Written Answers Nos. 461-480
462. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Defence the plans there are to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of the Defence Forces; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39155/22]
View answerOn Tuesday 12 July Government approval was given for a move to ‘Level of Ambition 2’ (LOA2), as set out in the capability framework devised by the Commission on the Defence Forces.
This will result in the Defence budget rising from €1.1 billion to €1.5 billion, in 2022 prices, by 2028, the largest increase in Defence funding in the history of the State. This will allow for the required substantial transformation and investment in recruitment and equipment that were identified by the Commission.
The move to LOA2 will require an additional 2,000 personnel (civil and military) over and above the current establishment of 9,500. Work has already commenced on this with the recently announced recruitment campaign, ‘BE MORE’.
Some specific initiatives include the immediate commencement of planning for military radar capabilities, including primary radar and the establishment of an Office of Reserve Affairs with the priority objective of developing a regeneration plan for the Reserve Defence Force.
A High Level Action Plan (HLAP) was also approved.
This High Level Action Plan sets out the response of Government in relation to each of the 130 individual recommendation: Accept, Accept in Principle, Further Evaluation or Revert. 103 of its recommendation have now been accepted by Government for implementation, or accepted in principle, with decisions on the remaining 27 recommendations to be taken pending some further consideration that is necessary. This can be broken down as follows:
- 48 recommendations are Accepted for implementation;
- 55 are Accepted in Principle with further consideration required on the optimal approach to meeting the intent of the Commission;
- 17 are desirable and will require Further Evaluation with key stakeholders, of the resource, policy, financial and legislative implications before a decision on implementation can be considered; and
- 10 will need to Revert to Government at a later stage
The HLAP has been published on the Defence Forces’ and Department of Defence websites [1],
The HLAP also provides detail as to the implementation structures which will be put in place, these will comprise:
A High-Level Steering Board, chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach;
An Implementation Oversight Group (IOG), independently chaired, which will oversee and drive progress on implementation; and
An Implementation Management Office (IMO) which will drive day to day implementation with the support of a professional and highly-skilled transformation team, drawn from both internal and external sources.
The IMO’s initial focus will be on developing the Implementation Plan. This will be a living document and it is intended that the Implementation Plan will be published by end 2022.
[1] www.military.ie and www.gov.ie/defence.
463. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Defence if he will detail the interaction and engagement by his Department with Dublin Airport Authority regarding the use of the Defence Forces at Dublin Airport; the details of any deployment of Defence Forces’ personnel at Dublin Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39156/22]
View answerAt a Cabinet meeting in June, the Government supported a request from the Minister for Transport for members of the Defence Forces to undergo training and certification and to be on standby to assist the daa with the provision of aviation security duties at Dublin Airport.
While I recognise that the role of the Defence Forces is not normally to assist in the provision of services for a commercial airport, I agreed to this request on a clear assurance that this is a distinct piece of work, provided in extreme circumstances, as a short-term emergency related contingency action, and is in direct response to a letter from daa management to the Minister for Transport.
The envisaged remit is for non-public facing security gate duties, to free up approximately 100 existing DAA personnel, for a proposed 6 week timeframe. These external gate posts are the primary means of access for aviation fuel supplies, aircraft and airport supplies, and construction and hangar personnel. As well as access control and ID checks, screening at the gate posts includes searches of vehicles, baggage and people by hand and through the use of explosive trace detection.
Defence Forces personnel have commenced training and have been certified to perform these duties. Training of personnel is continuing this week and the Defence Forces will stand ready to assist if required. The Defence Forces will only be deployed if assistance is requested by the daa and in a scenario where there is a significant deterioration in passenger queuing times with a risk of large numbers of passengers missing their flights. This assistance has not yet been requested by daa.
The support will be stood down in August when the busy holiday period has passed. The daa have given assurances that they will continue with their own recruitment and onboarding of additional security staff and the introduction of other mitigations during this period.
A service level agreement has been signed between the Department of Defence and the daa setting out the arrangements for the provision of aviation security duties by the Defence Forces at Dublin Airport. This includes the modalities for the reimbursement to the Exchequer of all costs by the daa, including salary costs, allowances, training, certification and management costs and the cost of having the Defence Forces personnel on standby. The service level agreement was signed following detailed discussions between officials from my Department, the Defence Forces, Department of Transport and daa to agree the necessary arrangements, and my Department will continue to liaise with all parties as required in this regard.
464. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence if a new cadetship recruitment campaign for the Naval Service and Air Corps will be launched later this year. [39271/22]
View answerThe military authorities have advised that applications for the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps 2022 Cadetship competition are currently being processed. The requirement for further Cadetship competitions will be kept under ongoing review.
465. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel by rank attached to the Defence Forces equitation school; the number of vacancies by rank in the equitation school; and when each of the vacancies will be filled, in tabular form. [39272/22]
View answerThe table below details the requested strength and vacancies, by rank, for the Army Equitation School, on 12th July 2022.
|
Rank |
Lt Col |
Comdt |
Captain |
Lt |
CS |
CQ |
Sgt |
Cpl |
Pte |
|
Strength |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
18 |
|
Vacancies |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
The military authorities advise that vacancies are filled on an ongoing basis in line with promotional arrangements and by recruitment via Cadetship and Army General Service (GSR) recruitment competitions.
General Service recruitment is ongoing. Additionally the 2022 Army Cadetship competition resulted in 51 applications for the Equitation School and these are being progressed.
466. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Education the number of applications in Mayo for school transport each year since 2016, including the 2022-2023 academic year; the number of school transport places provided since 2016; the estimated number that will be provided for the 2022-2023 academic year, in tabular form. [39373/22]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, are transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. The cost in 2021 was over €289m.
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.
As requested by the Deputy, the table below outlines the number of applications for mainstream transport in Mayo for school transport each year from 2017/18 to 2021/22 and the number of mainstream school transport places provided each year from 2017/18 to 2021/22.
It is not possible to provide these figures for the 2022/23 school year as the school transport portal is still open and applications are still being received. The data requested prior to the 2017/2018 school year was collated in a different format, it is therefore, not possible to provide this information.
|
School Year |
Number of Mainstream Applications (Including rollover applications) |
Number of Tickets Issued |
|
2017/18 |
5792 |
4796 |
|
2018/19 |
5815 |
4755 |
|
2019/20 |
5758 |
4752 |
|
2020/21 |
5765 |
4276 |
|
2021/22 |
5856 |
4574 |
Please note that the above table includes all applications including where a grant was provided due to no service, where no payment was received and also includes rollover applications from eligible students from previous years.
467. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education the arrangements that have been made to compensate school bus service providers for the unprecedented increase in the price of fuel for buses; the discussions that have taken place with representative organisations of these service providers in relation to this matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38808/22]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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 €289m in 2021.
The purpose of the 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.
The Department is in contact with bus and coach provider representative groups on a regular basis and has engaged with other Departments and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, and on 23 May announced the payment of a fuel contribution to contractors operating the school transport scheme under contract to Bus Éireann to alleviate the pressures on contractors in the short term. This measure is in place for quarter 1 and quarter 2 of 2022. The contribution is a temporary measure and the position with regard to fuel costs will continue to be kept under review.
As the Deputy will be aware, Government has also announced a reduction in excise on fuel will result in a decrease in the cost of fuel. The reduction of 20 cent per litre on petrol and 15 cent per litre on diesel will be in place until 31 August at an estimated cost of €320m. This is a national measure aimed at easing the financial burden on contractors and families at this time.
468. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education if she has given approval to the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment’s documents titled an inclusive approach to SPHE/RSE – LGBTI+ identities and the use of inclusive and respectful language which appear on her Department’s website and is advice for teachers of national school children; if it is her policy that teachers of primary school children should use and understand a list of terms when teaching (details supplied); if it is her policy that teachers of national school children should be discouraged from using the phrase boys and girls and are encouraged to use gender-neutral alternatives; if it is her policy that picture books are used to teach children in primary school about gender identity; and the discussions or consultations that she has undertaken with parents and their representative groups in terms of trans issues being taught to primary school children. [38814/22]
View answerThe role of the school is to provide an appropriate education for all its pupils. Schools have autonomy in choosing the resources and programmes that best support the work within their own classrooms.
The curriculum, as approved by the Minister, at both primary and post primary level, is considered to be for all learners regardless of race, religion, socioeconomic background, gender or orientation. It is the aim of the Department of Education that every child has access to equitable education and that each learner feels safe and happy in the school environment, at every stage.
Materials are developed to support the delivery of the curriculum as approved by the Minister.
All Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes provided by Department-funded support services to teachers include provision for teaching and learning in the inclusive classroom through differentiated teaching methodologies.
As part of this Department’s ongoing curricular reform, issues in relation to inclusivity and diversity will be considered as part of the ongoing reviews in relation to the curriculum at both primary and post-primary level.
469. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education if there is an appeals mechanism for the emergency works scheme; and if so, if she will provide the details of same. [38819/22]
View answerI would like to inform the Deputy that any school that wishes to appeal a decision not to grant funding under the emergency works scheme should email emergency_works@education.gov.ie with their request, outlining what additional facts they wish to be considered which if had been known at the time may have influenced the outcome of the decision.
470. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education when applications for the summer works scheme will open. [38820/22]
View answerThe Summer Works Scheme operates on a multi-annual basis.
It is envisaged that the next Summer Works Scheme will have a strong climate focus and will open for applications from schools in the latter half of 2022. My Department will announce the details of same in due course.
471. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education if schools are allowed to ask for birth certificates from parents of children seeking a school place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38842/22]
View answerIn relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the school management to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Acts, 1998-2018. The Department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area.
Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available (oversubscribed schools) a selection process will be necessary.
This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
Information required to process enrolment includes a pupils personal details, including his or her name, address and date of birth. Schools collect certain personal information on pupils on behalf of the Primary Online Database (POD) which is a nationwide, individualised database of primary school pupils, facilitating the monitoring of educational progress as pupils move through the primary education system and on to post primary.
The system records school registration, allows schools to make online returns to the Department of Education and provides the Department with the comprehensive and in-depth information needed to develop and evaluate educational policy. There are fields to record both the birth certificate name and the name that the pupil is known by in the school, if that is different from their official name.
472. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if she will extend a school bus route (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38869/22]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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 €289m in 2021.
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 the Department's Post-Primary School Transport Scheme children are eligible for school transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest school/education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are not eligible, but who apply for school transport, are considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Bus Éireann which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of the Department of Education has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy is not eligible for transport as they are not attending their nearest school.
Bus Éireann has confirmed that the family in question reside 15.4 km from home to the pupils closest school and 22km from home to their school of attendance. The family reside 0.7km from home to the nearest pick-up point for this school.
School Transport routes and pick-up points are planned on the basis of the locations of children who are eligible for school transport only.
Parents/guardians are responsible for ensuring that children are brought safely to and collected safely from Bus Éireann designated pick up and set down points.
473. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of the restoration of leadership posts at primary school level to pre-2008 levels. [38881/22]
View answer474. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of providing for an additional 300 assistant principal 1 and an additional 1,500 assistant principal 2 posts at primary school level. [38882/22]
View answer475. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of restoration of leadership posts at post-primary school level to pre-2008 levels. [38883/22]
View answer476. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of providing for an additional 100 assistant principal 1 and an additional 100 assistant principal 2 posts at post-primary school level. [38884/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 473 to 476, inclusive, together.
I recognise the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable.
Budget 2017 allowed for the commencement of restoration of middle management posts as part of an agreed distributed leadership model and meant lifting the rigidity of the longstanding moratorium on these posts. The equivalent of approximately 1,300 middle management posts (Assistant Principal I and Assistant Principal II) were restored at both Primary and Post-Primary level (2,600 in total).
The Department has committed to annually revising the allocation of Posts of Responsibility to take into account retirements during the school year which has ensured that the current level of Posts of Responsibility (PORs) are maintained in the school system. New POR threshold tables are produced each year to distribute these POR’s equitably across all school.
Currently one in three teachers hold a promotional post within our schools.
The Sectoral Bargaining process under Building Momentum for the primary sector has been used to increase posts of responsibility (POR) in primary and special schools by 1,450 posts. The distribution of these additional posts of responsibility are comprehended in Circular 0043/2022 - Allocation of Assistant Principal Posts 2022/2023 which issued last month.
Since the commencement of the restoration of these posts at Post-Primary, there has also been an increased allocation in respect to Deputy Principal posts with over 450 additional posts allocated to schools. In the 2021/22 school year, the enrolment threshold for the allocation of an additional deputy principal in DEIS post-primary schools was reduced from 700 to 600 pupils. These additional posts provide resources to focus on leadership and management in our schools.
This recognises the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable.
The current annual rates for Assistant Principal I and Assistant Principal II posts are €9,058 and €4,007 respectively.
477. Deputy Richard O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Education if discussions are expected with schools that provide a private bus service in order that the charges to parents will also be waived; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38933/22]
View answerSchool Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 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 €289m in 2021.
Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only. Concessionary transport is subject to a number of terms and conditions including the availability of spare seats on an existing service. The availability of concessionary transport may vary from year to year and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of a child’s education cycle.
Routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis.
Commercial contractors who provide transport for schools on a private hire or commercial basis but who are not contracted by Bus Éireann to operate on the Department’s School Transport Scheme do not fall under the remit of the Department of Education.
478. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated capital cost of the additional classroom space required to implement a one-point reduction in the pupil teacher ratio by first year and full-year cost. [38934/22]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that each 1 point adjustment to the primary staffing schedule creates an approximate 300 additional mainstream posts. It should be noted that such an adjustment may not warrant provision of additional accommodation across all primary schools as some schools may have capacity within their existing buildings to cater for staff increases.
Allowing for available accommodation based on information available to my Department, it is estimated that the cost of providing the required additional classroom accommodation to implement a one-point reduction in the pupil teacher ratio is circa €20m.
However, where additional accommodation is needed the costs associated with providing permanent accommodation will vary depending on a range of factors including the extent of the accommodation to be provided, linking new permanent accommodation with existing facilities, site topography, geographical location of schools and costs associated with complying with statutory requirements.
479. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of 1, 10, 50 and 100 additional SNAs by first year and full-year cost. [38935/22]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the questions raised and would advise the following:
The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and reviews. The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.
Budget 2022 provides funding for an additional 1,165 SNAs (in 2022) to provide support to children with special educational needs, which will bring the total number of SNAs to 19,169 at the end of December 2022. This will represent an increase of 81% since 2011 at which time 10,575 were provided.
When a school has been allocated an SNA, the Board of Management, as the employer, is responsible for filling the vacancy and the decision on whether to employ a full time SNA to fill a full time post or to employ an equivalent number of part time SNAs rests with the employer.
My Department acts as paymaster to over 3,700 schools whose Boards of Management are the direct employers of the SNAs in those schools. SNAs in the Education and Training Board sector are employed and paid by the ETBs.
The annual current cost at entry of an additional full time Special Needs Assistant is €30,001 including employer PRSI.
The estimated cost for the employment of the additional full time SNA’s referred to in the question is a follows, 10 SNA’s would cost €300,001, 50 SNA’s would cost is in excess of €1.5M, and the cost of 100 additional SNA’s would be just in excess of €3.0M per annum.
SNA salary rates are contained in circular letter 0009/2022 and can be accessed gov.ie - Revision of Salaries for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) with effect from 1 February 2022 (www.gov.ie).
480. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated cost of 1, 10, 50 and 100 additional special education teachers by first year and full-year cost. [38936/22]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the questions raised and would advise the following:
Budget 2022 provides for an additional 620 new Special Education Teacher (SET) posts in special education. This new investment is required to meet the needs of students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream classes; students to be enrolled in new special classes and new special school places and the needs of new and developing schools.
This will bring the total number of SET in the mainstream school system to 14,385 in December 2022.
Work is ongoing in relation to finalising the budgetary projections for 2023/24 for SET.
The average salary cost of a Special Education Teacher employed on a full time basis is €69,000 per annum. The estimated cost of the additions full time Special Education Teachers referred to in the question is as follows, 10 additional Special Education Teachers would cost €690,000, 50 would cost in excess of €3.4M and 100 would cost €6.9M.
