Brendan Smith
Ceist:1 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he is considering the re-designation of institutes of technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25609/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraInstitutes of Technology
Ceisteanna (1)
Freagraí ó Béal (7 píosaí cainte)
The national strategy for higher education to 2030 lays out a clear development pathway for amalgamated institutes of technology which meet specified performance criteria to seek redesignation as universities. A small number of new technological universities, with their own legislative framework and a distinct mission that is faithful to the ethos of the technological sector, working with existing universities, institutes of technology and other education providers, can enrich the quality of the higher education landscape. I have asked the Higher Education Authority for its formal advice on draft performance criteria and it is engaged in a consultation process in this regard. I expect to be in a position to publish the criteria before the end of December. Once a process is in place, it will be open to institutes of technology to come together to make applications for consideration for redesignation. All applications will be considered as part of an independent assessment process.
This question is of the utmost importance, particularly for the south east in view of the very disappointing news of the major loss of employment in Waterford with the closure of the TalkTalk facility. When does the Minister expect the HEA to sign off on the relevant performance criteria? Will he encourage the institutes of technology to work together to achieve university status? Is that his view at this stage? At the end of March, in reply to a question from Deputy Halligan, he was clear in stating he did not want rebranding or relabelling of institutes of higher education. I totally agree. Following a Government meeting in early September, it was reported in the national press that the Government would accelerate the provision of a new technological university in Waterford, following the announcement of the job losses mentioned. Is the Minister taking a different view now with regard to the needs of the south east than he did earlier in the year?
I am not taking a different view, but I am conscious of the urgency of the criteria being published because of what has happened in the south-east region. That is why, since the most recent job loss tragedy in the area with the TalkTalk job losses, I have asked the HEA to accelerate the finalisation and publication of the criteria. As I said, I hope to have them by December and by December I mean before Christmas.
Does the Minister expect the criteria to be forwarded to him by December?
I have asked the HEA to get them to me as early as possible, that is, this side of Christmas. Then it would be a matter — if I can anticipate the Deputy's question — for all of the institutes, specifically Waterford which has been to the forefront in this matter. The Deputy knows the history. The institute in Waterford was redesignated and as a consequence of that decision, others sought similar designations and the entire sector was lifted.
In the context of the problem in the south east, as it manifested itself recently and as was said at the Cabinet, the Hunt report addressed this issue in general and stated a technological university could and possibly would be an option, provided the institutes coming together changed the substance of the activity in the new entity, as distinct from simply changing the name. That is where we are. Let us see what the criteria specify and take it from there.
All of us are conscious of the linkage between the provision of higher education, whether at institute of technology, further education or university level, and commercial activity. The needs of the south east are pressing. Will it be the Minister's role to sign off on the criteria subsequent to the HEA submitting them to his Department? Does he expect to be in a position, in the spring, to set down specific criteria for possible redesignation of institutes of technology?
The HEA is not the decision-making body, as the Deputy knows from his own Cabinet experience. It will make recommendations setting out the criteria on which the Government will decide. I will bring the recommendations to the Cabinet and decide on them because of the importance of the matter. I will do this sooner rather than later.
Special Educational Needs
Ceisteanna (2)
Seán Crowe
Ceist:2 Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will investigate the possibility of giving additional special needs assistance support to help three children with severe learning and physical disability who have recently enrolled at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; if the current inadequate allocation of SNA support to this school contradicts commitments from him that newly enrolled children with special needs will receive adequate SNA support. [25631/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (3 píosaí cainte)
The overall level of special needs assistant, SNA, support in the special school in Kildare, referred to by the Deputy, is being reviewed by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The school is a special school for pupils with moderate general learning difficulties and severe to profound learning difficulties and also has a number of classes for pupils with autism. The NCSE will assess the care needs of the new pupils in the context of the overall care needs of current pupils and also take into account the existing levels of SNA support available to the school. Notwithstanding the outcome of this review, it is the position of both my Department and the NCSE that, given the exceptionally high levels of teaching and support staff which have been allocated to the school, it has sufficient existing supports to provide for the teaching and care requirements of all of the children enrolled in the school, pending the completion of the review.
We have addressed the issue of special needs assistants on previous occasions. I approach it today from the angle of a special needs school. Following the "Prime Time" programme on this issue, more people have contacted public representatives. The Minister has said his Department believes the school in question has sufficient special needs assistants in its system. That, in itself, is creating a problem. Parents say they are being told there are sufficient SNAs within the school structure. They and I understood that the matter was under review.
An SNA is assigned to an individual child and my question refers to three specific children. When the school originally applied for SNAs for them, it was told the support would not be made available. One of the children has CINCA syndrome and Down's syndrome. He also has cardiac defects that require further surgery, pulmonary hypertension and chronic lung disease. He uses a hearing aid and a wheelchair, wears nappies and cannot walk or talk. For some reason, he has been assessed as not needing a special needs assistant. The other two children also have difficulties and the parents believe the system has failed them.
I ask this question because we have failed these children in the past. I recognise the Minister's difficulty with regard to the provision of SNAs, but problems continue to arise. Does the system need to be changed? Perhaps I will have a better understanding when I have more experience on the select committee dealing with education issues and see the broader educational needs. However, the parents and I do not understand why this problem cannot be solved. Is the system archaic, or does it not lend itself to being understood? More and more families are contacting me and other public representatives. We need to make the system simpler. It does not seem to be responding to the needs of the child, and that is where I am coming from in this question. It is one school, but it could be any school.
I understand the Deputy's interest and his genuine concern, which I share in respect of all children with special needs. There are currently 56 pupils enrolled in the school, of whom three pupils have been allowed to attend only on a partial or limited basis by the school management and board, pending a review by the NCSE of SNA allocation levels. The school is seeking to have that level increased and the NCSE is considering it. The school has 56 pupils with special needs and there are ten teachers, 20 full-time SNAs and one part-time SNA. An SNA is not necessarily assigned full time to a particular pupil. They are not personal assistants; they help in certain areas.
The NCSE has received a request from that school, which has stated that these are highly dependent children, as the Deputy has indicated, and it is up to the NCSE to decide professionally if an extra SNA support is necessary. We have the capacity to allocate that from the 10% kept back in May and June. I do not know when the review by the NCSE will be completed, but on foot of what the Deputy has raised, I will try to ensure this is accelerated as quickly as possible.
School Transport
Ceisteanna (3)
Luke 'Ming' Flanagan
Ceist:3 Deputy Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the methods being employed under the school transport scheme in order to guarantee that certain services are terminated under the ten pupil rule; if he will agree that this application of the eligibility criteria unfairly excludes some families in view of the fact that when it comes to eligibility under the scheme, the distance from the school is measured from door to door even though the children in question have never been picked up from their houses; and if he will review its application. [25437/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)
The school transport scheme is a scheme of national application. To be eligible for school transport, there is a minimum distance requirement of 3.2 km in the case of primary children and 4.8 km in the case of post-primary children.
The methodology used by Bus Éireann to establish eligibility based on distance has not changed. It is and always has been the distance from the child's home to the nearest appropriate school by the shortest traversable route. The actual point at which children are picked up on a school bus route is not, and never has been, a relevant factor in determining eligibility.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. The actual point at which children are picked up should be a relevant factor in determining eligibility. The idea behind it was to try to save money, because there is certainly a shortage of money, but the children in this case were never picked up from their house. Their pick-up point is within the criteria. When they asked if the children could be picked up from the house over the last few years, because it was causing a problem for them, they were told "No". When it suits, the company will use one distance and when it does not suit it will use another.
One of the children will miss 19 days of school between now and Christmas as a result of this, unless the mother or father gives up work. The alternative is to get a taxi, which will cost €150 a month. The family has offered to pay extra if that is what it takes to get on the bus, but they have been told that unless there are ten pupils on the bus, the extra money cannot be paid. I do not think they are being treated fairly. This is leaving the family in an awful situation. The message being sent out is that the Government is encouraging someone to give up a job and paying taxes that help to pay for these services, in order to justify some ideology.
I fear the idea behind this plan is just to get rid of many of these schools by making it completely unfeasible for them to survive, which is not fair at the end of the day. If there is any hope that our area is to develop, all of this infrastructure will be needed there. Bit by bit, there is a downward spiral until eventually we will have tumbleweed going through these areas and absolutely nothing else.
A bit of fairness is required here. Where the bus picks them up is within the required distance; it does not pick them up from the house so why measure it from the house?
There is no ideological hang up as to how this scheme is applied. The practice whereby school transport is limited to children living beyond a certain distance from a school is the international norm. It is practised in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and in most countries in Europe. At a time of very scarce resources, it is important to focus the school transport regime on those that are most in need of it, namely, those who live furthest away from the school. Having said that, Deputy Flanagan seems to be referring to a particular case which I am having difficulty understanding. If he relays the details of the case to me I will undertake to examine it closely and see can we arrive at a solution.
I will definitely do that because I note the Minister of State said it is a time of scarce resources. If this continues, there will be even fewer resources, because there will be another person not working as a result.
Thank you Deputy. Will you give the Minister of State the appropriate information?
I will indeed.
Further Education and Training
Ceisteanna (4)
Brendan Smith
Ceist:4 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made to date in establishing SOLAS; when he expects this process to be complete; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25610/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (6 píosaí cainte)
In July the Government announced the establishment of SOLAS as a key element in the development of the further education and training sector. The SOLAS implementation group has been established to implement the changes. It met on 31 August and again yesterday. I am chairing the group and its membership includes officials from the Department of Education and Skills, FÁS and the Irish Vocational Education Association. The group is preparing an action plan and will report soon to the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and jobs. The action plan will be the subject of consultation with stakeholders before finalisation. The group has met twice and made progress on key elements such as the organisational mission, structure, staffing, funding and legislation for the new authority. Given the complex elements involved, including the legislation, it is expected that the process of establishing SOLAS will be completed by the end of 2012.
I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I had the opportunity at the committee and elsewhere to welcome the Government decision to establish SOLAS and to give the further education sector a particular entity of its own. Surely urgency is not being attached to the establishment of SOLAS if the implementation group meets at three weekly intervals. I know that constant meetings just for the sake of it are not fruitful, but surely an agenda should be set and achievements arrived at more regularly than every three weeks.
Is the Minister of State satisfied the implementation group is representative enough of all the different interests in the further education sector and SOLAS? Why is there no representation from the CEOs' association? Why is there no representation from the Adult Education Officers' Association? My understanding is that the vast majority of people working in the vocational educational sector at teaching and lecturing level are members of the Teachers Union of Ireland. Why are they not represented? My understanding is that most of the administrative staff in our vocational education sector are members of IMPACT. Surely there is a need to have those particular representative organisations involved in the implementation group.
What I am getting at the moment, from both the people in the VEC sector and people in FÁS, is an amount of uncertainty about the future. None of us wants to see uncertainty develop in an area where there is an urgent need to re-skill and up-skill people and to deal with the very important area of training and preparing people for employment opportunities.
I want to assure the Deputy there is a serious urgency attached to the national roll out of SOLAS. The summer break was the reason for the three week hiatus between 31 August and yesterday, and we plan to meet every two weeks from now on. We have also established a number of subgroups within the implementation group which will oversee certain elements of the change management process, and these are very considerable indeed.
In respect of representation on the SOLAS implementation group, I have always been an advocate of keeping it small and effective. There are nine people around the table in the group. We are charged with making this happen. I would argue that the VEC sector is well represented on the implementation group by Michael Moriarty of the IVEA and CEO of one of the VECs who is on a rotating basis with fellow CEOs across the country. FÁS is also well represented by its CEO and another senior staff member.
We plan to engage all the organisations mentioned by the Deputy in a comprehensive submission and consultation process. We will first seek written submissions from all those affected, after which we will hold a day of discussion and debate on what exactly SOLAS should set out to achieve. We are anxious that this will be an inclusive process. The message I am receiving from FÁS and the IVEA is that both organisations are extremely happy with the way the process is developing, very much buy into the establishment of SOLAS and are excited about what it hopes to achieve in the coming years.
I did not for one moment suggest that the different interest groups are unhappy with the proposal as it is my understanding that they welcome it. The Minister of State did not mention that a CEO was participating in the group. It is not always the case that a small group can achieve more. It is important that all interests are represented. It is not a matter of deciding that half a dozen or a dozen people will be involved but of ensuring that all interests in the sector are represented. The last thing we want in this process is a lack of information to any of the stakeholders, all of whom must be updated on a constant basis and know that the issue is being treated with the utmost urgency.
A target date must be set. The Minister of State indicated that the process would be complete by the end of 2012. We were informed on Committee Stage of the relevant legislation that it would be largely complete within that timeframe. The use of the word "largely" provides for the typical public service way out should something go wrong. I would prefer if a specific target date was set and met, barring some unforeseen circumstances arising. Those who are unhappy with the current architecture for training and further education want the new architecture put in place as rapidly as possible.
I reiterate that the Department is treating this matter with extreme urgency. I am an advocate of the motto "small is beautiful" in respect of implementation and committees. I made a presentation to the IVEA conference outlining what SOLAS sets out to achieve and two weeks ago I had a meeting with the board of FÁS at which I also set out what we hope to achieve through SOLAS. I am anxious to be as inclusive as possible and will seek and act on submissions from all interest groups and everybody who will be part of this serious change management process.
The target of the end of 2012 is a tough one. From previous Cabinet experience, the Deputy will be aware of the torturous and lengthy legislative process involved in getting such a change management process through the Houses of the Oireachtas. That will be the slowest part of the process but we will not sit back and wait for it to conclude. In parallel with the legislative programme, we will set in train a serious change management programme, primarily between FÁS and the vocational education committees. We hope to select one reasonably typical VEC and establish a pilot programme to determine how the machinery and architecture of FÁS and the VECs will come together on a practical, day-to-day basis to make the roll-out of SOLAS as streamlined and smooth as possible.
Speaking on behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party, I do not believe the Houses of the Oireachtas will delay the proposals, which I am sure other parties will also support.
School Books
Ceisteanna (5)
Seán Crowe
Ceist:5 Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the efforts to introduce a nationwide book lending scheme in primary and post primary schools. [25632/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (5 píosaí cainte)
As the Deputy will be aware, I am keen to examine if there are ways to encourage schools to establish or maintain book rental schemes, using funding from the book grant scheme. I believe this to be one of the most effective ways of lowering the burden of the cost of school books. I have invited the national parents councils at primary and post-primary levels to provide me with examples of good practice of book rental schemes. Drawing on the experiences and perspectives of both schools and parents, I intend to issue general advice to schools on the operation of book rental schemes. I anticipate that the guidelines for schools will set down some underlying principles, address practical issues for schools and parents and provide examples of good practice in the operation of book rental schemes.
We all support the Minister on this issue. He stated earlier this year that he intended to meet publishers in a bid to have them implement more ethical practices in the area of school book costs. The cost of uniforms is a linked issue. When will the cost of sending a child to school be reduced? As this is September, school books and uniforms have been bought for the school year. People had hoped steps would be taken to address the cost of school books and uniforms prior to the school year commencing. While that may have been an unreasonable expectation, it was widespread. What progress has been made on introducing a nationwide book lending scheme and reducing the cost of school uniforms? What is the timescale for implementing such a scheme? Will it be in place next year? The costs of some books and uniforms are crazy. Parents who have to fork out €50 for a child's jumper tell me they have never spent €50 on a jumper for themselves. Some of them have to buy uniforms for two or three kids.
To the best of my knowledge none of my predecessors took an interest in this matter and no initiative was taken at a political level in Marlborough Street to address it. It was regarded as an issue for schools and parents, which is not a view I share. We must intervene. If a school book rental scheme is in place, the likelihood of individual teachers at post-primary level changing, for example, a geography textbook after five, six or seven years is diminished because the geography teacher would have to persuade the person who is managing the book rental scheme, let us say in the case of a school with three streams, to change 90 books at €10 or €15 per book. There is a double benefit in that parents will participate in the scheme and the likelihood of changeover and additional costs can be diminished. Elements of geography do not change as the shape of Ireland or height of Carrauntohill remain the same.
We want to find what is best practice. We do not know what is the position at primary school level. Every October a type of census letter is sent out to each primary school to gather information which, among other things, determines the allocation of teachers based on pupil numbers. We are writing separately to post-primary schools and including in the census letter a specific question on whether the school has a book rental scheme. As the Deputy will be aware, there are small and large schools in the primary sector. I hope to have the information by Christmas. I will analyse it and I hope to initiate a process to have the scheme established before the end of the academic year, in other words, before June of next year, in the primary and post-primary sectors. We are making informal inquiries as regards what can be done with regard to school uniforms. I recognise that both school books and uniforms, which were items of extreme cost in good times, are a significant burden in these challenged times.
A survey carried out by the Irish Association of Credit Unions found the cost of sending a child to school to be approximately €400 per annum. We no longer have lots of money. Is it possible to fast-track this process? We all accept that parents have been ripped off when buying school uniforms. Cartels are operating in relation to sales of uniforms for many schools. This is wrong and must change. If necessary the Minister should use every power available to him, including the withholding of funds, to force certain school boards to move into the 21st century.
As the academic year starts in autumn and finishes in June, we have only one window, as it were, to introduce the change. It cannot be done in mid-term. It is a little like the all-Ireland final. As the people of Kerry know, they will have to wait 12 months before they can have another crack at it. I hope to be in a position to have the two issues the Deputy raises addressed for the next academic year.