Thursday, 18 Jan 2024

Written Answers Nos. 182-191

Schools Building Projects

Questions (182)

Thomas Gould

Question:

182. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education if she will arrange a site visit with officials in her Department to Kerry Pike National School to undertake a survey of works to be completed. [2178/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I can confirm to the Deputy that the school referred to has been approved for a project under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme to provide a 3 classroom SEN base.

This project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority and officials in my Department await submission of the Stage 1 report from the school design team. Once this has been received it will be reviewed by my Department’s professional and technical team. 

The Department has given approval to school authorities in January 2024 to undertake the survey requested for this project.

Schools Building Projects

Questions (183)

Thomas Gould

Question:

183. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education if she is aware that Kerry Pike National School made two applications under the emergency works grant for a replacement floor and that both of these applications were refused despite the flooring proving a potentially hazardous trip risk; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2179/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide for unforeseen emergencies that impact on school buildings. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.

An emergency is a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action and, in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.

The applications referred to by the Deputy were deemed not to fall within the remit of the EWS, which operates on a minimal scope of works. However, if the school feels that there is an element of the application that would fall within the EWS the school can submit a scaled-back version of its previous application and this will be examined. It is open to a school to use their capitation grant or their minor work grant to replace floor coverings at the school. The capitation grant is paid to primary and voluntary secondary schools. It is based on the number of recognised pupils enrolled in the schools. Capitation grants are paid at the applicable rate at the time the grant is issued.

Capitation funding is intended to contribute to the day to day running costs of schools and consequently should be used to meet the cost of items such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general upkeep in schools.  It should also be noted that a proportion of the grant is intended to be used by schools to assist with the purchase of teaching materials and resources. 

Capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for care taking and secretarial services may be regarded as a common grant from which the Board of Management can allocate according to its own priorities.

School Accommodation

Questions (184)

Patrick Costello

Question:

184. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education when her Department's professional and technical team will complete the review of a report (details supplied); when a decision is likely to be communicated to the school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2184/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The school to which the Deputy refers, was approved a project under my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme for a 2 classroom SEN base.

The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority.

The review by my Department’s professional and technical team of the stage report is nearing completion and the recommendations will be shared with the school authority once this is complete on the next steps to progress this project.

School Accommodation

Questions (185)

Ivana Bacik

Question:

185. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education when a school (details supplied) will be moved into is permanent accommodation. [2240/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The large scale capital project at the school referred to by the Deputy is at Architectural Planning Stage 4 – Construction.

The project brief is for a new 24 classroom school with 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs and all ancillary site works.

The project commenced on site in September 2022 and has an estimated completion date of Q3 2024.

State Properties

Questions (186)

Ivana Bacik

Question:

186. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education her plans for the former Rathmines College premises. [2241/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

The former Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) Rathmines college premises is in the ownership of my Department. Currently Harcourt Terrace Educate Together National School are using the property under an arrangement with my Department and this will continue. This building was identified as a temporary location for the school pending the development of their permanent school.

For the future, a number of options are being examined, including temporary solutions for the use of this property, as well as the proposed regional solution for a post-primary school for Dublin 2 and Dublin 4 school planning area.

Departmental Correspondence

Questions (187)

Denis Naughten

Question:

187. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Education if she will ensure that the six payslips requested from her Department to facilitate a mortgage application (details supplied) will be issued; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2259/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

I wish to advise the Deputy that the copies of the requested payslips have been issued to the teacher concerned.

Payslips can be accessed online at any time by availing of the Digital Postbox Service. Details on how to access the service are available on my Department's website at gov.ie - Payroll services for teaching, non-teaching and retired staff on Department of Education payrolls (www.gov.ie)

Equality Issues

Questions (188)

Paul Kehoe

Question:

188. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Education if all refugee children have the same access to additional services in the education system as Irish citizens, that is, NEPS, and so on; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2281/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

All children and young people up to the age of 18 years irrespective of status, including migrant children, children of international protection applicants, refugees, migrant workers and unaccompanied minors have access to free primary and post-primary education in the same way as Irish nationals. A school must admit all students applying where it is not oversubscribed and places are available. Schools must also state within their admission policy that they will not discriminate in their admission on any of nine specified grounds, including race and religion. 

All parents have the right to choose which school to apply to, and parents with children of school-going age arriving in Ireland are free to contact schools directly to enrol their child/children. Where local pressure points for school places arise for newly arrived children, the Department works with the Regional Education and Language Teams (REALT) to put necessary arrangements in place to secure school places. 

The Statement of Strategy 2023–2025 sets out my Department’s vision for an education system where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. The central goals of the strategy include providing high-quality education and a learning experience that meets the needs of all children and young people,  ensuring equity of opportunity in education and ensuring that our education system welcomes all children and young people irrespective of their background or ability. 

The Migrant Integration Strategy was published in 2017 and sets out the Government’s commitment to the promotion of migrant integration as a key part of Ireland’s renewal and as an underpinning principle of Irish society. The Strategy provides a framework for a range of actions to support migrants to participate fully in Irish life; these actions are designed to support the integration process, as well as to identify and address any remaining barriers to integration.

A key element of the Strategy’s vision was for migrants, and particularly their children, to benefit fully from the education system. Education-related actions included enactment of the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016, and to keep the adequacy of language supports in schools under review  continue to be progressed and our engagement with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) who have responsibility for the Strategy. 

My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, such as access to supports of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.

Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector. In March last year, I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. This benefited 361 schools. The programme now includes over 1,200 schools and supports approximately 240,000 students. This means 1 in 4 of all students enrolled in schools are now supported in the programme.

State Examinations

Questions (189)

Bríd Smith

Question:

189. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education if she will consider reinstating the adjustments given to students completing the Leaving Certificate politics and society examination until 2022 (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2282/24]

Written answers

Minister for Education

Assessment adjustments have been made to examination instruments in recent years, in acknowledgement of the challenges that students faced during COVID-19 and the disruption to teaching and learning. 

The state examinations for 2022 saw examinations for all students, Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle, return for the first time since 2019.  The assessment adjustments made in 2022 maintained the overall structure and layout of the examination paper, so that the examination papers remained familiar and involved, in almost all cases, providing further choice to candidates with reduction in the number of questions to be answered in the examination.

Adjustments were also made to exam assessment components in 2023. These are similar to the adjustments announced in August 2021, with appropriate updates. Those adjustments were more limited than the 2022 adjustments, which means that students in 2023 will have had an exam experience that is much closer to pre-pandemic norms as part of a gradual process of returning to normality following the pandemic. These adjustments were made with due regard to principles of equity, fairness and integrity. 

In May 2023, I announced that the same adjustments to assessment arrangements that applied in 2023 will apply for 2024 students also. This means that there will be comparability across assessment between 2024 and 2023 for the first time since the pandemic. 

For Politics and Society, the adjustments to sections A and B of the Higher Level paper have remained the same since 2022 and will continue to apply for 2024. Adjustments made to section C in 2022 required students to complete one out of the five essay questions available. In 2023, students were asked to complete two out of five essay questions. The same adjustment applies for 2024. Prior to the pandemic, students were required to complete two out of four essay questions. 

For the Ordinary Level paper, the adjustments to Section A and B have also remained the same since 2022 and will again apply for 2024. Adjustments made to Section C in 2022 required students to answer two out of six essay questions. In 2023, students were required to answer three of the six essay questions. The same adjustment applied for 2024. All essay questions in section C on the Ordinary Level paper have cues and prompts to scaffold candidates’ responses. Prior to the pandemic, students were required to answer three out of six essay questions, with no cues or prompts provided. 

Media Sector

Questions (190)

Carol Nolan

Question:

190. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media whether her Department or the relevant statutory agencies have any oversight or regulatory role in relation to advertising on British TV channels which are available in Ireland through the major TV subscription services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2250/24]

Written answers

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media

From 1st January 2021, UK based tv channels (broadcasting service providers) must hold a broadcasting licence issued by the national regulatory authority of any EU Member State in order to continue to provide services in across the EU. My Department engaged with the sector, including the major broadcasting service providers in Ireland, to ensure that they are fully aware of the requirement. I am advised that broadcasting service providers operated by a number of UK based entities including Sky, BBC and Channel 4 hold the relevant broadcasting licences in other EU Member States and accordingly they are not required to hold the licence issued by the Irish regulatory authority, Coimisiún na Meán.

In line with the country of origin principle set out in the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, media service providers are subject to the law and jurisdiction of the EU Member State where they are established. Accordingly, programme material, including advertisements, broadcast by UK based broadcasting service providers are subject to the rules set by the relevant national regulatory authority of the Member State where they hold their broadcasting licence. Article 9 of the Revised Audiovisual Media Service Directive sets out the minimum standards for commercial communications which must be adhered to by all Member States.

Under Article 4 of the Revised Audiovisual Media Services Directive, Coimisiún na Meán has the power to escalate non-compliance with its regulatory codes and rules with the corresponding regulator in another Member State, in circumstances where it considers that a media service provider regulated in another Member State is targeting citizens in its territory and is undermining local regulation.

Vacant Properties

Questions (191, 192, 193)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

191. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to indicate if known, the extent to which new housing developments have been completed at various sites throughout the country, private or affordable, which have not been occupied as of yet despite the fact that many houses from such sites will become available to the local authorities via Part 5 and 8; whether any particular reason has been cited as being responsible for the continued lack of availability in respect of such houses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2106/24]

Bernard Durkan

Question:

192. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which housing developments at various locations throughout the country remain unoccupied given the urgent necessity to make such accommodation available for occupancy at the earliest possible date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2107/24]

Bernard Durkan

Question:

193. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the extent to which completed housing estates remain unoccupied throughout the country for whatever reason; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2108/24]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

I propose to take Questions Nos. 191, 192 and 193 together.

Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 per year over the next decade. This includes the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost rental homes. Housing for All is supported by an investment package of over €4bn per annum, through an overall combination of €12bn in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5bn in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5bn funding through the Housing Finance Agency.

My Department publishes comprehensive programme level statistics on a quarterly basis on social housing delivery activity by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) in each local authority. This data is available to the end of Quarter 3 2023, and is published on the statistics page of my Department’s website, at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/6d316-local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics/?referrer=http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/social-housing/local-authority-housing-scheme-statistics

My Department also publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR). The CSR provides details of social housing developments and their location that have been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes. The most recent publication was for Quarter 3 2023. All Construction Status Reports are available at the following link:www.gov.ie/en/collection/cb885-social-housing-construction-projects-status-reports/

A version of the CSR file can also be downloaded for analysis of completions, locations, approvals stage etc at the link below: Social Housing Construction Status Report Q3 2023 - Dataset - data.gov.ie - data.gov.ie/dataset/social-housing-construction-status-report-q3-2023

My Department does not hold data on the number of completed houses not yet occupied. The oversight and practical management of social housing waiting lists, including the allocation of properties, is solely a matter for the relevant local authority in accordance with the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009, and associated Regulations.