Thursday, 2 Apr 2015

Written Answers Nos. 212-220

Northern Ireland

Ceisteanna (212)

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

212. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to outline the progress to date on the establishment of a compact civic advisory panel, as outlined in the Stormont House Agreement; the role of this panel when established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13789/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

The Stormont House Agreement recognizes the important role to be played by civil society. The Agreement provides specifically for the establishment of a civic advisory panel to ensure that civic voices are heard, and civic views are considered, in relation to key social, cultural and economic issues. The Agreement proposes that such a panel be established by June 2015. The panel will advise the Northern Ireland Executive as appropriate. In line with the Stormont House Agreement, establishing the civic advisory panel is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive. Work on this is being advanced through the regular NI Executive Party Leaders’ meetings on implementation of the Stormont House Agreement. The Government fully supports all efforts to ensure that civil society’s voice is heard and is included appropriately in policy formation.

Human Rights

Ceisteanna (213)

Robert Dowds

Ceist:

213. Deputy Robert Dowds asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he supports the recent comments of his counterpart, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms Margot Wallström, on the appalling treatment of women and abuse of human rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and if he has or will indicate his support to Ms Wallström and the Swedish Government at a meeting of European Union Foreign Affairs Ministers. [13817/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade

Ireland has always been at the forefront internationally in raising human rights issues. We raise any concerns with the Saudi authorities primarily through relevant international mechanisms, such the Universal Periodic Review of Saudi Arabia in the UN Human Rights Council, and have also done so bilaterally. We normally raise human rights issues in Saudi Arabia, including specific cases, in conjunction with our other EU partners, including Sweden, as we do in many other locations. It is quite clear that we have the greatest impact on matters of foreign policy, including human rights, when all EU Member States speak with one voice. Ireland made two recommendations to Saudi Arabia during its most recent review under the Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review process in October 2013. These recommendations focused on the right to freedom of association and on the improvement of women’s rights.

I am not in a position to comment on the bilateral exchanges between Sweden and Saudi Arabia.

Education and Training Boards Expenditure

Ceisteanna (214)

Mary Lou McDonald

Ceist:

214. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline her plans for the provision of mainstream funding for the Bawnogue Youth and Community Centre, either directly by her Department or indirectly via the education and training board; and if either her Department or the board do not have such plans whether she will consider the provision of mainstream funding for this service. [13621/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The organisation referred to by the Deputy provides workspaces for a number of groups in the area, including Bawnogue Woman's Group, Clondalkin Youth Services, Teen Council, Mother and Toddler Group and other community services.

I understand that Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board provides a grant of €20,000 to the Bawnogue Youth and Community Centre, the funding for which is provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. I also understand that the Centre receives funding from the Department of Social Protection. My Department has not received an application for funding from Bawnogue Youth and Community Centre.

Third Level Staff Data

Ceisteanna (215)

Jonathan O'Brien

Ceist:

215. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the number of persons who are part of the senior management team at the National College of Art and Design; their rates of pay; the dates on which they were appointed; the methods used to appoint them; if each of the jobs were advertised; the details of the advertisements, including where they were placed; and the timeframe during which they were advertised. [13629/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The information the Deputy has requested regarding pay scales is contained in the following table. The questions regarding the appointment of staff and advertisement of staff vacancies are a matter for the institution, and should be addressed to the institution directly.

NATIONAL COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN

Revised Pay scales

GRADE	-	-
	1/1/10	1/7/2013
Director	€ 145,952	€ 136,276
	1/1/10	1/7/2013
Head of	€ 89,753	€ 84,573
Faculty	€ 92,597	€ 87,189
	€ 95,415	€ 89,782
	€ 98,227	€ 92,369
	€ 101,055	€ 94,970
	€ 103,872	€ 97,562
	€ 106,689	€ 100,153
	1/1/10	1/7/2013
Head of	€ 68,467	€65,000
Department	€ 71,085	€67,175
	€ 73,711	€69,657
	€ 76,344	€72,145
	€ 78,951	€74,609
	€ 81,584	€ 77,057
	€ 84,209	€ 79,472
	€ 86,833	€ 81,886
	€ 89,453	€ 84,296
	1/1/10	1/7/2013
Finance Officer	€ 56,382	€ 56,382
	€ 59,024	€ 59,024
	€ 69,203	€65,396
	€ 71,551	€67,615
	€ 73,906	€69,841
	€ 76,269	€72,074
	€ 78,634	€74,309
	€ 80,991	€ 76,512
	€ 83,342	€ 78,674
	€ 85,704	€ 80,848
	€ 88,068	€ 83,023
	1/1/10	1/7/2013
Lecturer	€ 50,158	€ 50,158
	€ 59,247	€ 59,247
	€ 62,471	€ 62,471
	€ 65,689	€65,000
	€ 68,836	€65,050
	€ 71,990	€68,030
	€ 75,128	€70,996
	€ 78,266	€73,961
	€ 81,403	€ 76,891
	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
Assistant Lecturer	€ 41,499	€ 37,349
	€ 43,175	€ 39,628
	€ 44,887	€ 41,499
	€ 46,248	€ 43,175
	€ 47,624	€ 44,887
	€ 48,989	€ 46,248
	€ 50,364	€ 47,624
	€ 51,723	€ 48,989
		€ 50,364
		€ 51,723
	1/1/10
	€ 47,013
Grade VII	€ 48,187
	€ 49,559
	€ 50,935
	€ 52,313
	€ 53,545
	€ 54,800
	€ 56,020
	€ 57,234
LSI 1	€ 59,322
LSI 2	€ 61,418
Grade VI	€ 44,849
	€ 45,954
	€ 47,289
	€ 49,796
	€ 51,294
LSI 1	€ 53,157
LSI 2	€ 55,031
Grade V	€ 40,213
(Senior Clerk)	€ 41,524
	€ 42,836
	€ 44,147
	€ 45,458
LSI 1	€ 46,977
LSI 2	€ 48,495
Grade IV	1/1/10
	€ 28,334
	€ 30,345
	€ 32,379
	€ 33,894
	€ 35,355
	€ 37,332
	€ 38,761
	€ 40,213
LSI 1	€ 41,548
LSI 2	€ 42,889
Grade III	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
(Clerical Officer)	€ 23,188	€ 21,359
	€ 24,277	€ 22,826
	€ 25,362	€ 23,188
	€ 26,452	€ 24,277
	€ 27,542	€ 25,362
	€ 28,626	€ 26,452
	€ 29,683	€ 27,542
	€ 30,738	€ 28,626
	€ 31,800	€ 29,683
	€ 32,857	€ 30,738
	€ 33,919	€ 31,800
	€ 35,919	€ 32,857
	€ 35,919	€ 33,919
		€ 35,919
		€ 35,919
LSI	€ 37,339	€ 37,339
	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
Grade II	€ 23,188	€ 21,359
(Clerk Typist)	€ 24,277	€ 22,826
	€ 25,362	€ 23,188
	€ 26,452	€ 24,277
	€ 27,542	€ 25,362
	€ 28,626	€ 26,452
	€ 29,683	€ 27,542
	€ 30,738	€ 28,626
	€ 31,800	€ 29,683
	€ 32,857	€ 30,738
	€ 33,919	€ 31,800
	€ 35,919	€ 32,857

-

Revised Pay Scales
		€ 33,919
		€ 35,919
	1/1/10
Senior Library	€ 28,334
Assistant	€ 30,345
	€ 32,379
	€ 33,894
	€ 35,355
	€ 37,332
	€ 38,761
	€ 40,213
	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
Building Officer	€ 44,849	€ 40,364
	€ 45,954	€ 42,912
	€ 47,289	€ 44,849
	€ 49,796	€ 45,954
	€ 51,294	€ 47,289
		€ 49,796
		€ 51,294
LSI 1	€ 53,157	€ 53,157
LSI 2	€ 55,031	€ 55,031
	1/1/10
Workshop Assistant	€ 36,511
(Personal Scale)	€ 37,663
	€ 38,812
	€ 39,961
	€ 41,123
	€ 42,405
	€ 43,654
	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
General Operative	€ 529.31	€ 476.38
	€ 533.54	€ 489.04
	€ 535.27	€ 529.31
	€ 536.93	€ 533.54
	€ 538.59	€ 535.27
	€ 540.46	€ 536.93
	€ 542.17	€ 538.59
	€ 543.84	€ 540.46
	€ 545.65	€ 542.17
	€ 547.45	€ 543.84
	€ 549.83	€ 545.65
	€ 552.24	€ 547.45
	€ 554.53	€ 549.83
		€ 552.24
		€ 554.53
	1/1/10
Head Attendant	€ 27,967
	€ 28,434
Grossing up to be applied	€ 28,912
in College to take account	€ 29,707
of pension contributions	€ 30,078
	€ 30,501
	€ 31,035
	€ 31,352
LSI 1	€ 32,307
LSI 2	€ 33,525
	1/1/10
Senior Attendant	€ 489.49
	€ 498.90
Grossing up to be applied	€ 512.01
in College to take account	€ 522.88
of pension contributions	€ 533.81
	€ 544.67
	€ 555.38
LSI 1	€ 572.85
LSI 2	€ 594.57
	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
Attendant	€ 368.38	€ 391.42
	€ 385.04	€ 391.42
	€ 407.41	€ 391.42
	€ 427.02	€ 391.42
	€ 442.28	€ 407.41
	€ 457.52	€ 427.02
	€ 470.58	€ 442.28
Grossing up to be applied	€ 485.84	€ 457.52
in College to take account	€ 509.84	€ 470.58
of pension contributions	€ 516.37	€ 485.84
		€ 509.84
		€ 516.37
LSI 1	€ 532.67	€ 532.67
LSI 2	€ 553.20	€ 553.20
	1/1/10	Revised new entrants 1/11/13
Technical Officer
	€ 39,438	€ 35,494
	€ 41,112	€ 37,778
	€ 42,838	€ 39,438
	€ 44,619	€ 41,112
	€ 46,380	€ 42,838
		€ 44,619
		€ 46,380
	1/1/10
Senior Technical Officer	€ 48,990
	€ 50,789
	€ 52,672
	€ 54,594
	€ 56,557
LSI	€ 57,759
Assistant Librarian	1/1/10
(scale on a personal to holder basis)	€ 56,380

Third Level Staff Recruitment

Ceisteanna (216)

Jonathan O'Brien

Ceist:

216. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills to set out the appointment procedure for the director of the National College of Art and Design. [13630/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The Director of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) is appointed by the board of the NCAD in line with the provisions of the NCAD Act, 1971. Section 17 (4) of the Act states: "The Director and the Registrar shall be appointed by An Bord and shall hold office subject to such terms and conditions (including conditions of remuneration) as may be determined by An Bord, with the approval of the Minister and with the consent of the Minister for Finance, when appointing them."

Third Level Staff Data

Ceisteanna (217)

Jonathan O'Brien

Ceist:

217. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline her views regarding the casualisation of academic and technical staff within the National College of Art and Design. [13631/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I have set out the following information regarding the full and part time status of academic and non-academic staff for the Deputy's information. Appointment of staff is a matter for the institution, and should be addressed to the institution directly.

National College of Art and Design - Core Staffing Figures

Date	Full time Academic	Part time Academic	Full time non-academic	Part time non-academic	Total
31/12/2006	60.30	10.80	70.70	0.00	141.80
31/12/2007	62.80	10.80	68.60	0.00	142.20
31/12/2008	67.20	10.80	72.20	0.00	150.20
31/12/2009	65.20	8.00	74.30	0.00	147.50
31/12/2010	61.20	8.00	71.80	0.00	141.00
31/12/2011	57.80	10.40	71.00	0.00	139.20
31/12/2012	57.37	11.26	68.87	0.00	137.50
31/12/2013	56.03	6.76	67.77	0.00	130.56
31/12/2014	52.09	6.80	68.74	0.00	127.63

Third Level Staff Deployment

Ceisteanna (218)

Jonathan O'Brien

Ceist:

218. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills whether there are best practice guidelines on the number of senior administration positions that should exist in third level institutions in proportion to numbers of staff and students; and if she will provide details of these guidelines. [13632/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and make appointments based on the needs of their institution and available funding subject to relevant legislative provisions.

Schools Building Projects Status

Ceisteanna (219)

Brendan Smith

Ceist:

219. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the position of a proposed building project in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Cavan; when this project will proceed to the next stage; the likely timeframe for construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13653/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The project to provide permanent accommodation for the school to which the Deputy refers is currently at Stage 2a (Developed Design) of the architectural planning process. When that stage is complete, and subject to no other issues arising, the project will progress to Stage 2b (Detailed Design) which includes applications for Planning Permission, Fire Safety Certification, Disability Access Certification and the preparation of tender documents.

Due to competing demands on my Department's capital budget, imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic requirements, it was not possible to include this project in the 5 year construction programme announced in March 2012.

School building projects, including the project referred to by the Deputy, which have been initiated but not included in the current five year construction programme will continue to be progressed to final planning stages in anticipation of the possibility of further funds being available to my Department in the future.

Schools Site Acquisitions

Ceisteanna (220)

Paul Connaughton

Ceist:

220. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a site has been finalised for a new school (details supplied) in County Galway; if the project has been put out to tender; when is it proposed that construction will get under way; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13657/15]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Officials from my Department have been working very closely with Galway County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding between the Department and the County and City Managers' Association to acquire a suitable site for the school referred to by the Deputy.

I can confirm that a suitable site has been identified and the site acquisition process is at an advanced stage. The site acquisition is subject to satisfactory completion of the conveyancing process. The tender process has identified a preferred bidder and the contract will commence when the site acquisition is complete.