Tuesday, 20 Sep 2022

Written Answers Nos. 311-329

Education Schemes

Questions (311)

Michael Healy-Rae

Question:

311. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education the status of an application for a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45431/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The purpose of the Remote Area Boarding Grant scheme is to give students who are disadvantaged because of their remoteness from schools, an opportunity to attend school on the same basis as students not so disadvantaged.

The terms of this scheme are set out in Circular 16/2016 which is published on my Department’s website at www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/cl0016_2016.pdf.

My department is continuing to liaise with Bus Éireann, who operate the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, and will inform the parents of the student in the case referred too, of the decision as soon as possible.

School Transport

Questions (312)

Ged Nash

Question:

312. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education if she will consider an application for school transport for a person (details supplied) in Louth in view of the unique circumstances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45469/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

Bus Éireann has advised the pupil to which the Deputy refers is eligible for transport as they are attending their nearest school. There is a seat available on an existing service.

A ticket request was received for the pupil on 04/08/2022 and a ticket was released to the pupil on 15/09/2022 and will arrive at their home address in the coming days.

Schools Building Projects

Questions (313)

Steven Matthews

Question:

313. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education the position regarding the proposed new school building for a community college (details supplied); the basis for any delays; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45519/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to Kildare & Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB).

The Design Team are currently preparing the Stage 2a report (developed design) for submission and the Department understands from KWETB that the report is nearing completion. It is a matter for KWETB, as the client for the project, to ensure that this is completed as quickly as possible.

Once the Stage 2a submission is approved by my Department, the next step for the Design Team will be to obtain the statutory planning approvals. When these are in place, the project can proceed to tender and construction.

While at this early stage it is not possible to provide a timeline for completion of the project, KWETB will be engaging directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.

School Transport

Questions (314)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

314. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education the status of an appeal for a child (details supplied) for school transport; and if she will speed the process up for families. [45564/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

An Appeal with the details of the child referred to by the Deputy was lodged on 5th September, 2022 with the School Transport Appeals Board. The Board will liaise directly with the appellant when the appeal is due for consideration.

School Transport

Questions (315)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

315. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education the status of a school transport appeal (details supplied); and the measures that parents are meant to take given that there is no bus service now where previously there was one. [45565/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

An Appeal with the details of the child referred to by the Deputy was lodged on 9th September, 2022 with the School Transport Appeals Board. The Board will liaise directly with the appellant when the appeal is due for consideration.

School Enrolments

Questions (316)

Chris Andrews

Question:

316. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Education the number of enrolled children in each year of secondary level education across the State in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45566/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

Please find requested information attached for academic year 2021-22, the latest available year.

We have published final enrolments by roll number, post-primary programme and year, beginning in academic year 2020-21. These lists will be published each June in conjunction with post-primary school lists. You can find the lists on the Department's website at the link below: www.gov.ie/en/collection/post-primary-schools/.

-	2021	2021	2021	-
Post-Primary Programme	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Programme Total
JUNIOR CYCLE & JCSP	73,393	72,407	69,323	215,123
TRANSITION YEAR	48,026			48,026
LEAVING CERTIFICATE, LCV & LCA	66,937	61612*		66,937

Note: Figures are for academic year 2021-22 and show the number of pupils in each year by post-primary programme.

* Year 2 of leaving Certificate , leaving certificate vocational and leaving certificate applied includes pupils repeating the leaving certificate.

School Enrolments

Questions (317)

Chris Andrews

Question:

317. Deputy Chris Andrews asked the Minister for Education the number of enrolled children in each class of primary level education across the State in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45567/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

Please find requested information attached for academic year 2021-22, the latest available year.

We publish primary class size tables alongside the final enrolment data each June. These tables contain individual class data for every mainstream primary school as well as the class size range for each school. 

We also publish the number of pupils by standard in each mainstream primary school. All tables can be found on the Department's website, links below: www.gov.ie/en/collection/class-size-information-at-individual-primary-school-level/; www.gov.ie/en/collection/primary-schools/#20212022.

Enrolments

Departmental Transport

Questions (318)

Holly Cairns

Question:

318. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the steps that she is taking to increase the percentage of electric or hybrid vehicles owned by her Department and State agencies and bodies under the Department's remit. [45576/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department does not own any vehicles.

The information in respect of state bodies within the scope of the Deputy’s question is not held by my Department. Contact details for these bodies are set out in the attached document should the Deputy wish to contact them directly with this query.

Contact E-Mail Addresses for State Bodies under the Remit of the Department of Education as at 13 th September 2022

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	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
Educational Research Centre	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Note 1	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
State Examinations Commission	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
The Teaching Council	[e-mail]	[e-mail]
National Council for Special Education	[e-mail]	[e-mail] and [e-mail]
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund – Caranua	[e-mail]	[e-mail]

Note 1 - The spelling of the NCCA e-mail address to which Oireachtas queries may be addressed has been verified with the NCCA as being accurate

State Examinations

Questions (319)

Holly Cairns

Question:

319. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education if she will reverse the decision to reduce the content in set works to be examined in leaving certificate music examination 2023. [45591/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I am conscious that students who are due to take their Leaving Certificate examinations in 2023 have experienced disruption to their learning

On 2 September 2022, I announced that adjustments would be made to the 2023 Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations. Details of these adjustments were issued to schools on 8 September 2022 to ensure that students and staff could familiarise themselves with any changes, thus providing as much clarity and certainty to students as possible at the start of the school year.

These arrangements acknowledge the disruption faced by these students because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I consider that these arrangements are proportionate to the students’ experience and loss of learning, and are educationally appropriate. The adjustments ensure that the overall structure of exams remains intact but allows for greater choice for students.

In relation to Music specifically, the adjustments published recently are in line with the adjustments that were put in place for students at this stage of the school year in 2020 and 2021, the difference being that Group B set works are replaced with Group A set works. As it is not possible for technical reasons to add more choice in an aural paper, it is envisaged that informing teachers and students as to the movements that would not be assessed would ease the workload at revision time. Extra choice has been given in relation to the only question on the paper for which that is possible.

School Staff

Questions (320)

Holly Cairns

Question:

320. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the steps that she is taking to assist schools which cannot recruit staff due to rising cost of living in urban areas. [45592/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I fully appreciate the concerns of teachers and indeed society generally in relation to increases in living costs.

The Government acknowledges that current price pressures present particular challenges and are a source of concern for all public service workers, including teachers. While the issue of pay alone will not resolve these issues, the Government is committed to the delivery of quality public services, and will continue to approach public service pay in a balanced way that is reasonable and fair to both public servants and the taxpayer. There is an important balance to be struck between maintaining industrial peace and protecting the Exchequer.

The value of public pay deals to the Government and the taxpayer is ensuring that pay costs are managed in a sustainable and orderly way and in a climate of industrial peace. By and large public pay agreements have delivered on these objectives over the last 12 years. Following the conclusion of discussions on 30 August, the parties to Building Momentum, with the expert assistance of the WRC who oversaw the talks' process, have come forward with a set of proposals, to extend the terms of Building Momentum to 31 December 2023. Government have approved these proposals which have been published in full. It is now a matter for public service unions and associations representing the public service workforce to consider and ballot on those proposals. The proposals, if adopted by unions and staff representative associations, will provide stability in a period of significant global uncertainty. It is appropriate at this time to allow space for the respective union and association memberships to reflect on the proposals.

In recent years my Department has established a comprehensive programme of work to support the supply of teachers at both post-primary and primary levels, including the introduction of new programmes of initial teacher education and teacher upskilling programmes in targeted subject areas and the Teaching Transforms campaign, which encourages young people to follow a career in teaching.

I have allocated significant additional posts to the primary substitute teacher supply panels in areas where significant challenges in sourcing substitution continue, bringing the total to 610 posts on 151 panels, covering approximately 2,800 schools, including the large majority of primary schools in urban areas. The supply panels work alongside the existing methods of sourcing substitute teachers, such as Sub Seeker , the national substitution portal service operated by the Irish Primary Principals' Network and schools can also make local arrangements to have their own regular substitutes to call on if needed.

The Teaching Council is also currently processing applications for registration from newly qualified teachers, who will represent a new source of supply in 2022/23. In excess of 3,200 primary and post-primary NQTs are registered to date with almost 100 further applications currently in progress.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (321)

Holly Cairns

Question:

321. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education if she will provide a breakdown of the number of children and young people who have been found eligible for a special class but who have not received a place in a special class or school per county in tabular form. [45593/22]

Written answers

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills

I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

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.

Over the last two years, 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. My Department and the NCSE continue to work very closely in planning for the delivery of new places required to meet forecasted demand.

I am satisfied that this more joined up approach is delivering. Through this intensive intervention, we have seen 383 new special classes open, bringing the total number of special classes to 2,535 opened nationwide for the 2022/23 school-year. The 383 new special classes for 2022/23 is broken down by 253 at primary and 130 at post primary level.

The list of special classes for the 2022/23 school year is available on the NCSE website at the link below.

06Jul22_Special-Classes-for-publication-2022_2023.pdf (ncse.ie)

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.

I can confirm that the NCSE is aware of an ongoing identified need for additional special education placements for primary and post-primary students with autism. Work has been underway with stakeholders for a number of years in these areas to meet the demand for places.

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 education placements.

NCSE is continuing to engage with schools regarding the establishment of additional special classes for 2022/23 and beyond. Every support will be made available to schools to progress the opening of special classes in the shortest possible timeframe.

It is of course open to any school to engage with the NCSE to establish a special class.

The Deputy will also be aware of additional special school provision with new special schools established in both Cork and Dublin.

My Department is committed, in conjunction with the NCSE, to continue to work with parents, schools, patrons and all stakeholders to ensure that there are sufficient appropriate places for students with additional needs and to support all students to achieve their potential.

I want to reassure you also 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.

Departmental Schemes

Questions (322)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

322. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education the status of an appeal for a person (details supplied); and if she will fast-track the appeal. [45595/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

An Appeal with the details of the child referred to by the Deputy was lodged on 7th September, 2022 with the School Transport Appeals Board. The Board will liaise directly with the appellant when the appeal is due for consideration.

School Transport

Questions (323)

Sorca Clarke

Question:

323. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the engagement that she has had with Bus Éireann and private bus operators regarding the lack of places for pupils availing of school transport. [45604/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

School Transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of my Department. In the past school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

My Department officials engage with Bus Éireann staff on a daily basis with regard to the operation of the School Transport Scheme. In addition, quarterly strategic, and monthly operational meetings are held throughout the year.

Agreed Performance Indicators for the operation of the scheme are set out in the Service Level Agreement and this forms the basis of the regular meetings held between the Department of Education and Bus Éireann.

Officials also hold regular meetings as the need arises which include but is not limited to: planning for additional school transport places, the management of transport provision for children arriving from Ukraine, the implications that increasing fuel costs may have on the provision of school transport services and the estimated cost to the scheme of waiving the school transport annual ticket charge.

I have met with Bus Éireann on a number of occasions in recent weeks to discuss progress on the allocation of tickets for the 2022/2023 school year. Senior officials from my Department were in attendance at these meetings as were senior officials from Bus Éireann. In addition to these meetings I have received regular updates from Bus Éireann as they continue to process applications and to issue tickets as soon as extra buses and drivers are sourced and become available to provide transport for the higher numbers qualifying for the service.

State Examinations

Questions (324)

Verona Murphy

Question:

324. Deputy Verona Murphy asked the Minister for Education the date on which leaving certificate appeals results will be available to students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45610/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.

In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Special Educational Needs

Questions (325)

Michael Ring

Question:

325. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education if she will establish a pilot programme (details supplied) for students; if the Department will cover the cost of teacher training in this topic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45622/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I refer to your correspondence relating to the establishment of a pilot programme to teach children with dyslexia to read and a programme of teaching training of primary school teachers to do the same.

The quality of our teaching profession is a critical factor in sustaining and enhancing the quality of education outcomes. The Department promotes the quality of teaching and learning through the provision of continuing professional development and supports for teachers and principals. The Department ensures that a range of high-quality models of CPD is provided to teachers and school leaders through its support services, the national network of Education Centres and appropriate groups, bodies and institutions who are empowered to design, develop and deliver CPD programmes, and also to ensure that valuable teacher student contact time is protected.

Teacher Education Section do not accredit CPD for external providers. Provision for teachers is supported through the Departments teacher support services like the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT).

A potential avenue for external course provision is through the summer course programme for primary teachers for which applications are invited in January of each year. This notice is posted on the www.ecdrumcondra.ie website.

The Summer course Providers’ Booklet (2022) sets out the administrative requirements and criteria for the approval and delivery of summer courses, which carry an entitlement of extra personal vacation (EPV) days for primary teachers. The summer course programme is administered by the Drumcondra Education Centre (DEC). Only summer courses approved by the Department of Education, on the recommendation of the Inspectorate, are eligible for EPV days for primary teachers under the terms of Rule 58 in Rules for National Schools.

School Staff

Questions (326)

Bríd Smith

Question:

326. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the fact that many schools have been unable to fill their allocated teaching posts and some schools have reported up to eight unfilled teaching posts, and that principals and staff have significant concerns about the increasing difficulty of delivering the expected level of education to the children in their schools; the measures that schools are expected to take during the coming months as teacher absences increase; the immediate steps she is taking to rectify the teacher shortage crisis as a matter of priority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45626/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The recruitment and appointment of teachers to fill teaching posts is a matter for the individual school authority, subject to procedures agreed under Section 24 of the Education Act 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act 2012).

In accordance with Department Circulars 0044/2019 and 31/2011, schools are required to employ appropriately qualified and registered teachers and ensure that unemployed teachers should be offered employment in preference to those who have retired.

Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolments. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website.

The deployment of teaching staff in the school, the range of subjects offered and ultimately the quality of teaching and learning are in the first instance a matter for the school management authorities.

My Department runs a comprehensive programme of work to support the supply of both primary and post-primary teachers.

Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) will represent a new source of supply in 2022/23. In excess of 3,200 primary and post-primary NQTs have had their registrations finalised by the Teaching Council to date with almost 100 further applications currently in progress.

Following engagement with the Higher Education Authority (HEA), Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) who provide programmes for initial teacher education (ITE), put in place new ITE undergraduate programmes since 2019 in a number of post-primary priority subject areas, including Irish, mathematics, computer science and modern foreign languages.

In February 2019, my Department launched a scheme to allow post-primary schools to share teachers in priority subjects. The aim of the circular is to provide a way for schools to recruit teachers in the high demand subjects while also facilitating new teachers with a full time contract.

Turasabhaile is a service developed by the post-primary school management bodies and National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals which matches registered teachers’ resident abroad with post-primary vacancies in schools in Ireland.

The Irish Primary Principals’ Network is also developing a new central portal for the recruitment of teachers to long-term teaching positions in both primary and post-primary schools. It is anticipated that this portal will be available to schools and teachers in the coming months.

School Admissions

Questions (327)

David Stanton

Question:

327. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education if she will ensure that a second-level school place will be made available for a child (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45630/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

My 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. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.

The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, including projects in the area in question, may be viewed on my Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.

The Capital Programme also provides for devolved funding for additional classrooms, including accommodation for pupils with special educational needs, if required, for schools where an additional enrolment need has been identified or where an additional teacher has been appointed. Details of schools listed on this programme (the Additional Accommodation Scheme) can also be found on my Department's website at www.gov.ie and this information is also updated regularly.

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 a selection process may 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.

The admission policy must comply with the Education Acts 1998 to 2018, be non-discriminatory and be applied fairly in respect of all applicants.

It is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to draft, publish and implement a school admission policy in accordance with the Education Acts 1998 to 2018.

Where a board of management make a decision to refuse admission, a parent/guardian can appeal that decision under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998, and an independent appeals committee will be appointed to consider the appeal. The role of the section 29 hearing committee is to examine the application for enrolment and consider if it was correctly processed by the school, in accordance with the school’s Enrolment Policy. The section 29 appeals committee cannot consider matters that are not provided for within the school’s Enrolment Policy. If a parent considers that a school has erred in their processing of their enrolment application, a section 29 appeal committee can examine how their application was processed by the school and identify if the school did not follow its Enrolment policy. In cases where an error occurred the section 29 appeal committee will consider if the error had a material effect on their application. Where an error had a material effect on their enrolment application, the section 29 appeal committee can direct the school to enrol the student or adjust the students ranking on the waiting list. This Department has no authority to compel a school to admit a student, except in circumstances where an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 has been allowed and the appeals committee directs that the school admit the child concerned.

A section 29 appeal must be made no later than 63 calendar days from the date of the school’s decision to refuse admission.

It is important to note that if a parent have been refused admission due to the school being oversubscribed, and they wish to appeal this decision they must firstly make a written request to the school seeking a review of the board of management’s decision. This request for a review to the board of management is time bound and must be made within 21 calendar days from the date of the decision by the school to refuse admission to the child.

If a parent have been refused admission for a reason other than the school being oversubscribed, the parent may, but are not required to, request a review by the board of management within 21 calendar days from the date of the decision by the school to refuse admission to the child. Where the parent have been refused admission for a reason other than the school being oversubscribed and do not choose to seek a review by the board of management the parent may make an appeal to an independent appeals committee no later than 63 calendar days from the date of the school’s decision to refuse admission.

Full details on the section 29 appeals process for refused enrolment are available on the Gov.ie website at the links below: www.gov.ie/en/publication/8248c-appeals-in-relation-to-refusal-to-admit-a-student-due-to-a-school-being-oversubscribed/; www.gov.ie/en/publication/31c4f-appeals-in-relation-to-refusal-to-admit-a-student-for-a-reason-other-than-the-school-being-oversubscribed/.

In addition, Tusla Education Support Services (TESS) the Educational Welfare Service is the legal body which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school placement for their child. Contact details for TESS are available at the following link, www.tusla.ie/tess/get-in-touch/ or by email at [e-mail].

Education and Training Boards

Questions (328)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Question:

328. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the measures that she will implement to ensure that the delays endured since October 2021 by retired members of the Cork Education and Training Board do not happen again (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45637/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I refer to the Deputy’s question regarding the delays endured since October 2021 by retired members of Cork Education and Training Board (ETB) in receiving pension increases accruing since that time.As the Deputy may be aware, the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) is responsible for the payment of pensions to retired personnel from the ETB sector. I am informed by my officials that a significant amount of work is ongoing in relation to this matter and that, due to the complexities of applying the most recent increase to pensions, officials in my Department are liaising with both the NSSO and the ETB sector in relation to same, with a view to ensuring the efficient application of pay increases which impact on pensions in payment.

In light of the foregoing, I have been advised that the intention is to have all outstanding pension increases accruing from October 2021 to retired personnel from Cork ETB reflected in their pensions in payment by the end of this year and the payment of any increased amount that has accrued in the intervening period will also be included.

School Transport

Questions (329)

Seán Sherlock

Question:

329. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education the status of a school transport appeal (details supplied); and if she will expedite the case given that pupils have returned to schools. [45639/22]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the last school year over 121,400 children, including over 15,500 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country at a cost of over €289m in 2021.

In July 2022, Government announced funding for the waiving of school transport scheme fees for the coming school year as part of a wider package of cost of living measures.

Ticket registration for the 2022/23 school year closed on 29 July by which time almost 130,000 applications/registrations were received for mainstream school transport. This figure includes 44,299 new applications as well as roll-overs from the previous school year.

Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

An Appeal with the details of the child referred to by the Deputy was lodged on 13th September, 2022 with the School Transport Appeals Board. The Board will liaise directly with the appellant when the appeal is due for consideration.