Written Answers Nos. 292-304
294. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education the reason for the delay in transferring the land for a proposed amenity (details supplied) from her Department to the Department of Health; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5703/22]
View answerMy Department is in discussions with the HSE regarding the disposal of a site to the HSE, which is part of an existing school site, for the development of a primary care centre. The proposals being discussed are to include the provision of facilities for use by the school. The details of this proposal are currently being finalised by my Department with the HSE. When the details are finalised my Department will proceed to progress the disposal of the site to the HSE in line with the protocols for the disposal of property sites between State bodies and subject to the sanction of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
295. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the number of DEIS primary schools operating with at least one autism class by county in tabular form; and the total number of autism classes. [5714/22]
View answer296. Deputy Gary Gannon asked the Minister for Education the number of primary schools operating with at least one autism class by county in tabular form; and the total number of autism classes. [5715/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 295 and 296 together.
Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs.
This includes additional teaching and care supports.
As a result, the number of special education teachers, special needs assistants and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, my Department and the NCSE have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special needs placements ahead of each new school-year
I am satisfied that this more joined up approach is delivering. Through this intensive intervention, we have seen an additional 301 special classes, providing over 1,800 new places, opened nationwide for the 2021/22 school-year.
I want to reassure the Deputy that my Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.
The specific detail requested by the Deputy has been referred to the NCSE for direct reply.
297. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the number of primary schools in County Westmeath with an ASD unit; if a list of the schools will be provided; the number of children on a waiting list for those schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5733/22]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. This includes additional teaching and care supports.
As a result, the number of special education teachers, special needs assistants and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, my Department and the NCSE have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special needs placements ahead of each new school-year
I am satisfied that this more joined up approach is delivering. Through this intensive intervention, we have seen an additional 301 special classes, providing over 1,800 new places, opened nationwide for the 2021/22 school-year.
I also acknowledge that notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country where increases in population and other issues have led to concerns regarding a shortage of school places.
The NCSE has well established structures in place for engaging with schools and parents and seeks to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special class placements.
In terms of County Westmeath, I can confirm that the NCSE is aware of an identified need for additional special classes for students with autism in primary and post-primary schools. Work has been underway with stakeholders for a number of years to meet the demand for places.
We are always grateful to those schools that have responded, and continue to respond positively to meet the educational needs of children in their communities.
Currently, a network of 25 primary special classes, including 6 Early Intervention classes, provide specialist placements for students with autism in Westmeath. 3 of these classes were newly established for the current school year.
The NCSE is continuing to engage with primary and post-primary schools throughout County Westmeath regarding the establishment of additional special classes for 2022/23 and beyond. There are specific plans in place to open additional special classes and every support will be made available to progress their opening in the shortest possible timeframe with a particular focus on September next.
It is of course open to any school to engage with the NCSE to establish a special class.
I want to reassure the Deputy that my Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.
Parents seeking special class or special school placements for their children are advised to contact NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes.
I should also clarify that the NCSE does not maintain waiting lists for schools. Boards of management of individual schools are responsible for such enrolment matters.
The local SENOs remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list.
Information on the list of special schools and schools with special classes, the type and location of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie
298. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the number of primary schools in County Longford with an ASD unit; if a list of the schools will be provided; the number of children on a waiting list for those schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5734/22]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. This includes additional teaching and care supports.
As a result, the number of special education teachers, special needs assistants and special class and school places are at unprecedented levels.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.
Throughout 2020 and 2021, my Department and the NCSE have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special needs placements ahead of each new school-year
I am satisfied that this more joined up approach is delivering. Through this intensive intervention, we have seen an additional 301 special classes, providing over 1,800 new places, opened nationwide for the 2021/22 school-year.
I also acknowledge that notwithstanding the extent of this investment, there are some parts of the country where increases in population and other issues have led to concerns regarding a shortage of school places.
The NCSE has well established structures in place for engaging with schools and parents and seeks to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all children who have been identified as needing special class placements.
In terms of County Longford, I can confirm that the NCSE is aware of an identified need for additional special classes for students with autism in primary and post-primary schools. Work has been underway with stakeholders for a number of years to meet the demand for places.
We are always grateful to those schools that have responded, and continue to respond positively to meet the educational needs of children in their communities.
Currently, a network of 17 primary special classes, including 2 Early Intervention classes, provide specialist placements for students with autism in Longford. 3 of these classes were newly established for the current school year.
The NCSE is continuing to engage with primary and post-primary schools throughout County Longford regarding the establishment of additional special classes for 2022/23 and beyond. There are specific plans in place to open additional special classes and every support will be made available to progress their opening in the shortest possible timeframe with a particular focus on September next.
It is of course open to any school to engage with the NCSE to establish a special class.
I want to reassure the Deputy that my Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.
Parents seeking special class or special school placements for their children are advised to contact NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes.
I should also clarify that the NCSE does not maintain waiting lists for schools. Boards of management of individual schools are responsible for such enrolment matters.
The local SENOs remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list.
Information on the list of special schools and schools with special classes, the type and location of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie
299. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education if school secretaries will be given similar conditions to school SNAs in recognition of their contribution to schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5794/22]
View answerSchool secretaries are valued members of our school communities and my Department is fully aware of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools.
The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools receive assistance to provide for secretarial, caretaking and cleaning services under grant schemes. Where a school employs a staff member to support those functions those staff are employees of individual schools and responsibility for terms of employment rests with the school.
The Department with school management bodies have been engaging with Fórsa on a claim on terms and conditions for grant-funded school secretaries and caretakers. On the 27th of October 2020, under the auspices of the WRC, an understanding was agreed on a pathway to progress the issues. Several key strands were identified, and a phased approach is being taken to the development of proposals.
Following intensive discussions at the WRC on 13th September 2021, there was significant progress in this dispute. Subject to agreement on all elements of the claim, the Department has offered to move School Secretaries’ pay rates to a scale which is aligned with the Clerical Officer Grade III pay scale on a pro rata basis according to a secretary’s current working pattern. The Department has also offered to improve the conditions for School Secretaries with regard to sick leave, annual leave and maternity provisions for this cohort of staff.
Further dialogue has taken place between the parties on these issues since 13 September with the aim of reaching an overall agreement. The talks continue, most recently at a meeting at the WRC on 26 January; the parties are to meet again later this month, following reflection on the matters discussed at that meeting.
I welcome the continued engagement between the parties and I encourage all stakeholders to focus on finalising an agreement.
300. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the steps she is taking to improve the working conditions for school secretaries; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5803/22]
View answerSchool secretaries are valued members of our school communities and my Department is fully aware of the vitally important role played by them in the running of our schools.
The majority of primary and voluntary secondary schools receive assistance to provide for secretarial, caretaking and cleaning services under grant schemes. Where a school employs a staff member to support those functions those staff are employees of individual schools and responsibility for terms of employment rests with the school.
The Department with school management bodies have been engaging with Fórsa on a claim on terms and conditions for grant-funded school secretaries and caretakers. On the 27th of October 2020, under the auspices of the WRC, an understanding was agreed on a pathway to progress the issues. Several key strands were identified, and a phased approach is being taken to the development of proposals.
Following intensive discussions at the WRC on 13th September 2021, there was significant progress in this dispute. Subject to agreement on all elements of the claim, the Department has offered to move School Secretaries’ pay rates to a scale which is aligned with the Clerical Officer Grade III pay scale on a pro rata basis according to a secretary’s current working pattern. The Department has also offered to improve the conditions for School Secretaries with regard to sick leave, annual leave and maternity provisions for this cohort of staff.
Further dialogue has taken place between the parties on these issues since 13 September with the aim of reaching an overall agreement. The talks continue, most recently at a meeting at the WRC on 26 January; the parties are to meet again later this month, following reflection on the matters discussed at that meeting.
I welcome the continued engagement between the parties and I encourage all stakeholders to focus on finalising an agreement.
301. Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh asked the Minister for Education if an alternative site selection process for necessary space for an autism class in addition to space required for the second-year of mainstream students in a school (details supplied) is being considered in advance of the start of the next school year given the refusal of planning permission for the original site; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5810/22]
View answerI would like to assure the Deputy that the provision of accommodation for pupils with special education needs is a priority for my Department and my officials are aware of the pressing requirement for the provision of post primary classes for pupils with special education needs in Ballincollig.
My Department has considered all options for the September 2022 interim accommodation for the school in question, including locating the school on the site of another post primary school in the town.
The level of accommodation being planned for the school to which the Deputy refers is also intended to include a two classroom SEN provision. In considering available space on the other school site, the proposed development can be considered exempt under the planning exemption introduced in March 2021 - Planning and Development (Exempted Development) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 114 of 2021) – School Buildings.
302. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the cost of the free travel scheme in 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5722/22]
View answer313. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in the free travel scheme by age; the annual cost to the State of this scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5720/22]
View answer314. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of persons in the free travel scheme by category of welfare payment in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5721/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 302, 313 and 314 together.
The free travel scheme was introduced in 1967 to promote social inclusion and prevent the isolation of elderly and disabled people by taking advantage of free space on public transport services.
The free travel scheme is available to all persons aged over 66 and those under age 66 on certain qualified payments, who are living legally and permanently in the State. The scheme permits those who are eligible to travel for free on most CIE public transport services, Local Link, LUAS and a range of transport services offered by some 80 private operators countrywide.
The number of customers who were eligible to avail of free travel at the end of 2021 it was 1,022,001. When spousal and companion passes are taken into account, the number of free travel beneficiaries increases to over 1.67 million.
Since 2019, annual funding of €95 million has been allocated for the free travel scheme.
According to the records of my Department, the number of Free Travel recipients broken down by age is shown in the table below: #
|
Free Travel recipient age |
Number of Recipient |
|
16 - 20 |
12,457 |
|
21 - 30 |
29,654 |
|
31 - 40 |
44,654 |
|
41 -50 |
68,231 |
|
51 - 60 |
85,223 |
|
61 - 70 |
275,992 |
|
71 - 80 |
339,587 |
|
81 - 90 |
141,032 |
|
91 + |
25,171 |
|
Total |
1,022,001 |
The number of free travel recipients broken down by social welfare scheme type is provided in the table below:
|
Primary Payment |
Number of recipients |
|
Blind persons pension |
1,338 |
|
Carer's allowance |
57,761 |
|
Deserted wife's allowance |
41 |
|
Deserted wife's benefit |
3,874 |
|
Occupational injuries benefit |
612 |
|
Disability allowance |
121,614 |
|
Invalidity pension |
68,274 |
|
State pension (contributory) |
495,048 |
|
State pension (non- contributory) |
87,714 |
|
Widow(er)'s (contributory) pension |
68,936 |
|
Widows (non contributory) pension |
545 |
|
Other qualified persons not in receipt of a social welfare payment (such as recipients of occupational or foreign pensions) |
116,244 |
|
Total |
1,022,001 |
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
303. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Social Protection the supports announced as part of Budget 2022 to address the issue of youth employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59463/21]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, young people in the labour market (those under 25 years of age) are particularly affected by labour market disruptions.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 264,000 young people were in work and the seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate for 2019 averaged approximately 12.5 percent. However, following the onset of the pandemic, the CSO’s ‘COVID-19 adjusted’ monthly youth unemployment rate – which included all those in receipt of the PUP – increased dramatically, peaking at almost 70 percent in May 2020.
Following the phased reopening of the economy over the latter half of 2021, most young people closed their PUP claims and returned to work, with the CSO estimating that there were approximately 321,000 young people in employment by Q3 2021 – significantly more than before the pandemic. This recovery resulted in a sharp downward trend in youth unemployment rates, with the standard youth unemployment rate falling to a low of 9 percent, and the ‘COVID-19 adjusted’ measure to 10.2 percent, by end-November 2021.
While a slight increase was observed in the ‘COVID-19 adjusted’ measure of youth unemployment following the temporary reintroduction of public health restrictions in early December, I am confident that the vast majority of these young people will shortly return to work, following the widescale easing of restrictions.
While it is welcome that the youth unemployment rate has reduced and returned to pre-pandemic levels, it is critical to continue to minimise potential scarring effects amongst young people who permanently lost their jobs during the pandemic and young people who face difficulties or higher barriers to entry.
Accordingly, my Department has introduced – with funding allocated in Budget 2022 – a series of targeted employment supports under Pathways to Work 2021-2025 , the Government’s employment services strategy. These include:
- Expanding the JobsPlus scheme to 8,000 places and enhancing the incentive to recruit young jobseekers in particular, by increasing the youth age limit from 25 to 30 years.
- Launching the Work Placement Experience Programme (WPEP), which is a 6-month, 30 hour per week voluntary work experience programme, for persons out of work for six months or more. While the programme has no age limit, it should be particularly attractive to young people looking to gain valuable work experience. 4,000 places on the programme have been ring-fenced for young people.
- Ring-fencing at least 1,000 out of the 3,000 additional Community Employment and Tús places for long-term unemployed young people.
My Department also works closely with the Further Education and Training sector to provide access to training, upskilling and reskilling opportunities. These are likely to be of particular relevance to young people seeking to enter the labour market for the first time. As part of Budget 2022 and Pathways to Work 2021-2025, the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are providing an additional 50,000 further education and training places to help more people, including young persons, to have the opportunity to upskill or reskill for employment into a new sector.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
304. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Social Protection if a decision has been made on a disability allowance appeal by a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5534/22]
View answerI am advised by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that an Appeals Officer, having fully considered all of the available evidence, decided to allow the appeal of the person concerned by way of a summary decision. The person concerned was notified of the Appeals Officer’s decision on 12 January 2022.
The Social Welfare Appeals Office functions independently of the Minister for Social Protection and of the Department and is responsible for determining appeals against decisions in relation to social welfare entitlements.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
