I want to give a few moments of my time to Senator Twomey.
Education Funding.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
I welcome the Minister. I am sorry that the Minister for Education and Science is not here to discuss this very important issue which has raised its head in recent months. For the sake of a saving which is paltry in the context of the current crisis, the Minister has taken a course of action that will disproportionately and deeply affect a particular community. In the haste to cut and run, he found what he supposed was a soft target and saved the grand total of €2.8 million. Rashly, he has overturned an established settlement and angered a community. I do not accuse the Minister of ill-intent but rather a lack of reflection and rash action, and I urge him to take time to reflect more carefully on whether this is a saving we can afford.
Since the foundation of the State, men and women of goodwill of all parties have striven to ensure that this nation would be a comfortable and welcoming home to all its citizens. At times we have failed in our duty to the Protestant community in this regard, but on the whole a young and poor country did its best. One of the success stories has been the recognition and support given to those schools which reflect the faith and values of our minorities. When the then Minister, Donogh O'Malley, introduced free education he understood that, for it to be a real rather than notional achievement, special regard would have to be given to those churches whose membership was spread thinly but more or less evenly throughout the State.
Our Constitution separates church and State but it also recognises the role of faith in society and the central right of parents to have their children educated in schools that share their values. As Deputy Hanafin said when she was Minister for Education and Science, "Since the foundation of the State, all parties and all Governments have supported such schools, largely to protect choice and the ethos of minorities." The attack by the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, on Protestant schools will have consequences which will make that choice more notional than practical. We will see a reduction in teacher numbers, an increase in class sizes, a diminution of subject choice and, ultimately, an increase in fees. The corrosive effect on the quality of education being offered by schools which today are excellent would be disastrous.
The Minister is quoted as saying he sees no reason that Protestant fee-paying schools should be treated differently from Roman Catholic ones. If that is his position, he needs to think again. Does he truly believe the same variety of school choice is available to Protestant parents as to those who send their children to Clongowes Wood College or Blackrock College? What about Wexford, Offaly, Laois, Clare, Tipperary, Kerry, Mayo, Leitrim, Longford and Westmeath? Half the counties in the Republic have no Protestant secondary schools. Does the Minister really believe this is analogous to Roman Catholic schools?
Outside the family, schools are the most important vehicle that exists for a minority to maintain its confessional identity and cohesion as a faith community. If this State is to be truly pluralist and value diversity in practice and not simply in theory, it cannot afford to be so careless in its treatment of Protestant schools.
There are those who welcome this measure. There are those who see it as a victory for a change in the organisation of Irish education. Before being flattered by siren voices, I advise the Minister to examine the sources of such support and then to sup with a long spoon. Some hope this move presages the first in a series that would question the role of faith in our schools of any colour. We have heard the usual suspects advocate the nationalisation and standardisation of all our schools. They call for the destruction of denominational education as sectarian and out of step with modernity. They disingenuously persuade us that excluding religion from our schools is a neutral choice rather than the explicit value judgment that it is. These most illiberal of liberals would take choice from the hands of parents where it properly resides, and give it over to a single State apparatus. The separation of church and State protects the state from theocracy but also protects the churches from the interference of the State. By extension, it protects the religion and practice of the citizen from control of the State. Just as we do not want the State in our bedrooms nor do we want it in our churches. Pluralism does not lie in the suppression of all difference and a McDonald's system of schooling, always the same everywhere. Difference is not dissonance. In the life of a nation as in music, variety of notes, tones and pitch makes for melody and true harmony. Pluralism is in the happy and respectful co-existence of diversity. I was in Gorey recently where there are five thriving primary schools, two Catholic, one Church of Ireland, a gaelscoil and an Educate Together. That is the joy of our parent-led system which can offer real value choice to parents. I believe that with time this kind of choice will extend across the country and give us an even better and more vibrant educational system.
That will only happen if the Minister and this Government commit to the value of diversity. It will only happen if the Minister believes the ethos of a school is intrinsic to it and is just as important as maths or physics in a child's education. As Dean Inge said, "The aim of education is the knowledge not of fact, but of values". For many Protestant parents, clearly the ethos of the school their children attend is far from a tack-on or a mere adjunct but lies at the core of the education they wish for their offspring. I urge the Minister to think again and respect the needs of these parents and children.
I wish to comment briefly on this issue, which is very important. We have been through recessions before and we have all made sacrifices before. It has been accepted always that the Protestant minority in this country has a particular ethos which has been protected since the foundation of this State despite all the trials and tribulations we have experienced. The support given by the State to Protestant schools is not elitism but an acceptance, even a tolerance, of religious diversity, not only in education but in our society as a whole.
The Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government took this action and therefore I must ask whether there has been an official change in policy within the Department of Education and Science such as we have not seen since the foundation of this State. I would like the Minister of State to give a comprehensive answer to the question asked by Senator John Paul Phelan.
I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who is unable to attend but sends his apologies.
I am pleased to be given the opportunity to clarify for this House the position with regard to the withdrawal of certain grants from Protestant fee-paying schools. The 2009 budget required difficult choices to be made across all areas of public expenditure. Decisions were made in order to control expenditure and ensure sustainability in the long term. In this respect, education, while protected to a much greater extent than most other areas of public expenditure, could not be entirely spared. The Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, acknowledges the impact of funding restrictions in a number of areas, including at school level. However, these are the inevitable results of the challenging international economic environment and the need to manage Exchequer resources.
With regard to the removal of certain support services grants received by Protestant fee-charging schools, the Minister wishes to re-emphasise that the Protestant block grant remains in place. Protestant fee-charging schools receive, and will continue to receive, this grant, which amounts to €6.25 million in the current school year. This payment covers capitation, tuition and boarding grants. It is distributed among needier Protestant children by the Secondary Education Committee. Applications are made by parents to the Central Protestant Churches Authority which, on the basis of a means test, distributes the funds to individual schools on the basis of pupil needs.
The retention of this grant demonstrates the importance that the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, and this Government, continue to attach to ensuring students of the Protestant faith can attend schools that reflect their denominational ethos. In retaining this grant, the Government is being faithful to the separate arrangements agreed with the Protestant schools when the free scheme was introduced by the former Minister for Education, Donogh O'Malley. At the time, the payment of the block grant for Protestant fee-charging schools distinguished those schools from the Catholic schools that chose to continue to charge fees.
It is estimated that savings of €2.8 million will accrue to the Department as a result of the withdrawal of support services grants from Protestant fee-charging schools in 2009. It is important to note that the purpose of these grants was not to offset fees for disadvantaged Protestant students but to cover a range of support services.
The Minister has had to take decisions on a number of grants that have impacted on the funding of schools generally. With the Protestant block grant remaining in place, the Minister can see no justification for treating the Protestant fee-charging schools in a special way, particularly given that Catholic fee-charging schools have not been in receipt of the grants in question.
The Minister has met with representatives of both the Church of Ireland Board of Education and the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland to discuss the funding position of Protestant fee-charging schools and the background to the decision to withdraw support services grants this year from Protestant fee-charging schools. He has expressed his willingness to consider any proposals that might be made to the Department that would enable the available funding to be focused and adjusted to meet more effectively the twin objectives of access for individuals and the sustaining of the dispersed schools that they wish to attend.
I thank the Senator for providing me with the opportunity to address the House on this matter and to outline the current position.
I realise the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, does not deal specifically with this issue but was answering the question today. I do not accept a word of what was said. The reality is that the Protestant community is small and spread throughout the country. The majority of communities in Ireland do not offer Protestant education. I speak in particular about an area I know, Kilkenny. Kilkenny College is the biggest Protestant boarding school in the country and students come from all over to attend it because both parents and students want an education in a Protestant ethos to which they are entitled. I understand the retention of the Protestant block grant although I do not believe the Government should take credit for retaining it.
The €2.8 million quoted is a paltry amount. To make such a saving at this juncture sends out an appalling signal to the minority community in this country. I speak as a past pupil of the Augustinian Good Counsel College in New Ross. Throughout the country there is a large variety of Catholic secondary schools and a diversity of other secondary schools, including community and VEC schools. However, when it comes to seeking a second-level education with a Protestant ethos that diversity does not exist. The removal of this grant, namely, these additional funds which covered a range of support services as the Minister of State noted, will lead to staff being laid off. I know this will happen in Kilkenny College where it will lead also to increased class sizes and to a less diverse education for students.
It is a direct attack on the Protestant community in this country and I regret the Government sought this target when it was looking for cutbacks in the budget. I understand the financial situation the country is in but to single out a particular community for such a grievous assault was unnecessary, unwarranted and downright wrong. In the further discussions he will have with the Church of Ireland Board of Education, I hope the Minister may be in a position to look at this. The one positive note in the Minister of State's reply was that the Minister is open to suggestions. Perhaps there will be some light at the end of the tunnel arising from those future negotiations.
As Senator Phelan pointed out, the public purse is under pressure. Savings had to be made across all sections of Exchequer spending and education was not spared although it was protected more than other areas. The Minister has expressed his willingness to consider any proposals that might come to his Department concerning the targeting of resources made available via the block grant. This might ensure that, despite the dispersed nature of education in Protestant schools, those concerned could come up with proposals which the Minister might consider.
Hospital Services.
I know Senator John Paul Phelan will support me fully on this issue. I want the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, in his reply on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, to make clear there has been no attempt to downgrade the accident and emergency services at Wexford General Hospital. Some concerns have been expressed recently that an attempt would be made to change the current 24-7 availability of accident and emergency services at that hospital. This concern is genuine. When I was Fine Gael spokesperson on health an attempt was made under the Hanly proposals to downgrade our accident and emergency department. Subsequently, there were supposed to be plans to expand this department when we had put Hanly to one side but that has not happened. There is concern at Wexford General Hospital, not only for the accident and emergency department but also because there have been bed closures there in recent weeks. We fought for years to get an additional 21 beds at the hospital and now 25 beds have been closed, so we are again in a negative situation.
There is concern that front-line services are taking a major hit, regardless of what the Government is saying at present. There is extreme difficulty in getting home helps, as I know from being both a political representative and a doctor. It is difficult to get additional home help hours for patients and hours for new patients at present. This does not relate just to the elderly but is happening in the disability sector as well. Respite beds are also restricted at a rate that has not been seen for many years.
I would like the Minister of State to deal with these issues in his reply in terms of the effects these cuts are having, not just on primary care. That includes services in the community provided by home helps, public health nurses and occupational therapists. I want him to confirm that the accident and emergency services at Wexford General Hospital will not be downgraded and that no attempts will be made to change this, either now or in the future. I would like a comprehensive reply from the Minister of State in that regard.
I thank the Senator. The Minister for Health and Children sends her apologies for not being able to attend the House to discuss the issues he has raised.
Wexford General Hospital provides comprehensive acute services to the 130,000 people living in County Wexford and to the thousands of tourists who visit the area each year. It benefits from a committed workforce who in 2009 will treat 15,400 patients, 6,500 day patients, 39,600 ED attendances and 2,400 mothers giving birth in the maternity unit. In addition, the hospital deals with almost 56,730 outpatient attendances.
The hospital has strong partnerships with colleagues working in primary, community and continuing care sectors and aims to provide patients with fully integrated services. I am pleased to say that a capital allocation to progress the design of a new front entrance and accident and emergency extension in 2009 has recently been approved. This amounts to some €7.75 million, with €400,000 to be expended in 2009.
The HSE anticipates approval to proceed to the next stage in 2010. In line with the national service plan 2009 and in accordance with the HSE's transformation programme, the executive will be reviewing the current configuration of acute hospital services in the south east. A steering group has recently been put in place to this end and is tasked with developing a plan for hospital reconfiguration that will deliver optimal and cost effective services easily, of high quality and delivered through centres of excellence. No decisions regarding the roles of services of any hospitals will be taken until this plan is completed through a process of broadly based consultation within the services. It is likely to be the end of 2009 or early 2010 before this review is completed and a plan is put in place. The Government is committed to ensuring the delivery of the best quality health services possible in an effective and efficient manner. Ensuring patient safety is of paramount importance so that people can have confidence in the services and the best possible patient outcomes can be achieved.
In summary, a review is being carried out and this will report towards the end of 2009 or early 2010. It will be a broadly based consultation with all the stakeholders providing services in that area.
I would like to clarify something the Minister of State said. There are excellent staff at Wexford General Hospital and it is a centre of excellence. I would ask the Government to stop using this term, "centres of excellence", as if hospitals were not centres of excellence apart from those specified as such. The services provided by Wexford General Hospital are of the highest standard. We accept that some procedures such as breast cancer and some gastrointestinal surgery are carried out at Waterford General Hospital because that is for the safety and benefit of patients. However, the services provided by Wexford General Hospital are excellent, as are the accident and emergency services. They are an integral part of the health service in Wexford at present.
The Minister of State is not talking about spending €7.5 million but rather €400,000 in 2009. I do not know who sits on the acute hospital transformation programme but if it reflects what has happened in the north east or at Ennis and Nenagh hospitals, although I know these are not comparable to Wexford General Hospital or St. Luke's in the south east, I would worry because such initiatives always mean a reduction in services and not necessarily the efficient use of resources. We can accept the transfer of certain services to a regional hospital, and I would prefer if the Government would use the term "regional hospital" rather than a centre of excellence, but we cannot accept the reduction in front-line services that affects patients in Wexford.
In the context of the capital allocation, funding for the accident and emergency entrance has been recently approved. Some €400,000 will be spent in 2009 and the rest of that budget will continue into the calendar year and the financial year of 2010. The commitment is made in the context of the provision of the new front entrance.
A steering group has been established and is assessing the provision of health services across a full range. The Senator is right in saying that centres of excellence can exist in different faculties and for different treatments. For example, there could be centres of excellence in the context of cardiology that may not be the same as those being provided in the treatment of cancer services. We can agree that a centre of excellence does not necessarily cover all areas of medical procedure. We will await the outcome of the steering group which will assess the best treatments for patients, indicating where services may best be used efficiently and wisely to ensure there is an integrated approach so that wherever services are located, patients can have confidence in them.