Written Answers Nos. 92-116
92. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has engaged and-or consulted with a public relations online advertising agency regarding social media advertising and online promoted content in 2018 and to date in 2019; and the amount spent by company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11143/19]
View answerThe details requested by the Deputy are set out in the following table. To date in 2019, there has been no such expenditure.
|
Year |
Company |
Amount Spent |
|
2018 |
Mindshare Media Ireland Ltd. for MyGovID awareness campaign |
€76,948.91
|
93. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if a decision has been made on an application by a person (details supplied) to remove a burden on lands at a location in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11229/19]
View answerAn Office of Public Works (OPW) senior Property Manager has arranged to visit the site referred to by the Deputy during the second week of March. Once the site visit is complete a decision will be made on the application to remove the burden.
94. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if vehicles that have been significantly modified, for example, a vehicle originally intended for 53 seats that has been fitted with 70 seats are eligible to apply for the school transport scheme; and if so, if there are specific vehicle testing standards they must meet. [11210/19]
View answerSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. There are currently over 117,500 children, including over 13,000 children with special educational needs, transported in over 5,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The type of vehicle required for use on School Transport Scheme services is determined by the specific capacity requirements for each route and the roadways that the vehicle will be expected to travel on. It is also determined by the individual requirements of the child involved, as is the case in relation to the provision of transport for children with Special Educational Needs.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that in relation to vehicle testing standards, all large public service vehicles operating in the state, must meet the minimum statutory requirements of the Road Safety Authority’s Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness test and are subject to roadside inspection by the Authority to ensure that they have a current roadworthiness certificate at the time of roadside inspection. Each vehicle must also have a valid Public Service Vehicle (PSV) licence issued by a PSV Officer of An Garda Síochána following inspection. This inspection is particularly relevant in the case of any proposed modifications to vehicles. Both of these legal requirements are verified by Bus Éireann before any vehicle is permitted to be added to the nominated fleet of any contractor seeking to provide services under the School Transport Scheme. In addition to the statutory requirements, Bus Éireann arranges for additional examinations of vehicles operating under the School Transport Scheme – which are both targeted and random. These additional quality assurance checks are carried out by an independent agency on behalf of Bus Éireann.
All operators successfully awarded contracts to operate School Transport Scheme services by Bus Éireann must meet their contractual obligations set out in respect of vehicle safety, safety inspections and maintenance systems.
95. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to provide critical individual education planning for children with Down's syndrome; when all sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 will be fully commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11004/19]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that all schools are encouraged to plan effectively for the delivery of additional teaching or care supports for children with special educational needs, including for children with Down syndrome.
Effective planning ensures that the school’s resources are deployed efficiently and that they achieve the desired outcomes.
Under the Education Act 1998, schools are under statutory obligations to “provide education to students which is appropriate to their abilities and needs” and to “ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or other special educational needs, are identified and provided for”.
Planning is a normal part of a teacher’s work and planning tools, like the student support file, have been created as a resource to help schools provide for their students.
Circulars 0013 and 0014 2017, which introduced the model for allocating special education teachers to schools, noted the importance of educational planning. This is in the context of ensuring that the children with the greatest level of need receive the greatest level of support.
The Circulars note that educational planning is an essential element of a whole-school approach to meeting pupils’ needs.
Guidelines for schools on educational planning and monitoring of outcomes through the Student Support File, are contained in the Guidelines for Primary and Post primary Schools: Supporting Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools.
All schools are therefore encouraged to use Education Plans or Student Support plans for children who are receiving additional teaching or care in schools.
Whereas there is not currently a statutory requirement for schools to provide a particular form of Individual Education Plan, it is evident that the majority of schools do use some form of education planning to plan and record the support that they provide for pupils with special educational needs. This is considered to be both beneficial for schools and children and is regarded as best practice.
The ongoing provision of planning will represent a continuation of the good practice that is occurring in the majority of schools.
With regard to the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, I can advise that a number of sections of the EPSEN) Act have been commenced. The commenced provisions include those establishing the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those providing for an inclusive approach to the education of children with special educational needs.
The remaining sections of the Act have yet to be commenced.
The NCSE estimated, in its implementation Plan which was developed in 2006, that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement the EPSEN Act.
The view of the Department of Education and Skills was that the level of investment required could be significantly greater than that envisaged in the NCSE report. Legal advice provided to that Department also indicated that the EPSEN Act, as it is currently constituted, may not be implemented on a phased, or age cohort, basis.
The Government is committed to helping every child, particularly those with special educational needs, to fulfil their potential.
In 2018 my Department invested over €1.75 Billion in this area - 1/5 of my Department's budget and up 42% since 2011, at which point €1.24 Billion was invested. This increased investment has allowed the Government to increase the number of:
SNAs by 42%, from 10,575 in 2011 to 15,000 at present.
Special classes by 160% to over 1,450 at present, compared to 548 special classes in 2011.
Special education teachers by 37%, from 9,740 in 2011, to over 13,400 at present.
Under the Programme for a Partnership Government, I have committed to consulting with stakeholders on how best to progress aspects of the Act on a non-statutory basis.
A range of consultations with Education Partners and Stakeholders took place in relation to the development of the new model for allocating special education teachers over the course of 2017. The new model was introduced for all schools from September 2017.
Further consultations took place with education partners and stakeholders in the context of the undertaking of a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme and will continue in relation to the implementation of recommendations contained in this report.
Consultations also took place in relation to providing power to the National Council for Special Educational need to designate a school place for a person with special educational needs, which is now provided for in the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018.
While awaiting the full implementation of the EPSEN Act, the NCSE has also published a number of policy advice papers which make recommendations aimed at developing a better or more effective alternative to the current resource allocation model, and which aims to move the system towards ultimate implementation of the EPSEN Act.
It is therefore intended to bring into effect many of the good ideas contained in the EPSEN Act, on a non-statutory basis initially, through policy developments across a range of areas, in conjunction with NCSE policy advice. Full consultation will also take place with stakeholders before adjustments are made.
I can assure you that this Government will continue to prioritise investment in the area of special education support and I am confident that ongoing investment and reform will continue to see improvements made in this area.
96. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills if knowledge of the conditional and future tenses in the German language is required for the junior certificate exam. [11006/19]
View answer97. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the genitive and dative cases and genitive and accusative prepositions in the German language are required for the junior certificate exam. [11007/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 96 and 97 together.
While neither the genitive and dative cases nor genitive and accusative prepositions are directly targeted for assessment in the Junior Certificate Examination the integrated nature of the German language requires a receptive knowledge of same.
The examination is divided into three sections: for the first two sections i.e. the Listening Comprehension and the Reading Comprehension a receptive knowledge of these cases and prepositions is helpful though not essential as candidates are asked to extract meaning from the audio/reading text. Full and complete comprehension of each individual word and/or grammatical element within the text(s) is not necessary in order to extract meaning from the text. In the third section i.e. the Written Section students are asked to perform a number of communicative tasks from the syllabus. Students are free to express these communicative tasks in a more complex manner using, for example, more complex and elaborate grammatical structures which may require an active knowledge of genitive and dative cases and genitive and accusative prepositions. Equally, they are free to use shorter, simpler sentences.
It is important to state, however, that certain grammatical structures in the German language simply demand the use of genitive and dative (or indeed nominative and accusative) cases or genitive and accusative (or indeed nominative or dative) prepositions in order to express particular communicative tasks.
While knowledge of the future and conditional tenses is included in the syllabus for junior Certificate, they are not directly targeted for assessment in the listening and reading comprehensions.
However, in order to carry short communicative tasks in the written section of the examination paper, a knowledge of the future and conditional tenses may be required.
98. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of developments to advance a project (details supplied). [11014/19]
View answerA major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s 6 year Construction Programme.
A project brief has been finalised and the project will be delivered via the ADAPT programme which is an innovative delivery programme first introduced by my Department in 2016. It uses a professional external Project Manager to coordinate and drive the respective design teams on each project.
In this regard, a tender competition is in train to establish a Project Manager framework which is expected to be in place this month. Tenders have been returned and are currently being evaluated.
Whilst the Department must adhere to the Public Procurement rules for the appointment of consultant Design Teams the Building Unit will expedite this process in so far as possible.
All schools with projects on the ADAPT programme will be contacted shortly by my Department to provide an update on the status of their respective project.
99. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an audit of the education needs for Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, has been carried out (details supplied). [11059/19]
View answerIn order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, my Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date data on significant new residential development in each area. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes as there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development, including additional residential developments arising from the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF).
Where data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, depending on the circumstances, be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
- Provision of a new school or schools.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Government recently announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022). 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.
In addition to the new schools announced, there will be a need for further school accommodation in other areas in the future through either planned capacity increases in existing schools or additional accommodation or extensions to existing schools.
While the announcement did not include the Ballyfermot area, the requirement for school places will be kept under on-going review and in particular will have regard for the increased roll-out of housing provision as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.
100. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to increase secondary school places in Gorey, County Wexford. [11085/19]
View answerIn order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise. With this information, my Department carries out nationwide demographic exercises to determine where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the demographic exercises, my Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date data on significant new residential development in each area. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes as there is a constantly evolving picture with planned new residential development, including additional residential developments arising from the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund (LIHAF).
Where data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, depending on the circumstances, be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
- Provision of a new school or schools.
As the Deputy may be aware, the Government recently announced plans for the establishment of 42 new schools over the next four years (2019 to 2022). 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.
In addition to the new schools announced, there will be a need for further school accommodation in other areas in the future through either planned capacity increases in existing schools or additional accommodation or extensions to existing schools.
As the Deputy will be aware, a new 1,000 pupil post primary school was established in 2011 in Gorey and moved into its permanent accommodation in 2014 and the school has capacity to meet demand in the area.
While the announcement did not include a new post primary school for the Gorey school planning area, the requirement for new schools will be kept under on-going review and in particular will have regard for the increased roll-out of housing provision as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.
101. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason it took so long for his Department to set up a new payroll contract for a person (details supplied); if his attention has been drawn to the fact that his Department put the person's earnings in 2018 to the pay for 2019 which has resulted in them having to pay income tax at the 40% rate in 2019 once the earnings reach €28,300; if such delays in setting up new contracts in the future can be prevented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11098/19]
View answerThe school managerial bodies are the direct employers of school staff and my Department acts as paymaster for over 4000 schools. My Department will pay the school staff within the terms of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and government pay agreements once it receives instructions from the schools to do so.
I understand that the contract for the person referred to by the Deputy was signed by her on the 5th November 2018 and was approved by the Chairperson of the Board of Management of the school on the 17th December 2018. The contract was received by my Department on 21st December 2018. Based on the date the documentation was received in my Department, the earliest possible date for payment of salary to issue to the person referred to, was the 24th January 2019 and she was paid on that date with arrears of salary. A tax refund issued to her on the next salary pay issue of the 7th February 2019.
A letter has issued to her outlining which portion of her salary paid in 2019 relates to salary for 2018. She can revert to Revenue who will determine if a further refund is due to her.
The managerial authorities of schools are regularly advised that contracts should be submitted to my Department in a timely manner to avoid late payment of salary.
102. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the development of an Educate Together national school for Killarney, County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11107/19]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, my Department is implementing new plans aimed at accelerating the provision of multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of parents, families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment to reach 400 such schools by 2030.
The previous model of patronage divestment yielded only a very limited number of schools for transfer to multi-denominational patrons (11 since 2013, with a twelfth school, due to be established under this process for September 2019). I believe that the new Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity process has the potential to significantly increase patron diversity in our school system.
While the Schools Reconfiguration process is being advanced, my Department is continuing to work with the main stakeholders to progress delivery of diversity in areas already identified, including Killarney.
To date, it has not been possible to secure a school property to facilitate a new school being established in Killarney. However, my Department will continue its efforts in relation to identifying a suitable solution under the patronage divesting process, which would facilitate a new Educate Together school being established to serve the Killarney area.
103. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent on social media advertising and online promoted content (details supplied) in 2018 and to date in 2019, by campaign and social media platform used; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11119/19]
View answer104. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he has engaged and-or consulted with a public relations online advertising agency regarding social media advertising and online promoted content in 2018 and to date in 2019; and the amount spent by company; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11136/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 104 together.
The information is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available.
105. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plan to give State recognition to a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11187/19]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has received correspondence from the school in question and a response will be issued shortly.
106. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applications made to the State Examination Commission for reasonable accommodations; the number of applications that have been refused; the nature of the accommodations granted for both junior cycle and leaving certificate examinations in each of the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11195/19]
View answerThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The Commission in this regard operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
107. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of times the critical incident policy has been implemented in schools in counties Tipperary, Cork, Laois and Offaly since 2011, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11196/19]
View answerBy way of background I might inform you that my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides guidelines and resource materials for schools to enable them to deal with certain traumatic events which can adversely affect pupils and school staff. This publication 'Responding to Critical Incidents: NEPS Guidelines and Resource Materials for Schools' also outlines how schools can plan for crises. The guidelines refer to preventive approaches that schools can adopt in creating a safe and supportive environment.
The publication provides practical step-by-step guidelines for teachers and principals on how to respond when a tragedy occurs. It offers support to schools at a potentially overwhelming time.
The guidelines focus upon alerting schools to planning processes, structures and actions which will better allow them to cope with a traumatic incidents such as suicide or suspected suicide, murder, accidental death including road traffic accidents and drowning, and death through illness of members of the school community. In relation to suicide, advice is also given on prevention and positive mental health stratagems and approaches.
The Guidelines are kept under constant review and a third edition was circulated by NEPS to schools in 2016. Training in critical incident planning is part of the service provided by NEPS to schools and is a focus of my Department’s Action Plan for Education 2016-19 for post-primary schools.
NEPS psychologists will also, at the specific invitation of school authorities, attend at schools immediately following such incidents to offer direct advice and assistance to school staff in managing the situation.
In relation to the Deputy's specific questions in this regard, critical incidents are by their nature situations so named by schools themselves – traumatic events which have the potential to overwhelm the normal operation of the school. Depending upon the nature, severity or context of an event, schools may telephone NEPS for advice and support as to how they should proceed in relation to a particular event. In many situations this advice and support is adequate to equip schools to respond appropriately, without further support required from NEPS. In other situations, as is set out above, school authorities may request the attendance of NEPS psychologists on-site to provide support, advice and assistance in the delivery of the response. Therefore, in answer to the Deputy’s specific quest, all critical incidents notified to NEPS are acted upon as appropriate to the context and the wishes of school authorities.
For data purposes NEPS records critical incidents at three response levels:
Level 1 - an incident which involves a telephone response to the school but where no on-site presence of NEPS staff is requested,
Level 2 – where the school, in their contact with NEPS, request the presence of NEPS personnel on-site to advise and assist,
Level 3 – events which have NEPS personnel on-site but are of a magnitude that involves a broader community response from other support services such as the HSE.
Until NEPS gathered data on the number and extent of critical incidents from its eight regions which while including an incident count and level did not include element which allowed disaggregation by school and county.
In the academic year 2017/18 however NEPS changed its data gathering methodology and the data the Deputy requested is therefore available for this academic year only and I can inform the Deputy that some 66 critical incidents were recorded for counties Tipperary, Cork, Laois and Offaly in the period, 40 at level 1, 22 at level 2 and four at level 3.
I hope this is of assistance to the Deputy in this regard.
108. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of the use of prefabricated units in primary and post-primary schools in counties Tipperary, Cork, Laois and Offaly since 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11197/19]
View answerI wish to confirm to the Deputy that the cost of the use of prefabricated units in primary and post-primary schools in counties Tipperary, Cork, Laois and Offaly since 2011 is €8.3m.
109. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of applications by primary and post-primary schools in counties Tipperary, Cork, Laois and Offaly under the prefab replacement initiative that are being assessed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11198/19]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy since the second half of 2018 when a school is being approved additional classroom(s) to meet a long-term need and that school also has prefabs (rented or purchased) these prefabs will also be replaced as part of the additional accommodation project if there is a long-term needs for the classrooms currently housed in those prefabs.
The following table outlines the number of additional accommodation application to be assessed that have indicated that they have prefabs on site in Counties Tipperary, Offaly, Cork and Laois.
|
County |
Number of applications |
|
Tipperary |
11 |
|
Offaly |
6 |
|
Cork |
38 |
|
Laois |
2 |
As soon as these application are assessed the school authorities will be informed of the outcome.
110. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Gaelcholáistí here. [11219/19]
View answerThere are currently 49 Irish-medium post-primary schools, 21 of which are inside the Gaeltacht and 28 of which are outside the Gaeltacht. There are 13,055 pupils attending these schools, 3,065 of which are in Gaeltacht schools and 9,990 are in non-Gaeltacht schools.
A full list of post-primary schools, including information on their medium of instruction, can be found on the Department's website at the following link:
https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Data-on-Individual-Schools/.
111. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of second-level aonaid which provide education through the medium of Irish here; and the location of each. [11220/19]
View answer112. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to increase the number of Gaelcholáistí and aonaid here. [11221/19]
View answer113. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the establishment of a Gaelcholáiste or aonaid in Tullamore, County Offaly has been considered. [11222/19]
View answerI propose to take Questions 111 to 113, inclusive, together.
As part of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, my Department has committed to creating opportunities for expanding Irish-medium education outside the Gaeltacht in the context of the establishment of 42 new schools from 2019 to 2022, which will afford particular consideration to the establishment of Gaelscoileanna, Gaelcholáistí, and Aonaid Lán-Ghaeilge as part of the new patronage process. My Department is also continuing to work with stakeholders to further develop policy in this regard at post-primary level and met recently with Gaeloideachas and other stakeholders.
Following the April 2018 announcement of the establishment of 42 new schools from 2019 to 2022, my Department has developed a new Online Patronage Process System, which provides objective information and allows parents to express their preferences in relation to the patronage and language of instruction, i.e. Irish or English, of these new schools. Parental preferences, as well as other considerations such as the extent of diversity of provision in an area (including Irish-medium provision), are key to the decision-making process.
This has resulted in patronage of three of the 13 primary schools to be established in 2019 being awarded to An Foras Pátrúnachta as Irish-medium Gaelscoileanna in the Booterstown_Blackrock; Drumcondra_Marino_Dublin 1; and Maynooth school planning areas.
Separately, a new post-primary Gaelcholáiste will be established in Maynooth in September 2019.
Details of schools that provide education through the medium of Irish are available on my Department's website www.education.ie.
While the recent new schools announcement did not include a new post-primary school for Tullamore, the requirement for new schools is being kept under on-going review and in particular will have regard for the increased roll-out of housing provision as outlined in Project Ireland 2040.
114. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the ongoing issue regarding the pay and entitlements of school secretaries is being examined; and his plans to intervene in relation to the issue to improve same. [11223/19]
View answerI recognise the very important work done by school secretaries, and indeed by other support staff, in the running of our schools and I am grateful to them for the contribution they make to our education system. I have spoken to a number of school secretaries about their employment conditions.
Schemes were initiated in 1978 and 1979 for the employment of Clerical Officers and Caretakers in schools. The schemes were withdrawn completely in 2008. These schemes have been superseded by the more extensive capitation grant schemes. The current grant scheme was agreed in the context of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress, published in 1991.
The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools now receive assistance to provide for secretarial, caretaking and cleaning services under these grant schemes. It is a matter for each individual school to decide how best to apply the grant funding to suit its particular needs. Where a school uses the grant funding for caretaking or secretarial purposes, any staff taken on to support those functions are employees of individual schools. Specific responsibility for the pay and conditions rests with the school.
On foot of a Chairman’s Note to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, my Department engaged with the Unions representing school secretaries and caretakers, including through an independent arbitration process in 2015. The Arbitrator recommended a cumulative pay increase of 10% between 2016 and 2019 for staff and that a minimum hourly pay rate of €13 be phased in over that period. This arbitration agreement covers the period up to 31 December 2019.
The arbitration agreement was designed to be of greatest benefit to lower-paid secretaries and caretakers. For example, a Secretary or Caretaker who was paid the then minimum wage of €8.65 per hour in 2015 prior to the arbitration will, from 1 January 2019, be paid €13 per hour which is a 50% increase in that individual’s hourly pay.
Following the arbitration process, grant funding used by schools to fund the salaries of ancillary staff was improved in order to enable schools to implement the arbitration outcome.
The FÓRSA trade union have requested a meeting with the Department to discuss pay arrangements for grant-funded Secretaries and Caretakers from 2020 onwards. The Department has acknowledged the letter and is considering the union’s request.
115. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details, including the course name of all education and training courses advertised for a training centre (details supplied), in County Donegal in each of the years 2017, 2018 and to date in 2019; the maximum course intake versus the actual number of applicants each course received for each of these years in instances in which a course was advertised for the centre but was subsequently delivered at an alternative centre; the details of each such course; the reason for the decision to change the centre; the location of the centre in which the course was later delivered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11239/19]
View answerI have been informed by Donegal ETB that no courses were advertised for the Gaoth Dobhair centre which were subsequently delivered at an alternative centre. Donegal ETB also advised that any courses which were advertised and which did not receive sufficient numbers were either postponed or cancelled if a course proved to be non-viable due to a lack of interest. However, the same course can be planned for a number of locations, to start at different times, but this does not mean that one course replaces another.
Donegal ETB has provided the attached list of courses offered at the Gaoth Dobhair Training Centre during 2017, 2018, and 2019, and the number of trainees who attended.
DAY COURSES FOR GWEEDORE 2017, 2018 and 2019
|
YEAR |
COURSE |
FROM |
TO |
NUMBER OF TRAINEES |
|
2017 |
ECDL |
20/02/2017 |
19/05/2017 |
4 |
|
Welding |
21/11/2016 |
14/04/2017 |
14 |
|
|
Welding |
08/05/2017 |
08/09/2017 |
14 |
|
|
Welding |
11/09/2017 |
19/01/2018 |
14 |
|
|
Electrical Appr |
05/12/2016 |
12/05/2017 |
14 |
|
|
Electrical Appr |
26/06/2017 |
24/11/2017 |
14 |
|
|
Plumbing |
06/02/2017 |
14/07/2017 |
14 |
|
|
Plumbing |
09/10/2017 |
16/03/2018 |
14 |
|
|
Outdoor Activity |
16/10/2017 |
07/09/2018 |
17 |
|
|
Beauty Therapist |
13/02/2017 |
16/02/2018 |
12 |
|
|
2018 |
Welding |
19/02/2018 |
22/06/2018 |
14 |
|
Welding |
09/07/2018 |
09/11/2018 |
12 |
|
|
Electrical Appr |
15/01/2018 |
15/06/2018 |
14 |
|
|
Electrical Appr |
16/07/2018 |
14/12/2018 |
14 |
|
|
Plumbing |
16/04/2018 |
14/09/2018 |
14 |
|
|
Outdoor Activity |
17/09/2018 |
09/08/2019 |
18 |
|
|
Healthcare Support |
05/03/2018 |
11/01/2019 |
11 |
|
|
Beauty Therapist |
14/04/2018 |
19/04/2019 |
13 |
|
|
Construction Skills |
23/04/2018 |
07/09/2018 |
12 |
|
|
Engineering Trship |
15/10/2018 |
28/06/2019 |
12 |
|
|
2019 |
Welding |
14/01/2019 |
17/05/2019 |
14 |
|
Electrical Appr |
07/01/2019 |
07/06/2019 |
14 |
|
|
Plumbing |
19/11/2018 |
03/05/2019 |
14 |
|
|
Special Needs |
04/02/2019 |
29/11/2019 |
14 |
|
|
Evening Courses |
||||
|
2017 |
OFTEC |
23/01/2017 |
17/02/2017 |
7 |
|
MIG Welding |
14/02/2017 |
04/04/2017 |
8 |
|
|
2018 |
OFTEC |
06/02/2018 |
12/05/2018 |
8 |
|
17/09/2018 |
19/10/2018 |
6 |
||
|
2019 |
OFTEC |
19/02/2019 |
23/03/2019 |
7 |
|
Payroll |
19/02/2019 |
01/06/2019 |
6 |
116. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the provision of an Educate Together national school for Clonmel, County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11249/19]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, my Department is implementing new plans aimed at accelerating the provision of multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of parents, families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment to reach 400 such schools by 2030.
The previous model of patronage divestment yielded only a very limited number of schools for transfer to multi-denominational patrons (11 since 2013, with a twelfth school, due to be established under this process for September 2019). I believe that the new Schools Reconfiguration for Diversity process has the potential to significantly increase patron diversity in our school system.
While the Schools Reconfiguration process is being advanced, my Department is continuing to work with the main stakeholders to progress delivery of diversity in areas already identified, including Clonmel.
To date, it has not been possible to secure a school property to facilitate a new school being established in Clonmel. However, my Department will continue its efforts in relation to identifying a suitable solution under the patronage divesting process, which would facilitate a new Educate Together school being established to serve the Clonmel area.
