Thursday, 20 May 2021

Written Answers Nos. 263-277

Data Protection

Questions (263)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

263. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Defence if any state or semi state bodies which report to his Department are fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements and the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to their IT infrastructure including article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27353/21]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The only state body under the aegis of the Department of Defence is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body, established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. Day to day worked related to the Board is undertaken by Board's Secretary who is a full time civil servant employed in the Department of Defence. The Board does not employ any staff directly.

I wish to advise that ICT services for the Army Pensions Board are provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) under the 'Build to Share Managed Desktop' shared service. The services provided by the OGCIO are compliant with GDPR. In reference to your question which points to in Article 29 of the GDPR in particular, OGCIO processes data under instruction from my Department. I have been advised by OGCIO that as a data processor, they have taken all reasonable measures to prevent unauthorised access to personal data through the use of appropriate security processes and controls. These processes and controls include the ability to ensure the ongoing confidentiality, compliance, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems and services; and the ability to restore the availability and access to Personal Data in a timely manner in the event of a cybersecurity, physical or technical incident.

The OGCIO has adopted a defence-in-depth security strategy which is achieved by utilisation of people, processes, and technology to support the implementation of ICT security services. The threat landscape is constantly evolving and significant effort is expended to continually enhance and strengthen ICT security to mitigate against emerging threats, risks, vulnerabilities and cybersecurity issues. In addition to deploying perimeter security measures, such as intrusion protection systems, software vulnerabilities are managed by maintaining up-to-date versions and aggressively deploying updates and patches to endpoints and applications as they become available.

The OGCIO has employed a policy of least privilege security principle. IT staff are only assigned security roles with levels of access which are essential to perform the tasks and duties associated with their functions. The allocation and usage of privileged user accounts are reviewed and monitored.

The OGCIO has developed an Information Security Management System (ISMS) aligned with the industry security standard ISO27001. This ISMS provides an overall governance framework for information security and sets out security policies, objectives, management oversight, practices and governance and ensures continual improvement of information security management.

Departmental Staff

Questions (264)

Matt Carthy

Question:

264. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Defence the number of civil servant posts that were filled through open and internal panels, since April 2020, in his Department and the bodies under the aegis of his Department, by county and by month in tabular form. [27595/21]

Written answers

Minister for Defence

The number of civil service posts that were filled in my Department from open and internal panels since April 2020 to date, by county, and by month, is set out in the table below.

Month	Type of Competition	Location	Number
April 2020	No Recruitment	-	-
May 2020	No Recruitment	-	-
June 2020	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	2
	PAS Interdepartmental Competition	Galway	1
	Internal Competition	Galway	1
	Internal Competition	Kildare	12
July 2020	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	2
August 2020	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	1
	TLAC	Kildare	1
	Internal Competition	Kildare	9
September 2020	PAS Open Competition	Tipperary	1
	Internal Competition	Galway	3
October 2020	PAS Open Competition	Tipperary	1
	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	3
	PAS Open Competition	Galway	1
	Internal Competition	Kildare	1
November 2020	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	2
	PAS Interdepartmental	Kildare	1
	Internal Competition	Kildare	1
December 2020	PAS Open Competition	Galway	1
January 2021	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	1
February 2021	PAS Open Competition	Dublin	1
	Internal Competition	Kildare	1
March 2021	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	1
April 2021	PAS Open Competition	Cork	6
	PAS Open Competition	Tipperary	1
	PAS Open Competition	Kildare	1
	PAS Open Competition	Galway	1
May 2021	PAS Open Competition	Dublin	1
	Internal Competition	Galway	1
Total			59

The only State body under the aegis of my Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act 1927 to assess the level of disablement, whether it is attributable to military service, and to report to the Minister thereon. The only staff post is the secretary to the Board, which is provided from the staff of the Department.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (265)

Violet-Anne Wynne

Question:

265. Deputy Violet-Anne Wynne asked the Minister for Education the amount that was designated to the summer provision programme in 2019 as compared to 2020, with reference to the predicted sum for the upcoming summer period of 2021, in tabular form. [27297/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education

The Government has approved the provision of significantly expanded summer education programmes for pupils with complex special educational needs and those at greatest risk of educational disadvantage, as a Covid-19 pandemic response measure, for summer 2021.

This is an incredibly important Government decision, which ensures that for first time all primary and post primary schools have the opportunity to provide summer programmes for students with complex needs and those at risk of educational disadvantage.

The total funding available to provide the programme is up to €40 million, a one hundred per cent increase on the allocation for summer provision in 2020.

The programmes for mainstream students in primary and post-primary schools are new programmes for 2021, building upon previous summer programmes for pupils with complex special educational needs and those in provided in DEIS schools last year.

Further details on the schemes and how schools can apply will be available this week at

gov.ie/summerprovision.

My Department's traditional July Provision Programme provided for an extended school year for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and children with a severe/profound general learning disability.

In 2019 over 3,400 children participated in the school based July Provision programme and over 7,100 participated in the home based scheme.

A significantly expanded Summer Programme was provided in 2020 for children with complex needs as a discrete response to Covid-19. The programme included a number of strands and options from which parents could choose, involving either in-school, or home-based supports by teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to help to prevent regression among children with SEN.

The programmes aim was to support children to reintegrate / transition into their planned education setting for the 2020/21 school year with their peers.

Over 14,000 children participated in the 2020 special education summer programmes developed by the Department including 3,881 in the school based programme in 255 schools and 9,716 children in the home based programme.

In 2020 all 198 schools DEIS post-primary schools were offered the opportunity to run a new week long programme which was developed focusing on encouraging those students deemed most in need to reconnect with school, supporting their physical, social and emotional wellbeing and providing them with the skills they need to engage in a meaningful way with learning in the future. 72 DEIS post-primary schools ran the week long summer programme in 2020 with some 2,243 students attending with a total cost in the region of €575,000.

The Department expanded the existing DEIS literacy and numeracy camp/ Campai Samhraidh to allow all Primary Urban band 1, Primary Urban band 2 and Primary Rural DEIS schools to run a Literacy and Numeracy Summer camp in summer 2020. A total of 214 DEIS primary schools ran a week long literacy and numeracy camp/Campai Samhraidh in 2020 with just over 7,000 pupils participating.

The costs are set out in the table below.

Programme	2019	2020
Special Schools and Class Programme	€5.7m	€6.5m
Complex Needs Home Based Programme	€9.80	€12.3m
Total	€15.5m	€18.8m
DEIS Post Primary	n/a	€0.6m
DEIS Primary Literacy & Numeracy	€0.3m	€1m
Total	€0.3m	€1.6m

School Transport

Questions (266)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

266. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if a person (details supplied) in County Kerry can avail of public transport; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27120/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 114,100 children, including over 14,700 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €224.7m in 2020.

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. Under the terms of my Department’s School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2kms at primary and 4.8kms at post-primary and are attending their nearest School/Education Centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

All children who are eligible for school transport and who complete the application and payment process on time will be accommodated on school transport services for the 2021/22 school year where such services are in operation.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only and may be facilitated where spare seats are available after eligible children have been accommodated. Where the number of ineligible children exceeds the number of spare seats available Bus Éireann allocates tickets for the spare seats using an agreed selection process.

The pupil referred to by the Deputy resides 1.9km from his school of attendance therefore is not eligible for transport under the terms of the Scheme.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (267)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

267. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the resources that she will put in place to support young children with disabilities in view of the fact that the NCSE has announced no further allocation of SNAs will be given for the academic year 2021-2022; if her attention has been drawn to the review process that can take place in September 2021 that can take three months which may result in children at certain years not attending preschool with their peers in late August 2021 and will be left behind due to the fact that child has a disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27148/21]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education

The provision of education for children with special needs is an ongoing priority for Government. The numbers of special classes, special education teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are at unprecedented levels.

My Department will spend approximately €2 Billion, or over 20% of its total educational budget on making additional provision for children with special educational needs in 2021. This represents an increase of over 50% in total expenditure since 2011, at which point €1.247 Billion per annum was provided.

Budget 2021 provided for an additional 990 additional SNAs for allocation to schools, bringing the total numbers to 18,000 by December 2021. This will represent an increase of increase of 70% in the number of SNAs provided since 2011 at which point 10,575 SNAs were available.

This allocation of SNAs is to meet the care needs of pupils in 2021 and will enable the establishment of new special classes, creation of new places in special schools, support children in mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year.

The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.

The SNA scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such 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.

SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.

It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

In light of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of the new Frontloaded Allocation Model for SNAs for students in mainstream classes in primary and post -primary schools is to be deferred for a further year to the beginning of the 2022/23 school year.

The disruption prevented the delivery of the necessary training and information workshops to support the roll out of the new allocation model which had been planned for earlier this year.

The frontloading of SNAs for mainstream classes is a key part of the School Inclusion Model. The Department and NCSE are committed to its introduction as part of the development of that Model.

The training and workshops are designed to help school leaders and teachers in their in-school planning for the new model and their engagement with parents. These sessions will now be rescheduled to take place during the 2021/22 school year. Further information will be issued by the NCSE in due course.

In order to minimise disruption for schools, in the current circumstances, and to provide for continuity of allocations, the Minister for Special Education and Inclusion and the Minister of State for Education have agreed on the following arrangements for the allocation of Special Needs Assistants for mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year:

- Existing mainstream class SNA allocations in schools on 30 April 2021 will be maintained and will automatically rollover into the 2021/22 school year.

- No school will therefore receive an allocation less than that which they had on 30 April 2021.

- SNAs currently in mainstream settings can continue in post for the next school year in the normal way.

- Priority consideration will now be given by the NCSE to applications for increased support for the 2021/22 school year. In particular, applications from schools with no SNAs and developing schools will be prioritised. Determinations will be made before 30 June. Other applications will be processed in order of date received.

- As in previous years, where circumstances change during the course of the 2021/22 school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website https://ncse.ie/for-schools

The NCSE will publish SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie by the end of May 2021.

SNA allocations for special classes and special schools are not affected by this arrangement.

Circular 0029/2021 has been published and advises schools of the arrangements for the allocation of SNAs for the 2021/22 school year.

Provisions set out in Circular 0030/2020 has been extended for the 2021/22 school year.

Circular 0029/2021 and Circular 0030/2020 are available on the Departments website.

Site Acquisitions

Questions (268)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

268. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if the sale of a site (details supplied) to her Department is progressing; if there is an expected date by which the special class will be available for use by the school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27152/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I wish to advise the Deputy that negotiations are currently underway with the property owner in terms of acquiring the property for the school referred to by the Deputy.

The site acquisition process is complex and subject to completion of successful negotiation and conveyancing processes. Therefore, given the complexities involved it is not possible to give a definitive timeframe for the completion of the acquisition but my officials will endeavour to bring the process to a conclusion as soon as possible.

School Staff

Questions (269)

Jackie Cahill

Question:

269. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education the status of an application by a person (details supplied) to the primary payments section of her Department to have their service history as a teacher amended to include the years they spent as a substitute teacher; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27202/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I can confirm to the Deputy that the substitute service of the teacher referred to has been added to their service history for pension purposes.

The teacher concerned has been in direct contact with the Terms and Conditions Section of my Department who are actively following up on a incremental credit claim made previously in relation to substitute service.

School Curriculum

Questions (270)

Colm Burke

Question:

270. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education if consideration will be given to the inclusion of a farm safety section in the agricultural science curriculum at secondary school level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27224/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The current LC Agricultural Science curriculum was introduced in schools in September 2019 following a curriculum development process undertaken by the NCCA. This process involved a subject development group comprising representatives with suitable expertise, nominated by their respective stakeholder organisations, to deliberate and make decisions about what young people should learn in school. The work of this specialist group was monitored and discussed regularly by the Boards and Council of the NCCA to ensure that young people in Ireland receive an appropriate and relevant education. In addition, there were several opportunities during the process where the work of the development group was informed by public consultation.

Farm safety is an integral part of the curriculum specification for Leaving Certificate Agricultural Science that was developed through the rigorous process outlined above. One of the overall aims of the curriculum is that students “develop their scientific knowledge and skills, in the context of agricultural practices, and increase their awareness of health and safety issues associated with these practices.”

Central to the over-arching strand of the curriculum, is the concept of working safely, and specific learning outcomes are dedicated to safe working practices in agriculture. The prominence of farm safety in the over-arching strand anticipates student engagement with farm safety as part of their ongoing learning in the agricultural science course. Moreover, farm safety learning is explicitly referenced in a number of learning outcomes.

School Curriculum

Questions (271)

Colm Burke

Question:

271. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Education if consideration will be given to the inclusion of a farm safety segment and presentation series for children at primary-school level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27225/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

It is a priority for my Department that children feel safe and secure in their surroundings and that they are enabled, through the curriculum, to be aware of situations that may cause them harm including being safe on the farm.

Farms and farm safety are specifically mentioned at all stages in Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum at primary level, for example – In infant classes children should be enabled to identify situations and places that are safe and those where personal safety might be at risk; and to explore how accidents might be prevented at home, in school, on the farm, or in the water.

For first and second class the child should be enabled to become familiar with and understand the need to adhere to safety rules that apply in school, at home, on the farm, in water, for his/her own safety and that of others;

At third and fourth class, the child should be enabled to explore and examine how accidents are caused, identifying ways in which some of these can be prevented and the appropriate action to be taken if an accident or emergency occurs at home, in school, on the farm, at the seaside.

And at fifth and sixth class level the child should be enabled to identify and explore some potential risks to health and safety in the environment traffic, pollution, chemicals, ultraviolet light; and to identify the substances in the home and school or on the farm that may be dangerous if not used properly and ensure that he/she has learned a safety strategy for dealing with unknown and dangerous substances.

There is potential also for some of this work to be integrated with themes in history, geography and science, at primary level teachers have the autonomy to focus in on particular areas of the curriculum which may be more relevant to the context of their teaching.

There are already a number of external programmes run by groups, such as Agri Aware, who provide useful resources to schools on the area of farm safety. As with all resources developed by external providers, schools have the autonomy to choose whichever resources, if any, are most appropriate to support their teaching and the needs of pupils in their own unique contexts.

Scrúduithe Stáit

Questions (272)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Question:

272. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív den Aire Oideachais an mbeidh dátaí na harteiste a chuireann isteach ar an scrúdú Ard Teiste i mbliana agus a roghnaíonn an dá rogha idir gráid réamh-meastach agus an scrúdú a shuí in don an ceann is fearr de na torthaí a roghnú ábhar ar ábhar nó an mbeidh orthu rogha a dhéanamh idir an dá thoradh iomlán sa scrúdú iomlán; agus an ndéanfaidh sí ráiteas ina thaobh. [27259/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

Dhearbhaigh mé ar an 17 Feabhra go rachadh Scrúduithe na hArdteistiméireachta ar aghaidh in 2021, faoi réir na comhairle sláinte poiblí, agus go mbeidh de rogha ag scoláirí freisin iarraidh ar ghráid a fháil a bheidh creidiúnaithe ag Coimisiún na Scrúduithe Stáit (CSS), ar a dtabharfar Gráid atá Creidiúnaithe ag CSS. Rinne an Rialtas an cinneadh seo ar mhaithe le rogha a sholáthar agus soiléireacht a thabhairt do scoláirí.

Tá scoláirí cláraithe faoin am seo ar an Tairseach Féinseirbhíse Iarrthóra chun na gnáth-scrúduithe a dhéanamh agus/nó Gráid a fháil a bheidh creidiúnaithe ag an CSS ar bhonn ábhair ar ábhar.

I gcás, in ábhar ar bith, go roghnaíonn an scoláire Grád Creidiúnaithe a fháil agus an scrúdú a dhéanamh, gheobhaidh sé/sí creidiúint don toradh is fearr den dá thoradh go huathoibríoch. Gheobhaidh iarrthóirí torthaí comhcheangailte a nGrád Creidiúnaithe agus a scrúduithe Ardteistiméireachta ag an am céanna. Léireofar i gcomhad thorthaí na scoláirí a sheolfar ar aghaidh chuig an Lár-Oifig Iontrála (CAO) an toradh is fearr den dá thoradh i gcás gach ábhar.

Cybersecurity Policy

Questions (273)

Catherine Murphy

Question:

273. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if a schedule will be provided of IT and email security costs incurred over the past five years to date; and the contractor engaged to deliver the services and or system. [27274/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which is located within the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, is the primary cyber security authority in the State. The NCSC provides a range of cybersecurity services to operators of Critical National Infrastructure, Government Departments and Agencies.

My Department's cyber security protocols are supported by the work of the NCSC and the national computer security incident response team, CSIRT, which provides early warnings, alerts, announcements and dissemination of information about risk and incidents to my Department.

For operational and security reasons, my Department has been advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise my Department’s information security posture. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose any information, which might assist malicious actors to identify potential vulnerabilities or to disclose operational security matters.

Data Protection

Questions (274)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

274. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education if her Department is fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements, the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to her Department’s IT infrastructure including Article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 Annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27336/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

My Department when processing personal data of any nature adheres to the principles enshrined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). My Department has put in place comprehensive technical and organisational measures in order to ensure and demonstrate that its processing of personal data fully complies with data protection law. The integrity and confidentiality of personal data is ensured through robust security policies and systems. Appropriate Data Processor agreements are in place with relevant data processors in line with the requirements in Article 29 of GDPR. The statutory supervisory authority overseeing this compliance is the Data Protection Commission.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) which is located within the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, is the primary cyber security authority in the State. The NCSC provides a range of cybersecurity services to operators of Critical National Infrastructure, Government Departments and Agencies.

My Department's cyber security protocols are supported by the work of the NCSC and the national computer security incident response team, CSIRT, which provides early warnings, alerts, announcements and dissemination of information about risk and incidents to my Department.

For operational and security reasons, my Department has been advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise my Department’s information security posture. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose any information, which might assist malicious actors to identify potential vulnerabilities or to disclose operational security matters.

Data Protection

Questions (275)

Fergus O'Dowd

Question:

275. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education if any state or semi state bodies which report to her Department are fully compliant with GDPR EU requirements and the EU network and Information Security Directive and standards with respect to their IT infrastructure including article 29 of GDPR which requires that data processors access only the data they need for their task; if ISO 27001 annex 9 standards on privileged access are fully met; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27354/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

My Department when processing personal data of any nature adheres to the principles enshrined in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). My Department has put in place comprehensive technical and organisational measures in order to ensure and demonstrate that its processing of personal data fully complies with data protection law. The integrity and confidentiality of personal data is ensured through robust security policies and systems. Appropriate Data Processor agreements are in place with relevant data processors in line with the requirements in Article 29 of GDPR. The statutory supervisory authority overseeing this compliance is the Data Protection Commission.

The information in respect of state bodies, within the scope of the Deputy’s question, is not held by my Department. Under the GDPR, data controllers are responsible for compliance with data protection law in respect of the personal data which they process. State bodies and agencies are accordingly directly responsible for compliance in their own right under the legislation. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the attached document, should the Deputy wish to contact the aegis bodies directly with his query.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is located within the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, is the primary cyber security authority in the State. The NCSC provides a range of cybersecurity services to operators of Critical National Infrastructure, Government Departments and Agencies.

My Department's cyber security protocols are supported by the work of the NCSC and the national computer security incident response team, CSIRT, which provides early warnings, alerts, announcements and dissemination of information about risk and incidents to my Department.

For operational and security reasons, my Department has been advised by the NCSC not to disclose details of systems and processes which could in any way compromise my Department’s information security posture. In particular, it is not considered appropriate to disclose any information, which might assist malicious actors to identify potential vulnerabilities or to disclose operational security matters.

		Contact E-Mail Addresses for State Bodies under the Remit of the Department of Education as at 11 May 2021
Name of Body	Dedicated Email address for the Members of the Oireachtas	Designated Official Responsible for assisting Oireachtas Members
An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (Note 1)	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
Educational Research Centre	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
National Centre for Guidance in Education	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (Note 2)	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
State Examinations Commission	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
The Teaching Council	[e-mail]	Tomás Ó Ruairc
National Council for Special Education	[e-mail]	[e-mail] and [e-mail]
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund – Caranua (Note3)	[e-mail]	[e-mail]

Note 1 – The designated officer responsible within An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta is Muireann Ní Mhóráin responsible within An Chomhairle um Oideachais Gaeltachta is Muireann Ní Mhóráin

Note 2 - The spelling of the NCCA e-mail address to which Oireachtas queries may be addressed has been verified with the NCCA as being accurate

Note 3 –The Executive Office of Caranua (Residential Institutions Statutory Fund) has completed its work with work now underway to address the winding up of Caranua. In the interim queries in regard to Caranua are being addressed by the Department of Education, pending the passing of legislation to address the windup. Contact details for a Departmental official is provided above.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (276)

Chris Andrews

Question:

276. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Education the status of the project for the ASD class in a school (details supplied); the timeline for the completion of the assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27369/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Skills

I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme, from the school in question.

Officials from my Department have been in communication with the school authority, who have requested a review of the proposed brief. This review is currently under assessment and on completion the school authority will be contacted directly with a final decision.

School Inspections

Questions (277)

Gary Gannon

Question:

277. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 341 of 13 May 2021, the number of incidental inspections that have been undertaken in schools since 16 April 2021. [27442/21]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The Inspectorate has carried out 50 incidental inspections between 16 April 2021 and 18 May 2021.