Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 7 Nov 2000

Vol. 525 No. 2

Written Answers. - School Staffing.

Nora Owen

Ceist:

860 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will change the regulations relating to classroom assistants for people with disabilities in view of the very low rate of pay that is paid to such assistants; if he will alter the regulation that says an assistant is not paid if a child is not in school; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty for schools in hiring people to fill these jobs due to the low rate of pay and the restrictions on the job; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24231/00]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods):

Salary levels for special needs assistants have been the subject of negotiation with staff representatives under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, PCW, and the staff concerned accepted increases under the PCW in July of this year.

My Department is not aware of any regulation, which results in special needs assistants not receiving remuneration if the pupil for whom the special needs assistant post has been sanctioned is not in school.

Schools have not reported any particular difficulty in filling posts of special needs assistant, apart from the general difficulty in recruiting staff across many sectors of the economy. In general, schools report that several applicants present when such posts are advertised.

Jack Wall

Ceist:

861 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of vacancies for primary teachers in County Kildare; the number of temporary teachers employed by his Department to meet these vacancies; the status of such teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24234/00]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods):

The appointment of teachers is a matter for the board of management of each individual primary school. The information requested by the Deputy in relation to vacancies in County Kildare is therefore not available within my Department.

According to data received by my Department from the managerial authorities of primary schools in County Kildare, there are 36 temporary qualified teachers and 27 temporary teachers who are paid at the untrained rate currently employed in the county.

The Deputy may be aware that the intake of trainee primary teachers to the colleges of education has increased substantially in recent years. The total intake to the colleges in the in the 1999-2000 academic year is 1,283 compared with an intake of 500 in 1996-97. I recently announced that a further post graduate course, with a proposed intake of 280 students will commence early in 2001.

Between the 2000 and 2001 academic years it is projected that approximately 1,900 qualified primary teachers shall graduate from the colleges of education. This represents a huge increase in the number of trained graduates as compared with 1995 when 291 graduated.