Written Answers Nos. 137-160
137. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Waterford will receive treatment for Dupuytren's contracture, having waited four and a half year for assessment; the format this treatment will entail, that is, injection or surgery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5181/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn relation to the particular patient query raised by you, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to you directly. If you have not received a reply from the HSE within 15 working days please contact my Private Office and my officials will follow the matter up.
138. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when Ireland will ratify the optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5132/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe UN Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights opened for signature by UN Member States in New York in September 2009. To date, forty-five States have signed the Optional Protocol, including eleven of the twenty-eight European Union member States. Seventeen States have ratified the Optional Protocol: Argentina, Belgium. Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Gabon, Mongolia, Montenegro, Niger, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Uruguay. The Optional Protocol came into force on 5 May 2013, three months after the deposit with the United Nations Secretary General of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession. Ireland’s signature of the Optional Protocol took place on 23 March 2012. Ratification of the Optional Protocol is a separate step which requires a thorough screening of the obligations to be assumed, extensive consultation with all Departments involved, and consideration by the Government in due course.
139. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the position regarding visa requirements for residents in the Dominican Republic who wish to enter Ireland for holiday purposes; the Irish embassy which processes these applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5158/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraDominican Republic passport holders require a visa to enter Ireland. The Embassy in Washington processes visa applications from the Dominican Republic on behalf of the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service. Detailed information on the online visa application process and documentary requirements are available on the Embassy website, www.dfa.ie/irish-embassy/usa/our-services/visas. Visa applications should be submitted 8 weeks before the planned date of travel.
140. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will issue on an appeal in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Waterford to have its concessionary post retained; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5026/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraBudget 2012 provided for the phased withdrawal of approximately 428 posts allocated to some schools under disadvantage programmes prior to the introduction of DEIS in 2005. Due to conflicting reports of posts being lost in these schools, my Department produced a report on the impact of the withdrawal of these legacy posts from DEIS Band 1 and Band 2 Schools. Following the Government's decision of 21 February 2012 in the matter, a number of schools continued to retain disadvantaged legacy posts from previous disadvantage schemes on a year to year basis and only where warranted, based on the enrolment of the previous 30th September. The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools is published annually on the website of the Department of Education and Skills. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing arrangements for the 2014/15 school year (Circular 0007/2014) were published in January 2014.
A range of factors contribute to determining the staffing requirement for individual schools including changes to enrolment and the reforms to the teacher allocation process introduced in 2012. As the teaching allocation to schools, including disadvantage legacy posts, are enrolment based, this determines whether schools gain or lose posts from year to year.
As the school referred to by the Deputy saw an increase in enrolment on 30th September 2013, the post was subsumed into the mainstream staffing of the school for the 2014/15 school year.
The school submitted a staffing appeal to the February 2014 meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The Appeals Board determined that the application did not satisfy all of the published criteria as set out in Circular 0007/2014. The Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.
141. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a Student Universal Support Ireland grant was refused in respect of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5033/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.This service compliments the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.
142. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a student (details supplied) in County Kerry is not entitled to free fees and registration; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5035/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.This service compliments the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.
Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.
143. Deputy Ciarán Lynch asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 797 of 14 January 2015, if, now that the study into payscales at the Tyndall Institute in University College Cork has been completed, she will consider the payment of salaries, as recommended by the Labour Court; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5044/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe parties agreed that the conclusions of the Tyndall job evaluation exercise could be appealed to an independent Appeals Officer. When this process is completed the parties will engage in relation to the implementation of the final outcome of the job evaluation exercise.
144. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will support the creation of an autism spectrum disorder unit in a school (details supplied) in County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5053/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, a major building project for the school concerned is at planning permission stage and the project, when completed, will consume a substantial amount of the school's very limited site area. My Department understands that the school is not therefore in a position to consider the establishment of an ASD unit.
I wish to advise the Deputy that there is already ASD provision in a number of existing schools and additional ASD units are proposed in other post-primary schools in County Meath.
145. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide in tabular form the number of school closures in County Cork since 2005; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5064/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe information sought by the Deputy regarding the number of school closures in County Cork in the period 2005 to 2014 is contained in the following tables.
Cork Primary School Closures (2005 to 2014)
|
County |
Number |
Year |
|
Cork |
1 |
2014 |
|
Cork |
2 |
2013 |
|
Cork |
1 |
2010 |
|
Cork |
3 |
2009 |
|
Cork |
1 |
2007 |
|
Cork |
3 |
2006 |
|
Cork |
1 |
2005 |
Cork Post Primary School Closures (2005 to 2014)
|
County |
Number |
Year |
|
Cork |
1 |
2006 |
146. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address concerns regarding the new primary online database in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 5; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5068/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraPOD will collect information such as PPSN name, address date of birth, nationality, learning support status, Irish exemption status, standard and class, and also two optional pieces of sensitive personal data, ethnic or cultural background and religion, which require written consent. Individualised student information is already collected centrally at pre-primary, post-primary and third level education. The development of an individualised primary online database has been widely recognised for many years as being a key requirement to provide vital information on the educational welfare and progress of our primary school children. The current system of record keeping and data collection means that information provided to the Department from primary schools is quite out of date by the time it is eventually processed and passed to areas that need it such as the Inspectorate, School Governance, Forward Planning and various grant payment and teacher allocations areas. POD will allow the Department to have access to timely and relevant information about the stocks and flows of pupils in our primary schools, which will aid us tremendously in carrying out our functions and providing the best possible service to schools and pupils. Moving to an electronic system will also help to streamline administration at school level and reduce form filling, red tape, and the duplication of information requests, allowing school staff to focus more on their primary objective of educating our children. From the point of view of retaining the data up to the age of 30, the Department understands that there are concerns from a data protection and privacy point of view. The Department is considering these concerns but also needs to consider the fact that in the future POD will serve as the official record of primary school enrolment for everybody, and as such it forms part of an individual's personal history. While some people might prefer for their record to be deleted as soon as possible, others may prefer to have their record accessible should they want or need to get it in the future. The Department will consider it's retention policy bearing in mind these issues, as well as all the legal obligations on us in the areas of data protection and records management. Individuals also have the right under data protection legislation to request in writing to any public body that their records held by that body be removed or amended and their reasons for the request, and the public body must consider and respond to such requests within 40 days.
The Department takes the protection of pupil's data very seriously. Pupil data is stored securely in the Department's Oracle database. This database is hosted on the Department's servers which are located in the Revenue Commissioners data-centre in St Johns' Road. Access to the servers is protected by both Revenue and Government firewalls. Staff of the Revenue Commissioners do not have access to the data in the database. POD application roles have been developed which limit school staff to viewing and maintaining their own pupil records. Access within the Department to POD data is limited to the POD team which is currently less than 15 people. No agency or other Government Department will have direct access to the Primary Online Database.
The "Notes" area is for schools' use only, it will only be accessible to the school where the child is currently enrolled, and will not be transferrable from one school to the next if the child is moving school.
School's have the option to enter data directly into POD. In general Schools have found the system user friendly.The encryption process is in place for data security reasons. A facility is also currently being rolled out which will allow schools to securely upload the data directly to the Department, so schools will have the option to use that if they are finding the encryption process difficult.
The Department has repeatedly advised parents and schools who have contacted us that if a parent does not wish to put their child's details on POD that they should inform their school of this in writing. We have not in any way advised schools to transfer data against the parent's wishes.
While this is a new system coming into place at primary level, it is already very common practice in many other areas of the public sector and indeed elsewhere in the education system for somebody accessing a public service to be asked to provide a certain amount of information about themselves in order to receive the service, including their PPS number. In the education system, for example, in order to access the ECCE scheme parents must give a certain amount of information on their children to the pre-school in order to validate their eligibility, or in order to apply for and receive a student grant students must give information about themselves to the Department. POD will also allow the Department to ensure that it makes payments on the basis of each pupil only once, with the best will in the world duplicate enrolments can inadvertently occur in the system.
Apart from the need to ensure that going forward payments and allocations to schools are made on the basis of validated information, from an administrative point of view, it would be unworkable to operate any kind of grant payments, allocation system or even to compile vital statistics if we have a system where some pupils are on POD and then there needs to be some alternate method of collecting information on pupils who do not provide their details to POD. It's difficult to see how any such system could function in practice, either from the school's or Department's point of view.
147. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to withdraw capitation grants to schools for children whose parents object to their information being entered and stored on the primary online database; if so, the statutory basis for that action; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5077/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFrom the 2016/2017 academic year, it is intended that teacher allocations and capitation grants will be made on the basis of POD data, and the previous basis for allocations, the National Annual School Census will cease operation from that point. There is no mechanism for separate payment and allocation to schools for pupils that are not on POD, and from a practical point of view it is difficult to see how much a system could work in practice.
Under Section 12 of the Education Act 1998, the Minister of Education shall determine and publish the criteria in each school year by which funding shall be provided to schools in the following academic year. Over 3 billion euro of taxpayers money is spent annually on funding our primary school system. The vast majority of this funding is allocated to schools on the basis of reported pupil numbers. It is more than prudent from an audit and financial accountability point of view that we validate the data underlying these payments and ensure that payment is made only once in relation to each pupil.
148. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she received express approval from the Data Protection Commissioner for the retention of all the details that are being collected and stored on the primary online database; and if there is a written agreement to this effect between her Department and the Data Protection Commissioner. [5078/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department has previously met with and discussed the fair processing and retention of data on POD with the Data Protection Commissioners office. The material in Circular 0017/2014 formed the basis for the discussion and the Department received advice and commentary from the DPC office on this material which was incorporated into the circular. No further concerns were raised at that time.
My Department is now again in contact with the Data Protection Commissioners Office in relation to the retention period for POD data, and will continue to closely consult with and seek the advice of the Commissioners office while reviewing the policy for retaining POD data going forward.
149. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of staff in her Department who have been designated with administrator rights in relation to the primary online database system. [5079/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraFour members of staff in my Department have administrator rights on the primary online database.
150. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of money that has been spent on the primary online database project since its inception. [5080/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe software development costs of the POD project to date are approximately €230K. A POD Implementation Grant was issued to every primary school in December 2014. The total cost of the grant was €830,518.
151. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has hired external experts-consultants to advise them on how best to develop the primary online database; and if so, if she will provide, in tabular form, the details of same and the expenditure incurred. [5081/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department did not hire external experts/ consultants to advise them on how best to develop the primary online database.
152. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department has instructed schools to collect and submit pupils' details onto the primary online database, even where parents have objected to having their children's details entered onto the database or have not provided express consent to have their children's details entered onto the database. [5082/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Department has repeatedly advised parents and schools who have contacted us that if a parent does not wish to put their child's details on POD that they should inform their school of this in writing. We have not in any way advised schools to transfer data against the parent's wishes.
153. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if Irish students who moved outside of the European Union for a number of years and completed their primary and secondary education abroad will be classified as foreign students if they return to Ireland for third level education; if they will be required to pay student fees and registration fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5083/15]
Amharc ar fhreagra154. Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the position of emigrants hoping to return home to enter into full-time third level education; her further views on a policy that will accommodate their needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5084/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 153 and 154 together.
As the Deputy is aware the Exchequer funds tuition fees costs in respect of eligible students who are pursuing full-time undergraduate courses of study under my Department's Free Fees Initiative. The main conditions of the scheme are that students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course.
Where full-time undergraduate students do not qualify for free fees they must pay the appropriate fee as determined by their third level institution.
In the case of students who do not meet the residency clause, higher education institutions have been requested to charge the more moderate EU fee to EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who have completed at least five academic years of study (Primary or Post-Primary level) in the EU/EEA or Switzerland.
155. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a child (details supplied) in County Kildare cannot be facilitated in an appropriate second level school closer than 50 km from that child's home; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5088/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department's policy focuses on ensuring that all children with special educational needs can have access to an education appropriate to their needs and abilities.
A range of placement options for pupils with special educational needs is provided, in order to ensure that all pupils can receive a school placement. Many pupils with special educational needs will be able to attend a local mainstream school, whereas for pupils who have needs which require more specialist interventions, special class and special school placements are provided for.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for establishing special classes in various geographical areas as required. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.
SENOs engage with schools annually in order to plan for, and to open, new special classes each year, in order to ensure there are sufficient special class placements available at primary and post primary school level to meet demand in a given area.
In the case referred to by the Deputy the NCSE is actively engaging with the parent in question on the issue of a post primary placement for September 2015. I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the NCSE for their direct attention and reply.
156. Deputy Jim Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of capital invested in the construction of new school facilities at Bandon town, County Cork, for each of the past four years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5091/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe capital funding issued to schools in the primary and post-primary sectors in County Cork in the years 2011 to 2014 is as follows:
PRIMARY
2011 - €24.8m
2012 - €23.8m
2013 - €31.1m
2014 - €37.4m
POST-PRIMARY
2011 - €6.4m
2012 - €7m
2013 - €14.2m
2014 - €16.2m
It is not possible to provide data in respect of a region within a county. However, if the Deputy wishes to nominate a specific school, I would be happy to provide the level of capital funding issued in such an instance.
157. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to any schools using prone restraints on pupils who have autism and other complex needs; if her attention has been further drawn to the potential risks to pupils upon whom prone restraints are used; and if her Department will suggest the use of other viable and safer forms of behaviour support and management, as an alternative to prone restraint, that does not place the child or others at risk from injury. [5121/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the well-being and safety of children should be at the centre of all policy and practices in schools. The Board of Management of each school is responsible for the care and safety of all of the pupils in their school and is required to prepare a code of behaviour in accordance with Section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000.
Section 23 (4) of the Act states that the Principal of a recognised school shall, before registering a child as a student at that school, provide the parents of such child with a copy of the school's code of behaviour.
Schools may seek advice from their local National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) psychologist, from their NCSE Special Educational Needs Organiser, or from the National Behavioural Support Services, as to how children with behavioural needs can best be supported in school.
Published guidelines which are available to schools include Supporting Students with Behavioural, Emotional, and Social difficulties, which is available on the Department's website www.education.ie; the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) guidelines for schools on Developing a Code of Behaviour and the National Educational Psychological Services document Behavioural Emotional and Social Difficulties - a Continuum of Support: Guidelines for Teachers.
Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department, through the Special Education Support Service (SESS), provides continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers working with students with special educational needs, including training for teachers in the area of Challenging Behaviour and Autism.
158. Deputy Derek Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills her plans for a new building in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Galway; when planning was granted for the building; the schedule of accommodation that was agreed for the building; the number of students it will cater for; the facilities it will have; the timeframe for the project; when it will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5133/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the development for the school in question will consist of the construction of a new 2 storey Primary School building comprising of 24 general classrooms, General Purpose Hall with servery area, Staff room, Library & Resource Room, Special Education Tuition rooms and ancillary accommodation with a total floor area of 3982 m.sq. An application for planning permission was lodged on 23 January 2015 and the decision of the Local Authority is awaited. When the final grant of planning permission is received, the project will then be progressed to construction. A construction period of 9 months from commencement on site to handover is envisaged. It is anticipated that the new building will be ready for occupation by the start of the 2016/17 school year.
159. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the substantial concerns from teachers regarding the implementation of a new system for the allocation of special and additional teaching hours; the level and frequency of consultation with teachers and representative bodies; if her Department and the associated National Council for Special Education will engage in further consultation in order that we can ensure that the proposed system is agreeable to all involved and, most important, beneficial to pupils; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5146/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that, the National Council for Special Education published its Report on a Proposed New Model for Allocating Teachers for Students with Special Educational Needs on 18th June 2014. This Report was prepared by a Working Group, appointed by the NCSE and Chaired by Mr Eamon Stack, which included representatives from disability organisations and also parent representative bodies.
An extensive consultation process was undertaken by the Working Group with stakeholders to inform the development of its report. Consultation meetings were held with the Health Service Executive, teachers, principals, union officials, parents, school management bodies, National Educational Psychological Services, advocacy groups, the Inspectorate, and Special Educational Needs Organisers.
Subsequent to the publication of the NCSE working group report, my Department invited education partners, stakeholders, and parent representative groups to make written submissions in relation to the NCSE report. 29 such written submissions have been received to date.
In October last year, officials at my Department held consultations with primary and post primary management bodies, teacher organisations, groups representing those with disabilities and parents' representatives.
Officials again met with representatives from these groups on 20th, 22nd and 30th of January last in order to further consult with these bodies.
I can confirm that officials have advised all stakeholders that there will be ongoing consultation with them as the work on the development of the model progresses.
160. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding spent on the reading recovery programme in primary schools for each year from 2010 to 2014; the amount of funding available for 2015; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5180/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraReading Recovery is a licensed programme which has been made available to primary schools through the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST). Since 2004 over 20,000 students have benefited from the Reading Recovery Programme together with a range of other literacy supports.
My Department has spent over €4million in the years 2010-2014 on the Reading Recovery programme including salaries.
The budget for 2015 is not yet finalised but is estimated to be in the region of €760,000.
The budgets for the previous years referred to are as follows:
2010 - €733,000
2011 - €821,000
2012 - €800,000
2013 - €798,577
2014 - €855,994
