Parliamentary questions

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Charlie McConalogue

1. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether children qualifying for a special needs assistant this coming September will experience reductions in their allocated special needs assistant hours due to the continuance of the cap on numbers at a time when the number of students qualifying for special needs assistant support has increased by 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32544/13]

Back to School Costs

Jonathan O'Brien

2. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement the recommendations of the Oireachtas Select Committee on Education who have proposed that pupils should not be obliged to wear crested uniforms and schools should end the practice of using work plans and if he will present a timetable for when these measures will be implemented. [32342/13]

School Curriculum

Maureen O'Sullivan

3. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the serious concerns regarding the subject of history in the proposed reform of the junior certificate, if he will consider including history as a compulsory subject. [32343/13]

Student Grant Scheme Administration

Charlie McConalogue

4. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Student Universal Support Ireland applications for 2012-13 still to receive a final answer; the number of appeals outstanding; the steps he has taken to ensure students are not refused access to examination results due to not having a final answer on their grant application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32545/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Catherine Murphy

5. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills how he expects to update the plan for implementation of the Education For Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act to prioritise access for children with special needs to an individual educational plan in view of the reduction in such services in recent years and the increase in demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32499/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Brendan Smith

6. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way he can improve the provision of special needs services to post-primary students who require them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32258/13]

School Staffing

Jonathan O'Brien

7. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of resource teachers that will lose their jobs or have their teaching hours reduced in the 2013/14 academic year; if he will confirm that principals and school boards of management have the flexibility to employ mainstream teachers without full-time timetables into roles that should be filled by specially trained resource teachers. [32206/13]

State Examinations Issues

Maureen O'Sullivan

8. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the basis on which he decided teachers would correct the junior certificate examination work of their own students and schools would provide their own individual certification. [32005/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Joe Higgins

9. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will reassure parents and teachers there will be no cuts to other education services following his announcement not to implement his planned cuts to resource hours. [32241/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Gerry Adams

10. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the July provision programme for children with autism and if siblings with autism will be entitled to one-to-one provision to meet their individual needs as stated in section 7 of the terms and conditions of the 2011 July provision scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32209/13]

Education Statistics

Seán Fleming

11. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills his response to the latest OECD Education at a Glance report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32265/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Joan Collins

12. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify his statement that pupil teacher ratios in schools may be increased to pay for the reversal of planned cuts to supports for children with special needs. [32053/13]

Third Level Fees

Clare Daly

13. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that no plans for a graduate tax, student loan or student voucher system in relation to university fees will be considered in budget 2014. [32006/13]

Student Grant Scheme Administration

Martin Ferris

14. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason school guidance counsellors were not informed by Student Universal Support Ireland that the closing date for higher education grants had been brought forward to 1 August. [32220/13]

Graduate Statistics

Alan Farrell

15. Deputy Alan Farrell asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the recent OECD Education at a Glance report showing that Irish graduates are more likely to be unemployed in comparison with other countries, and the noted lack of progression from education to work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32164/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Willie O'Dea

16. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills the implications for the education budget in 2014 of the additional resource teachers announced on 25 June 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32249/13]

Value for Money Reviews

John Browne

17. Deputy John Browne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans regarding smaller rural schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32250/13]

School Staffing

Dessie Ellis

18. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that guidance counsellors in many schools are reporting that up to 70% of their case load is now taken up by pastoral care and counselling with higher incidents of self-harm, drug abuse, children suffering from depression, abuse and the effects of family breakdown; and if he will respond to fears that the dismantling of guidance services in schools is putting the lives of young persons at greater risk. [32218/13]

Public Procurement Regulations

Micheál Martin

19. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to change the procedures in place for stationery procurement in primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32272/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Dara Calleary

20. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the working group to review special education will report; the key priorities the group is addressing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32254/13]

Institutes of Technology Issues

Barry Cowen

21. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the proposed reorganisation of third level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32259/13]

State Examinations Issues

Mary Lou McDonald

22. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the report he has ordered the State Examinations Commission to make into the typographical errors and mistakes that were made on leaving certificate papers; and if he will provide details of the way answers to these questions will be assessed in view of these mistakes. [32211/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Pearse Doherty

23. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide assurances that the allocation of an additional 500 resource teachers to meet the increase in the percentage of children with special needs who are attending school from September 2013 onwards will result in funding being withdrawn from the overall education budget; if he will confirm that he has no plans to increase the pupil-teacher ratio. [32216/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Éamon Ó Cuív

24. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills the implications for the education budget in 2014 of the additional resource teachers announced on 25 June 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32280/13]

State Examinations Issues

Patrick O'Donovan

25. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the circumstances of the mistakes that were reported in the leaving certificate maths papers; if his Department has carried out an investigation into what happened; if he has taken steps to ensure that the issue does not arise again; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32016/13]

Student Grant Scheme Applications

John McGuinness

26. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of Student Universal Support Ireland applications outstanding; the number of applications that are currently under appeal; the impact on students accessing exam results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32275/13]

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Bernard Durkan

27. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he expects to be in a position to retain workable levels of pupil-teacher ratios in all schools throughout the country, primary and post-primary, private and public, religious and non-denominational, keeping in mind the need to maintain adequate capitation levels; if he accepts that variations already exist in this regard within both the private and the public school sector and between both and the desirability of the need to recognise the difficulties faced at this time of economic stress; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32224/13]

Third Level Funding

Pearse Doherty

28. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will respond to objections raised by staff of Dublin Institute of Technology regarding the provision of Shell funding towards the new visual arts degree in Erris, County Mayo, which is being offered by DIT and Mayo County Council. [32217/13]

Industrial Disputes

Robert Troy

29. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the contingency plans he has in place to deal with any industrial action by teachers in the autumn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32264/13]

Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta

Seán Ó Fearghaíl

30. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna céard é an beartas faoi neamhspleáchas na Comhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [26106/13]

School Staffing

Gerry Adams

31. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason his Department wrote to the National Council for Special Education on 30 May regarding the 75% resource teaching allocations it was asked to delay communicating this information to schools for three weeks; and if he will respond to criticism that this resulted in considerable uncertainty for school authorities who would have found it difficult to put in place staff for September at such short notice. [32210/13]

Student Support Schemes Issues

Martin Ferris

32. Deputy Martin Ferris asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the Student Universal Support Ireland application system was not available online earlier than its launch in May when many sixth year students had broken up for the school year; and if he will respond to the view that having the system available earlier would have allowed counsellors additional time to help students with their college applications. [32221/13]

Special Educational Needs Expenditure

Michael McGrath

33. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the impact of the special needs assistant cap on access to special needs support from next September in view of the increase in demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32273/13]

Student Support Schemes Issues

Seán Crowe

34. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will intervene to stop third level institutions employing debt collectors to pursue student debt, in view of the serious difficulties that arose from the processing of grants through Student Universal Support Ireland in the 2012-13 academic year. [32215/13]

National Council for Special Education

Michael Colreavy

35. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on reports that children with special educational needs from middle-class backgrounds continue to receive more support at school than those from working-class areas as a result of having enhanced access to private psychological assessments when compared to schools dependent on the State funded National Educational Psychological Service. [32213/13]

Traveller Community Issues

Michael Colreavy

36. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if it is appropriate for the statistics section of his Department to contact schools to request in writing from the parents of Traveller children confirmation of their ethnic status in order to qualify for the higher capitation grant; and if he considers this method of data collection at odds with the concept of integrating Traveller children into a mainstream school setting. [32214/13]

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Mary Lou McDonald

37. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a guarantee that he has shelved plans to include assets such as farmland and business premises in the means tests for third level students. [32212/13]

Child Care Guidelines

Seamus Kirk

38. Deputy Seamus Kirk asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is satisfied with the implementation of Síolta and Aistear; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32269/13]

Special Educational Needs Services Provision

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

39. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason it is taking until 2015 to implement the national policy on educating children with autism; and the reasons behind the lengthy delay for implementing a national policy for children with autism. [32208/13]

Institutes of Technology Funding

Thomas Pringle

40. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will outline in tabular form the capital funding which has been allocated to institutes of technology over the past three years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32281/13]

School Textbooks

Thomas Pringle

41. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if there are plans for the widespread introduction of e-books in schools nationwide; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32282/13]

Educational Tours

Derek Keating

42. Deputy Derek Keating asked the Minister for Education and Skills the arrangements for supervision of students during school organised Gaeltacht residential trips and classes; if his attention has been drawn to a reported major breakdown in supervision following an organised school trip to Donegal with 38 students from a school (details supplied); if he has been notified that the school principal has removed himself from the board of management investigation because of a reported conflict of interest; the responsibility his Department has in such issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32017/13]

Student Universal Support Ireland Administration

Mick Wallace

43. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the case of a student (details supplied) who cannot access their examination results due to difficulties with Student Universal Support Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32245/13]

School Completion Programme

Joan Collins

44. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the proposals put forward by the SCP co-ordinator of the Dominican Campus school completion programme with the support of the three primary schools; if he has considered the proposals and when he will respond to the proposals. [32052/13]

Education and Training Boards Issues

Richard Boyd Barrett

45. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the impact of the move from Dún Laoghaire to Tallaght, Dublin, for the staff of Dún Laoghaire Vocational Education Committee and the delivery of services in the area; if he has considered the impact on education services; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32244/13]

School Textbooks

Billy Kelleher

46. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to assist families with the cost of school books; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32267/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Mick Wallace

47. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the case of a school (details supplied) in County Wexford which has recently lost 2.5 special needs assistants even though two new children with special needs are due to start at the school this September; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32246/13]

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Joe Higgins

48. Deputy Joe Higgins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider a reversal of all the cuts to special needs assistants and resource hours that have been implemented by his Government. [32240/13]

Third Level Participation

Joe McHugh

49. Deputy Joe McHugh asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether third level institutions need to be more ambitious in opening up undergraduate programmes to Northern Ireland residents; if he is concerned about the insubstantial increase in the numbers of third level students here who are from Northern Ireland compared proportionately with 1997; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32012/13]

State Examinations Issues

Patrick Nulty

50. Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason geography is being considered for removal as a compulsory junior certificate subject under his reform proposals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32015/13]