each of the years 2000 to 2017. [30530/18]
View answerIn accordance with the various functions and divisions of my Department, numerous departmental sections issue circulars which may relate, to some extent, to matters pertaining to staff or management in the post-primary school sector, including ETBs and Community and Comprehensive Schools. For example, in 2017, over 80 circulars issued, a significant proportion of which would have had some relevance to school staff.
A comprehensive database of Circulars since 2006 is accessible and searchable through the Department’s website www.education.ie.
If the Deputy wishes to provide further detail on any specific issue of interest, my Department will seek to be of assistance.
240. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of departmental circulars issued in respect of community and comprehensive schools, their staff or management in each of the years 2000 to 2017. [30531/18]
View answerIn accordance with the various functions and divisions of my Department, numerous departmental sections issue circulars which may relate, to some extent, to matters pertaining to staff or management in the post-primary school sector, including ETBs and Community and Comprehensive Schools. For example, in 2017, over 80 circulars issued, a significant proportion of which would have had some relevance to school staff.
A comprehensive database of Circulars since 2006 is accessible and searchable through the Department’s website www.education.ie.
If the Deputy wishes to provide further detail of any specific issue or interest, my Department will seek to be of assistance.
241. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of times he has met his officials regarding Project Ireland 2040 since its launch; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30550/18]
View answerProject Ireland 2040 provides a framework for Ireland's future social, economic and cultural infrastructure and seeks to ensure that all parts of Ireland can achieve their full potential. It encompasses the National Development Plan for the period 2018-2027, which signals investment envelopes of well over €11 billion for the education sector. This funding will support the school building programme, the Digital Strategy for Schools and capital investment in both the higher education and Further Education and Training (FET) sectors.
The implementation of Project Ireland 2040 is a key priority of my Department. As such, it is discussed at numerous meetings between myself and Department officials, including at monthly meetings of the Management Board, and in regular meetings with officials from the Planning and Building Division.
242. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of freedom of information, FOI, requests his Department has received since January 2018; the number of refusals; the number that have been appealed and that are ongoing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30567/18]
View answerThe following table gives full details of the number FOI requests received by my Department since January 2018. The table includes the number that were appealed, refused, granted, and those that are currently on hand.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND SKILLS
Freedom of Information requests - 1 January 2018 – 05 July 2018
|
Year |
Total received (Year to Date)* |
Requests |
Requests |
Requests |
Requests |
Requests |
Requests |
Appeal - Internal Review (IR) |
Appeal - Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) |
|
Year |
Total received (Year to Date)* |
Granted |
Part-granted |
Request Transferred |
Request withdrawn or handled outside of FOI |
Refused |
Current FOI on Hand |
Total |
Total |
|
2018 |
332 |
41 |
65 |
9 |
103 |
50 |
64 |
9 |
1 |
243. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of vacancies on State boards under the remit of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30584/18]
View answerDetails of the State Boards that fall under the remit of my Department, including details on board appointments and vacancies, are available on my Department's website at the following link: https://www.education.ie/en/The-Department/Agencies/.
The information requested by the Deputy in regard to the number of vacant posts on boards is provided in the following table.
As the Deputy will be aware, individuals may be nominated for appointment by various organisations arising from the terms in the relevant legislation regarding the Body concerned and accordingly board appointments made by me are not in all cases made at my discretion.
The Department of Education and Skills - Details of Board vacancies as at July 6th 2018
|
Name of Body under the Aegis of the Department |
Name |
Date Term of Office Ceased/Date Vacancy Arose |
Position Type |
|
Higher Education Authority (HEA) |
Vacancy |
30/06/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
|
Léargas |
Vacancy |
07/03/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
|
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board (RISF) Caranua |
Vacancy |
01/02/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
|
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board (RISF) Caranua |
Vacancy |
16/02/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
|
Irish Research Council |
Vacancy |
18/03/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
|
Irish Research Council |
Vacancy |
18/03/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
|
The Teaching Council |
Vacancy |
12/06/2018 |
Ordinary Member |
244. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills when construction of a new secondary school at Mungret, County Limerick will commence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30621/18]
View answerThe delivery of a project for the school to which the Deputy refers is being devolved for delivery to the local Education and Training Board (ETB).
To enable this, my Department has issued a Service Level Agreement to the ETB.
The execution of this Service Level Agreement will allow the ETB to procure a Design Team to take the project through the various stages of architectural planning and onwards through the statutory planning requirements and construction.
The timeframe for the construction of the project will not be known until the design stages have been completed and planning permission secured.
245. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the refurbishment and provision of an extension for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30648/18]
View answer246. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the start date for prefab replacement for a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30649/18]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 245 and 246 together.
As the Deputy will be aware, a project for the school in question is included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme.
I understand that the technical assessment process in respect of the project (to include the extension, refurbishment and prefab replacement) has been completed and the Project Brief is now being finalised. In that context, my Department will be in further contact with the school shortly in relation to the next steps to be taken to initiate the architectural planning process for the project concerned.
