Written Answers Nos. 310-317
310. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education whether north Kildare schools have their full complement of ASD units, given the distress of families who are searching right to the borders of the county for a schoolplace for their autistic child, on the basis that an ‘ASD unit has not yet been sanctioned’ for particular schools; if not, to provide the timeframe in which this will be achieved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2992/24]
View answerEnabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
In 2023, my department spent over €2.6 billion on special education and further progress will be made this year as an additional €113m will be dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs.
This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
In 2024, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 744 teachers and 1,216 SNAs added to deliver up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs. This will mean we will have over 41,500 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs.
Over the last number of years, my department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places.
These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years.
My department engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This forward planning work is well underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class places, an analysis of available school accommodation, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.
As a result of this forward planning, Minister Foley and l announced the establishment of two special schools for this current school year, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools and that a further four special schools for the 2024/25 school year will be established.
Along with the two new special schools, 389 new special classes – 253 at primary and 136 at post-primary level – have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening in this current school year.
Of these 12 are in Kildare, 7 at primary and 5 at post-primary level. This brings to 116 the number of special classes in County Kildare, 85 at primary level and 31 at post-primary level. The vast majority of these class are autism classes and have a teacher/pupil ratio of 1:6.
The attached document provides a breakdown of primary and post-primary schools with special classes within County Kildare. Planning for special classes and places in Kildare and nationwide is currently underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year.
As demand for new special classes at post-primary level is expected to increase significantly over the next few years, due to increasing demographics and increasing prevalence rates, my department and the NCSE have engaged with post-primary stakeholders in relation to the provision of special classes.
My department has communicated to all post-primary schools of the need to begin planning to provide additional special classes. It is envisaged that all post-primary schools will be required to provide special classes over the next 2 to 4 years, with an approximate average of 4 special classes in each school.
Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes. Local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) are available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE's website at: www.ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list
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.Info
311. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education to confirm that under Project Ireland 2040, her Department is investing in excess of €5 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day; if this level of investment will be revised upward in light of rapidly escalating population growth particularly since March 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3014/24]
View answerMy Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects and this was achieved again in 2023 notwithstanding the wider construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.
Under Project Ireland 2040, we are investing over €5 billion during the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day.
My Department is very appreciative of the strong support provided by Government for our education budget. As part of the supplementary budget, €405m additional capital funding was provided in 2023. This helped to alleviate capital funding pressures that arose in 2023 which was reflective of the strong delivery by my Department of school building projects – particularly to support mainstream provision accommodating Ukrainian students and special education needs provision. My Department’s overall capital outturn for 2023 was €1.264 billion.
We continue to have a strong pipeline of projects for delivery under the school building programme involving circa. 300 projects currently at construction, which include 34 new school buildings. We also have a large modular accommodation programme delivering urgently needed school places. The Department has always operated a tightly prioritised approach to the school building programme, focused over recent years on the delivery of additional capacity where required, and this will continue to be the case.
My Department's published NDP allocation for 2024 is €940 million. The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform has commenced a process of engagement with capital spending departments on NDP allocations for the years ahead. My Department will be making a submission as part of this process which will address the factors underpinning future school investment requirements, including demographic factors. Key priorities for my Department's work programme include continuing strong delivery to support the operation of the school system with particular regard to planning ahead for the 2024/25 school year and beyond and also with particular regard to supporting special needs provision. The current status of all projects are listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie. and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
312. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education the status of the development of a new school building (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3058/24]
View answerThe project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved for delivery to Donegal Education and Training Board (DETB).
The Design Team is currently progressing through Stage 1 of the architectural planning process, which involves developing options for both school buildings. DETB will submit a Stage 1 report to the Department once all viable options for the site have been assessed in full. Following a review and approval of stage 1, the project will progress through stages 2a, 2b, and Tender stage and on to construction in due course.
As this project is at an early stage in the delivery process, it is not possible at this time to give a date for its completion. As the delivery body for the project, DETB will engage directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.
313. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education to provide, in tabular form, a list of second level education institutions aided by her Department, indicating the school roll number and school planning area in each case. [3072/24]
View answerPlease find attached requested data. Please note data provided is for academic year 2022-2023, the latest year we have final enrolment data. We expect to publish final enrolment data for academic year 2023-2024 in June 2024.
314. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education to provide, in tabular form, a list of the 170 second level education institutions in Ireland whose students were assessed in the PISA 2022 survey, indicating the school roll number in each case; and to provide lists of the second level education institutions whose students were assessed in the PISA 2018, PISA 2015, PISA 2012, PISA 2009 and PISA 2006 surveys. [3073/24]
View answerPISA is designed to give large scale population level results and is not designed to assess individual student or school performance. Each school that takes part in PISA receives their own feedback from the Educational Research Centre which shows their own results in comparison to the national study but no school has access to another school’s results.
It would not be appropriate to disclose a list of schools who undertake the PISA study. Schools undertake the study on the understanding that their participation is confidential and that they are part of an international study where the large scale data rather than school level data is what is being looked at. In addition, a disclosure of a detailed breakdown of these schools could lead to the compilation of league tables. Section 53 of the Education Act, 1998, allows for the refusal of access to data, which could enable league tables on the comparative performance of students or schools to be determined. I am opposed to the publication of such tables as they provide an unbalanced and very limited indication of a school's performance.
315. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she will clarify whether the transfer of data and/or records from her Department that is transferred to other departments, State bodies and local authorities is in aggregated form or on an individual basis; and the reason the data and/or records are provided. [3078/24]
View answerAs stated in a recent reply, my Department shares data with other organisations for varied purposes such as compliance with employee tax obligations, organisation of the State exams, to support children with special educational needs or those at risk of educational disadvantage, in connection with legal proceedings, reporting of child protection concerns, provision of school transport, audit purposes, referral for financial support under the Affordable Childcare Scheme to support parents to remain in education, and to facilitate student testing for international education studies such as PISA. The transfer of data may be in aggregated form or on an individual basis depending on the specific purpose in question. For example, the data of Department employees is shared on an individual basis with the National Shared Services Office, which operates the payroll for Department staff, in order to facilitate payment of salary.
As stated previously, where my Department shares personal data with another organisation, it does so on the basis of the lawful grounds set out in the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018 and with appropriate governance arrangements in place. The sharing is notified to data subjects through the Department’s overall Data Protection Notice and Privacy Notices.
316. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 590 of 17 January 2024, if she will urgently review the decision by her Department not to include a school (details supplied) in the school capital buildings programme. [3098/24]
View answerThe department is required to manage the overall school building programme so that we target and prioritise areas that are under greatest pressure for additional school places. This reflects the department’s fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.
As outlined in Parliamentary Question No. 590 of 17 January 2024, the main focus of the department’s capital funding over the last decade and for the coming period is on provision of critical additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics and children with special education needs.
The overall position with regard to potential modernisation and replacement of existing school infrastructure will be kept under review as capital funding allocations for future years are clarified.
Should a school authority consider that it does not have sufficient capacity, in terms of mainstream teaching accommodation and special education classrooms, it is open to them to apply for accommodation under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme (ASA), details of which are available on my department's website www.education.ie. The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.
The school in question has been approved a building project under my Department’s ASA scheme that would provide for 2 mainstream classrooms and 2 special education tuition rooms. This project is currently at stage 3 with our delivery team.
In addition further funding was approved under the ASA scheme in 2022 for modular accommodation to provide 1 mainstream classroom and 2 special education tuition rooms. In early 2023, the brief for the school was reviewed and increased to provide 1 Special Education classroom in addition to 1 mainstream classroom and 2 Special education tuition rooms.
As the Deputy will be aware, a devolved Minor Works Grant is also payable to schools. This grant provides good flexibility at local school level to make improvements to the physical infrastructure of school buildings and it is open to schools to prioritise the works they wish to undertake within the terms of the scheme.
The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform will be engaging with Departments on NDP allocations for the period 2026 to 2028 over the coming months, with allocation decisions expected during the first half of 2024.
317. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans for the UK tourism market in 2024; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2369/24]
View answerMy Department's role in relation to tourism lies primarily in the area of developing national tourism policy and the tourism agencies (Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland) deal with the implementation of this policy. Tourism Ireland is the agency responsible for promoting the island of Ireland overseas as a tourism destination.
The matter raised by the Deputy is an operational matter for Tourism Ireland. Accordingly, I have referred the Deputy's question to Tourism Ireland for direct reply. Please contact my private office if you have not received a reply within ten working days.
