Written Answers Nos. 200-217
200. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of deaf children at a primary and post-primary level, who are participating in mainstream integrated education; the number of deaf children who are attending specialist schools for the deaf at a primary and secondary level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44697/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that in line with my Department's policy that children with special educational needs (SEN) access appropriate education intervention in mainstream settings where possible, many deaf/ hard of hearing pupils are integrated into mainstream classes at primary and post-primary level with the assistance, as necessary, of resource teaching and special needs assistant support. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) recently published comprehensive policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools. This policy advice is available at www.ncse.ie. This publication provides details of the disabilities which qualify for low-incidence resource hours and also details the approximate number of number of students for whom low incidence resource teaching hours were allocated to schools for the academic year 2012-13. This report details the allocation for resource teaching hours by disability category, and shows that there were 1,110 pupils in mainstream education in receipt of low incidence resource hours with a disability categorisation of Deafness/hearing impairment during the 2012 - 2013 school year. This includes 693 pupils at primary level and 417 pupils at post primary level. There are also 16 special classes for children with hearing impairment attached to mainstream schools, with 10 special classes being attached to mainstream primary schools, and 6 special class at post-primary level. The pupil teacher ratio for special classes for children who are deaf of hard of hearing is 7-1, which equates to provision for approximately 112 children being supported in special classes in mainstream schools, though the numbers attending special classes may vary throughout the year, as pupils transition between special class and mainstream education. In addition, the report also indicates that for the 2012/13 school year, there were approximately 120 children enrolled in the three special schools for the deaf. It is clear, therefore, that the majority of pupils who are deaf or hard of hearing are therefore now being educated in mainstream schools, either in mainstream classes with additional supports, or in special classes attached to mainstream schools. Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support is provided in these schools and classes, as required. An enhanced capitation grant is also provided to the special schools and special classes for hearing impaired pupils. Grant-aid is also provided to schools towards the provision of special equipment for pupils who are hard of hearing, such as sound field systems and radio aids. My Department also provides funding for a weekly home tuition service whereby tutors visit the homes of deaf and hard of hearing preschool children and school-going pupils to provide training in Irish Sign Language (ISL) for these children, their siblings and parents. In addition, the Visiting Teacher Service for Children and Young People with a Hearing Impairment is provided by my Department from the time of referral through to third level education. The Visiting Teacher service provides advice and support to ensure that the needs of children and young people with hearing impairment are met. This service is available at preschool, primary and post-primary levels. Specifically, the service works in partnership with parents of preschool children with hearing impairment, visiting their homes and/or meeting them in groups to inform, advise and offer guidance in matters pertaining to their education and overall development and in helping their children to derive maximum benefit from the educational opportunities available. Finally, I wish to advise that my Department, through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), has established and funds a Centre for Deaf Studies in Trinity College, Dublin which provides diploma courses for ISL/English interpreters, deaf tutors and in deaf studies. The course modules deal with issues such as sign linguistics, bilingualism and sociolinguistics of sign language. The course is delivered in seminar sessions/group work and the award of the diploma is based on continued assessment and a project and course design.
201. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children with special needs who have been able to avail of their legal right to an individual education plan; the level of collaboration between the Health Service Executive and his Department in ensuring that children with additional needs do not miss vital eduction milestones as a result of delays in the diagnosis process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44698/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra202. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide clarity on the rationale for the different entitlement models used between the Department of Health and his Department; the way the needs based approach used by the Department of Health, which is dependent on an assessment system characterised by delays, is creating delays for access to teaching supports and resources in mainstream education, which in turn is creating potentially unavoidable developmental delays in children who are already marginalised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44699/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 201 and 202 together.
I wish to firstly advise the Deputy that my Department provides for a continuum of special educational provision to be made available for children with special educational needs, so that regardless of the level of need of the child, educational provision can be made for them. My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools which have enrolled pupils with special educational needs in order to ensure that, wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education. These supports include an allocation of additional teaching support as well as additional resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) care supports which may be allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in respect of qualifying pupils. This facilitates access to individualised education programmes, fully qualified professional teachers, special needs assistants and the appropriate school curriculum. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) recently published comprehensive policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools. This policy advice is available at www.ncse.ie. This publication details that for the 2012/13 school year, there were approximately 31,202 pupils in mainstream education in receipt of resource teaching allocations. It also notes that for the 2012/13 school year that there were approximately 3,678 pupils attending special classes attached to mainstream schools, and 7094 pupils attending special schools. While provision of Individual Education Plans (IEPs) is not currently mandatory, they are recognised as an important feature of good educational practice and schools are encouraged to use IEPs through policy guidance, support, training and inspection. A range of guidance has issued on the use of IEPs, including guidelines published by the NCSE, guidance published by the National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS) and training is provided by my Department's Special Education Support Service. The advice of my Department's Inspectorate is that the majority of schools are now using some form of individual education planning for children with special needs. I wish to explain also that all primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Where a NEPS psychologist is not assigned to a school, authorities therein may access psychological assessments through SCPA. Under this scheme schools can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly. The NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department. The responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational resources to be allocated to pupils with special educational needs resides with the NCSE through the SENO.Assessment reports carried out by relevant professionals are provided by schools to the SENOs as part of the application process for support. The consideration of these reports is an integral part of determining the extent of supports to be provided for pupils with special educational needs. The NCSE circular 03/08 clarifies the respective roles and functions of the NCSE and the HSE and their respective personnel in carrying out assessments and sanctioning resources to support children with special educational needs. For children under the age of 5, the NCSE, through its network of SENOs, liaises with Assessment Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) in respect of the assessment of need process under the 2005 Disability Act, 2005. The Assessment Officer contacts the relevant SENO when an educational need is identified as part of the assessment process. My Department's Circular 0020/2011 further clarifies the roles of the NCSE and the HSE in relation to the assessment of need process, as well as the role of the school in this regard. This Circular is available on my Departments website at www.education.ie. I wish to advise that my Department will continue to support the co-ordinated delivery of services to families of children with special educational needs and will continue to work with service-providing partners in the health and disability sectors through the interdepartmental Cross-Sectoral Team (comprising of representatives of: the Departments of Education and Skills, Health and Children, the National Council for Special Education and the Health Service Executive), which plans for co-ordinated service delivery across the disability sector. Finally, I can advise that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) recently published comprehensive policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, which is available on its website www.ncse.ie. The report recommends that under a new resource allocation model proposed by the NCSE in the report, children should be allocated additional resources in line with their level of need, rather than by disability category. I have, as suggested by the Report, requested the NCSE to establish a Working Group to develop a proposal, for consideration, for a new model for the allocation of teaching supports for children with Special Educational Needs based on the profiled educational needs of children in schools.
203. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Skills the information or annual reports that are made to him relative to the funds allocated to Bus Éireann to operate the school transport system; if he will confirm the amounts allocated in each of the past four years; if his Department have ever carried out a value for money audit on the scheme; if he will confirm the sums paid to Bus Éireann for management services relative to this scheme; if the Bus Éireann auditors have made any comment on the profitability or otherwise of the scheme; if he is satisfied that there is sufficient transparency around the scheme relative to its operation and costs and cross subsidisation of Bus Éireann. [44720/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraBus Éireann, which operates school transport services on behalf of my Department, maintains a separate account for the School Transport Scheme. This account is audited each year by independent auditors and accounts in respect of the last number of years are available on my Department's website. Regular contact is maintained between Department and Bus Éireann school transport staff in the operation of the school transport scheme and the ongoing monitoring of expenditure profiles. The Department reimburses Bus Eireann for the costs incurred in operating the school transport scheme. The audited accounts for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 show that the total net amount chargeable to the Department was some €159.4m, €154m, €151.8m and €149.5m respectively. School Transport was the subject of a Value for Money Review carried out as part of the 2009-2011 round of Value for Money Reviews. The report of this review, which is available on my Department's website, looked in detail at the various cost factors impacting on the provision of school transport including the scale of provision for children with special educational needs, levels of parental choice and the eligibility criteria underpinning the scheme. The administration heading, or transport management charge, amounted to €18.7m, €18,2m €16.7m and €15m in respect of 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. A breakdown of the 2010 and 2011 charge is available on my Department's website. The confirmation provided by the Bus Éireann auditors relates to the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the Summary of Accounting Arrangements of 1 January 1975. On taking office I enhanced the transparency of the scheme by ensuring that the Bus Éireann school transport audited accounts for a number of years were made publicly available on the Department website together with details of the transport management charge. Bus Éireann has confirmed that it does not cross subsidise commercial services from the operation of the School Transport Scheme.
204. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the proposed amalgamation of a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; the date on which it will happen; the exact details of this proposal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44729/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm for the Deputy that the two primary schools to which he refers were in contact with my Department in 2009 regarding a proposed amalgamation. The two school authorities subsequently contacted the Department to advise that as no common ground could be found between the respective school authorities at that time, a decision was taken by them to defer the amalgamation and to continue with the process the following academic year. No further communication has been received by my Department in respect of this proposed amalgamation. All agreed amalgamation proposals must be submitted to my Department for approval. Those proposals that may have major capital implications can only be considered within the context of my Department's capital budget and the challenges facing my Department in meeting national demographic demands.
205. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide the full-year effect of all expenditure reductions for his Department as set out in the expenditure report 2014, as provided for in the expenditure report 2013. [44744/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information requested by the Deputy is contained in the following table.
|
Savings Measure |
2014 |
F/Year |
|
Reduction in allocation to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) |
€25m |
0 |
|
Abolish €20 long-term unemployment bonus paid to FAS, VTOS and Youthreach participants (new entrants) |
€2m |
€7m |
|
Require FAS apprentices to pay pro-rata Student Services Charge proportionate to the percentage of time they spend in IOTs. |
€1m |
€1m |
|
Savings arising from adjustments in cases where FAS training course participants can receive concurrent DES and DSP payments. |
€5m |
€5m |
206. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 69 and 70 of 15 October 2013, if he will clarify if it is the position of his Department not to answer parliamentary questions in instances where freedom of information requests are being considered and-or where confidentiality agreements have been signed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44822/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Deputy's questions in their essence relate to the publication of a report entitled " Review of the overhead costs and indirect costs for the administration of the school transport scheme". In my reply I correctly pointed out that the report in question was compiled in the context of a confidentiality agreement between the authors and Bus Éireann. Given this fact, and the fact that the report has been sought under the provision of the FOI legislation, it is both reasonable and appropriate that the issue of publication be considered and dealt with in that context.
207. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons in counties Cavan and Monaghan participating in the vocational training opportunities scheme in the college years 2012-13 and 2013-14; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44892/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department allocates 80 places on the Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) annually to Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board. A total of 80 learners participated on VTOS courses in those counties in the 2012/2013 academic year and there are 80 learners participating on VTOS courses in the current academic year, 2013/2014.
208. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when the Construction Contracts Bill will come into force; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44297/13]
Amharc ar fhreagra209. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount a contract needs to be worth for it to be covered under the Construction Contracts Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44298/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 208 and 209 together.
The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce new legislation to protect small building subcontractors that have been denied payments from bigger companies. In this regard, Minister of State Brian Hayes worked closely with Senator Feargal Quinn to develop the Senator’s private member’s Construction Contracts Bill into a robust piece of legislation. I believe that there is considerable support both inside and outside the Dáil for these reforms. The Act which is subject to a Commencement Order, to allow for the development of a comprehensive code of practice, was signed into law on the 29 July 2013.
The key objective of the Construction Contracts Act is to ensure that cash flows down the supply chain on all construction contracts. This issue is addressed in the Act by providing statutory arrangements in relation to payments under construction contracts, including providing for interim payments. This will reduce the subcontractor’s exposure to non-payment. The Bill also provides the means for subcontractors to enforce these rights; by suspending their labour and by introducing a new mechanism for the swift resolution of payment disputes through a process of adjudication.
The Bill applies to contracts with an overall value €10,000 or more. It is important to understand that the amount that is subject to a payment dispute can be lower than this. Therefore subcontractors will be free to refer payment disputes relating to lesser amounts to adjudication. For example if a contract with an overall value of €11,000 gives rise to a payment dispute for €1,000 this will come within the scope of the legislation.
This is an important piece of legislation aimed at creating a more level playing field between contractor and subcontractor in the construction sector. This legislation is a priority for Government. In this regard, my officials are current working on the code of practice that will deliver a timely and cost effective adjudication procedure and to give effect to the legislation.
210. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the steps that have been taken to make the former Garda station on the North Road, Finglas, available to the local community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44427/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commissioners of Public Works have granted a licence to Finglas Childcare Limited in respect of using the former Garda Station on the North Road in Finglas as a creche. To facilitate this development, it was necessary to remove the existing redundant communications mast and complete minor reinstatement works. It is anticipated that these works will be completed by the end of this week.
211. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when a decision will be made in relation to the sale of the disused Garda station in Lettermore, County Galway, which was to be put up for sale in a bundle of 20 Garda stations by the summer; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44679/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Office of Public Works is completing the appointment of an estate agent who will manage the disposal of the Lettermore Garda Station.
212. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which the numbers visiting various heritage sites throughout the country continues to be monitored by his Department; if any particular or specific promotion is required in respect of notable sites; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44792/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Office of Public Works (OPW) has a variety of visitor sites across the country. Some sites are open all year, and some are open for part of the year, mainly for the spring and summer seasons. The OPW has a number of visitor sites that have free access but do not have a guided presence and consequently, visitor numbers are not recorded at these sites. An example of such a site would be St. Stephen's Green. Similarly, visitors to some of our guided sites are only recorded if they enter the visitor centre of that site. For example, Glendalough monastic site may be accessed freely, without entering the visitor centre.
Visitor numbers at guided sites, centrally recorded on the basis of returns submitted from individual heritage sites, are categorised under a number of headings and are then collated on a weekly and monthly basis, culminating in an overall annual figure. A comparison of the provisional 2013 visitor numbers up to the end of September, against the corresponding 2012 figures shows an increase in visitor numbers in the more well known sites such as Kilmainham Gaol, the Rock of Cashel, Kilkenny Castle, Clonmacnoise, Brú na Bóinne and the National Botanic Gardens, with some notable increases in some of the OPW's lesser known sites such as Altamount Gardens, Glebe House and Gallery, Maynooth Castle, Ennis Friary, Emo Court, Casino Mario, Loughcrew, Desmond Hall, Roscrea Heritage, Listowel Castle and Scattery Island. These increases come on the back of an increase of almost 11% in visitor numbers between 2011 and 2012 in respect of all of our visitor sites. The monitoring of visitors to the OPW's heritage sites plays, and will continue to play, an important part in the development of policies and strategies relating to the heritage sector.
Generally speaking, no specific promotion is required in respect of our most notable sites; visitors continue to be attracted in large numbers to such sites. One of the many challenges that faces the OPW is to entice such visitors to travel on to our lesser known sites, and indeed to increase overall visitor numbers at these sites, thereby spreading the benefits of tourism right across the country. In late July/early August, the OPW undertook a national advertising and flyer distribution campaign to coincide with the roll out of our Facebook Heritage Ireland page; this was complimentary to the ongoing promotion of our sites. The OPW will continue in its efforts to attract more and more visitors to our heritage sites, in line with government policy, that the heritage tourism sector will be one of the main growth areas in the future economic development of this country.
213. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the new location for the general register research facility (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44362/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Commissioners of Public Works held a lease on a premises in the Irish Life Mall which accommodated the General Register Office (GRO). The Commissioners of Public Works availed of the opportunity to exit this lease and this move will yield an annual saving of €1.5 million for the Exchequer.
After a long period of consultation with the management of the General Register Office and an examination of a number of property options in Dublin city, a State owned property in Werburgh Street was chosen.
The fit out of the new office was carried out in consultation with the staff and management of the GRO. The requirements outlined by the GRO for the Werburgh Street premises were fully addressed in the fit out of the building.
214. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the position regarding the Freedom of Information Bill (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44693/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI understand that this question relates to a concern that Section 17(4) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill 2013 as published might have unintended effects on FOI requests for electronic records.
An important priority in the Bill is in fact to update and modernise the legislative framework for FOI so that it supports and facilitates requests for electronic records. Subject to further consultation with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and consideration by Government I propose to make an amendment to section 17(4) in order to ensure that it has the desired effect and is expressed in clear and straightforward legal terms.
215. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide the full-year effect of all expenditure reductions for his Department as set out in the expenditure report 2014, as provided for in the expenditure report 2013. [44751/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s budget and staffing allocation reflects its strategy of delivering well managed and well-targeted public spending, delivered through modernised, effective and accountable public services. While savings have accrued due to the transfer of certain functions and pay reductions across the group, these are offset due to the significant start-up costs of the shared services and the transfer of maintenance service costs to OPW.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, together with the Shared Services and Office of Government Procurement functions, continues to deliver key outputs set out in the Public Service Reform Plan which was published in November 2011. This investment in the Government’s reform agenda will yield longer term cost savings and facilitate service continuity in a smaller and leaner Public Service. When these centres are fully operational, annual savings targets are estimated as follows:
- Office of Government Procurement - The procurement reform programme is targeting up to €500m of much needed savings for tax payers over the next 3 years.
- Peoplepoint (transactional HR) - €12.5m
- Payroll Shared Services (transactional payroll and pension services) - €5.6m
My Department has also collaborated with the Department of Finance to achieve administrative efficiencies within our shared facilities, particularly in the accommodation footprint.
216. Deputy Olivia Mitchell asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation when it is envisaged that the referendum to ratify the EU agreement setting up the Unified Patent Court will be held; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44099/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is currently examining the potential options for Ireland’s participation in the Unified Patent Court and the implications of each policy option. When all of these options, including cost considerations, have been fully considered, the matter will be presented to Government for consideration and decision as to the most efficient and effective means for Ireland to participate in the Court. This process is running in parallel with intergovernmental level negotiations among the contracting parties that signed the UPC Agreement in February of this year.
Under this intergovernmental framework, a number of working groups have been set up to establish the working methods and modalities of the Court including issues such as the legal Rules of Procedure of the Court, budget and financing of the Court, IT systems as well as the training and remuneration of Judges to be appointed to the Court. This involves a very significant agenda of work which will better inform Ireland’s options as to our participation in the Court.
Therefore, the timing of the referendum will, in the first instance, be predicated on the pace of progress made in the intergovernmental negotiations during 2014. It will then be a matter for Government to decide on the precise date of any referendum and of course, this may also be influenced by the extent to which there are other issues or aspects of the Constitution that require a decision of the people.
217. Deputy Dessie Ellis asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide in tabular form a list of the countries of origin of all bodies which took part in Industrial Development Agency visits in 2012 and to the end of September 2013; the counties they visited and the number of jobs that resulted from these visits. [44215/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraDetails of IDA Ireland sponsored site visits by potential investors categorised by country of origin for the year 2012 and up to the end of September 2013 are set out in the tabular statement.
As potential investors can often visit more than one county and more than one location within a county during a particular itinerary, tracking of the number of site visits on a country of origin and on a county by county basis would not give a true reflection of the actual number of visits made.
There is always a time lag, often stretching over many years, between a site visit and a consequential investment announcement. A potential investor may pay more than one visit to a particular location and negotiations between IDA Ireland and a potential client can take a prolonged period of time to conclude. This often means that though a site visit may take place in one year, any resulting investment may not take place until the following year or later.
The Forfás Annual Employment Survey which reports on the jobs lost and gained in the enterprise development agencies shows that in 2012 there were 12,722 new jobs created in IDA client companies. The employment figures for 2013 will not be available until year end.
Table showing the number of site visits by Country of Origin for 2012 and from January 2013 to the end of September 2013
|
Country/Territory of Origin |
2012 |
To end September 2013 |
|
USA |
177 |
159 |
|
Europe |
68 |
55 |
|
China |
11 |
17 |
|
India |
20 |
12 |
|
Brazil |
2 |
2 |
|
Russia |
1 |
8 |
|
Australia |
5 |
6 |
|
Japan |
8 |
9 |
|
Seoul |
1 |
0 |
|
Singapore |
2 |
4 |
