Written Answers Nos. 144 - 152
144. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide in tabular form a breakdown on a yearly basis of the legal and travel costs his Department has incurred as a result of litigation in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the General Court in Luxembourg and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from the years 2005 to 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23311/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere were no costs incurred by my Department in respect of the need to travel to either Luxembourg or Strasbourg for litigation purposes, during the period 2005-2012.
145. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 428 and 429 in which he stated that tuition was further approved for the child to which the Deputy has referred until the date that the new class physically opened on the basis that he was unable to access placement during this period, if he will provide a copy of the documentation sent to the parent that recorded this approval of the home tuition at that time. [23322/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra146. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 428 and 429 if he will clarify his answer in which he stated that the National Council for Special Education identified placements for the children referred to by him in June 2011 in view of meeting (details supplied); if he will provide a copy of the actual documentation that records when these apparent placements were communicated to the parents from June 2011 or subsequently after that date. [23323/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra147. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 428 and 429 if he will clarify his answer where he stated that his approval was provided notwithstanding that the child had not been enrolled by then and remains not enrolled in the school despite the identification of the placement by confirming that this school had in place on or before 17 October 2011, that is, the date on which the home tuition ceased, a school policy covering the ASD unit in line with the requirements of the 1998 Education Act and that a copy of this policy had been sent to the parent on or before 17 October 2011 as had been requested by the parent. [23324/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 145 to 147, inclusive, together.
Copies of the documentation requested by the Deputy can be released to her once she has obtained and provided to the relevant section in my Department the appropriate consent from the parent in question. As outlined to the Deputy previously the NCSE identified placements in June 2011 for the children to whom she referred in her April parliamentary question on the issue. Home tuition was approved for these children for a 4 week period from the start of the 2011/2012 school year as the placements previously identified by NCSE had been assigned to other children and were no longer available.
The meeting referred to by the Deputy took place in July 2011 at which point parents in attendance were advised of a number of placements available. Some placements identified earlier to parents were at this point no longer available. Following this meeting a number of additional placements were identified by the NCSE. One of these placements was in a special classes for autism approved by NCSE. While this placement was identified in September 2011, it did not open until December 2011 as the school needed additional time to prepare itself. In the light of this, Home Tuition was further approved for the child to whom the Deputy has referred until the date that the new class physically opened on the basis that he was unable to access placement during this period. This approval was provided notwithstanding that the child had not been enrolled by then and could not have attended on 14th of October because of this fact. Enrolment of the child in the school was a matter for the parents of the child and the school's Board of Management. The availability of the school's documented policies to the parent is a matter for the school and the parents.
148. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the concerns of boards of management and parents' associations of smaller fee-charging schools in relation to the increase in the pupil-teacher ratio; if his attention has been drawn to the serious impact such increases will have on such schools, particularly schools under the patronage of Protestant Churches; his views on whether such schools provide a very important educational resource for many children in rural areas; the proposals, if any, he has to assist such schools remain viable; his views on whether those schools play an important role in the plurality and diversity in educational provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23325/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government has protected frontline services in schools to the greatest extent possible in the recent budget and there will be no reduction in teacher numbers in primary schools and in free second level schools for the 2013/14 school year as a result of the recent budget. The DEIS scheme for disadvantaged schools is also fully protected with no overall changes to staffing levels or funding as a result of the budget. However, at a time of severely reduced resources, priorities have to be made. In an effort to ensure fairness in the education system, the PTR in fee charging second level schools will rise by two points to 23:1 in September 2013.
However, these schools have the resources, through fees charged, to employ teachers privately. This is an option which is not available to schools in the free education scheme. A report on the analysis of the tuition income of fee-charging schools carried out by my Department was recently published and shows that the schools in question have €81m in discretionary income that schools in the free scheme do not have. It is important to note that the report does not contain any policy proposals at this stage. However, even after the Budget changes are implemented, the discretionary income available to these schools will still be quite considerable.
I would like to assure the Deputy that this Government recognises the importance of ensuring that students from a Protestant or reformed church background can attend a school that reflects their denominational ethos while at the same time ensuring that funding arrangements are in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. With regard to the fee-charging Protestant schools, an arrangement exists whereby funding is provided by my Department to the Secondary Education Committee (SEC), an organisation run by the churches involved in managing the Protestant secondary schools. The SEC then disburses funds to the Protestant fee-charging schools on behalf of pupils who would otherwise have difficulty with the cost of fees and who, in the absence of such financial support, would be unable to attend a second level school of a reformed church or Protestant ethos. Funding amounts to €6.5 million annually. This fund ensures that necessitous Protestant children can attend a school of their choice.
149. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will expedite the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23326/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.
152. Deputy Andrew Doyle asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide in tabular form a breakdown on a yearly basis of the legal and travel costs his Department has incurred as a result of litigation in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the General Court in Luxembourg and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg from the years 2005 to 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23318/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn response to the Deputy’s question I can confirm that no staff, since the formation of my Department, attended the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the General Court in Luxembourg or the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg as a result of litigation in 2011 and 2012.
