Tuesday, 22 Mar 2016

Written Answers Nos. 466-488

Psychological Assessments

Ceisteanna (466)

Finian McGrath

Ceist:

466. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of providing an educational psychologist for a person with dyslexia (details supplied) in Dublin 5. [4976/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I have been informed by SOLAS that payment for an educational psychological assessment is the responsibility of the individual concerned and that this is brought to the attention of apprentices in the Apprenticeship Induction Booklet.

SOLAS inform me that if learners have any special requirements and need support with dyslexia, numeracy, literacy, physical disabilities or medical conditions they must inform their training advisor at the time of registration. There is an onus on individuals to also bring this to the attention of their training provider and provide any necessary evidence before the commencement of training on Phase 2/4/6 so that these needs can be catered for when they attend off-the-job training.

The individual concerned should contact his local training adviser to discuss the options available to him.

School Accommodation Provision

Ceisteanna (467)

Thomas Byrne

Ceist:

467. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on whether Gormanston College in County Meath has sufficient space to accommodate children from September 2016; if not, her plans to resolve this situation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4983/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department recently approved grant to the school in question to facilitate the provision of classroom accommodation for September 2016. This decision has been conveyed to the school authority.

Special Educational Needs Staff Contracts

Ceisteanna (468)

Thomas Byrne

Ceist:

468. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if retired special needs assistants who have reached mandatory retirement age can be re-employed as special needs assistants; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4984/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

In accordance with the Superannuation scheme a Special Needs Assistant (SNA) who is not "a new entrant" under the terms of the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004, must retire at the end of the school year in which he/she reaches age 65. The abolition of the compulsory retirement age under the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 applies to new entrants only. The retirement provisions, which apply to public servants (including SNAs) who are not new entrants, are not affected by the Act. There is a provision in Circular 41/2011 which enables a retired SNA to be employed by a school post retirement: 'Where an SNA who is retired and is in receipt of a pension returns to the position of an SNA on or after 1 January 2011, s/he will start on the first point of the post 1 January 2011 incremental salary scale. In the event that a person who has retired on pension is subsequently re-employed, within a period of 26 weeks after retirement this subsequent employment will be in a non-pensionable capacity.

Education and Training Boards

Ceisteanna (469)

Brendan Griffin

Ceist:

469. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the planned centralisation of the education and training boards' payroll; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5002/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Payroll Shared Services for the Education & Training Boards (ETBs) is progressing, and is now in the design stage of the project following business case approval. The Department of Education & Skills is currently working closely with relevant State agencies on the procurement process for a payroll system for all 16 ETBs.

School Transport Tendering

Ceisteanna (470)

Brendan Griffin

Ceist:

470. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills to review the criteria used by Bus Éireann to tender bus routes to ensure that displacement of private operators by bodies in receipt of State subsidies will not occur; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5003/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills

Bus Éireann, which operates the School Transport Scheme on behalf of my Department, is obliged to tender all works, goods and services in line with the European Directives on public procurement. The basic principle of public procurement is that there should be a competitive process and this approach applies to procurement by all public sector bodies, and includes school transport services performed by contractors under the School Transport Scheme. The tendering process is a competitive process which allows Bus Éireann to achieve the procurement objectives in terms of value for money, access to the contracts for all interested parties, transparency on how the contracts are awarded, and equality of treatment. The rules of the competition and the selection and award criteria were clearly outlined as to how the contracts would be awarded and all interested parties were provided with the same opportunity and the same information. In this way the procurement process is carried out in an fair, open and transparent manner complying with all applicable EU Procurement Law, domestic legislation and government regulations. The experience of the driver assigned to perform the service is one of the award criteria, and while previous experience with the company is taken into account Bus Éireann is not permitted to conduct a process which provides an incumbent operator with an unfair advantage. Bus Éireann has further confirmed that, on the basis of legal advice, the recipient of Government funding cannot be automatically excluded from participating in a public procurement tender competition. Generally a five-year contract is awarded to the successful tenderer. This provides security for the duration of the contract to the contractor as well as stability, in terms of familiarity with transport arrangements, for the families, schools, and children concerned.

Summer Works Scheme Applications

Ceisteanna (471)

Brendan Griffin

Ceist:

471. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills when she will announce the outcome of applications under the summer works scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5007/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Commensurate with the level of funding available for the Summer Works Scheme, applications are being assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015), is available on my Department's website www.education.ie. It is my intention to publish a list of successful applicants in due course.

Schools Building Projects Applications

Ceisteanna (472)

Brendan Griffin

Ceist:

472. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills when she will provide a revised allocation for a school extension (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5008/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has submitted an application for additional funding in respect of its building project. The application is currently being examined and when a decision has been made the school will be notified accordingly.

Schools Building Projects Applications

Ceisteanna (473)

Brendan Griffin

Ceist:

473. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an extension for a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5009/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy has submitted an application for major capital funding for school accommodation. The application is currently being considered and a decision will be conveyed to the school authority as soon as the assessment process has been concluded.

Schools Site Acquisitions

Ceisteanna (474)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

474. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she has secured a site for a permanent building for a primary school (details supplied) in County Cork; the next steps in the process of delivering a new school building; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5050/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

As the Deputy may be aware, the building project for the school to which he refers is included in the 6 year construction programme that I announced last November. Officials from my Department have worked closely with officials from Cork County Council under the Memorandum of Understanding for the acquisition of school sites to procure a suitable site for this building project. A site acquisition process is underway at present. Given the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally I am not in a position to provide further details at this time. I can, however, assure the Deputy that the acquisition of a new site for the school is a priority for the Department and the school authorities will be informed of the location for the school as soon as it is possible to do so. When the site acquisition has been completed, the project will be progressed to architectural planning.

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Ceisteanna (475)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

475. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills her definition of the role of a special needs assistant; if she recognises that the role, in practice, involves assisting a pupil with academic work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5052/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to advise the Deputy that the purpose of the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children who have significant special educational care needs, in an educational context, in recognised primary and post primary schools. The criteria by which SNA support is allocated to pupils, and the role of an SNA, are clearly set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014, which is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie. Circular 0030/2014 is based on recommendations contained in my Department's Value for Money and Policy Review of the SNA scheme and also the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Policy Advice on Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs in Schools. Both reports concluded that the SNA scheme has been highly successful in supporting the care needs of children with special needs in schools and with assisting to facilitate their inclusion. Circular 30/2014 states that students with special educational needs can have very complex learning needs and should be taught by qualified and experienced teachers who are equipped with the necessary skills to meet the needs of these students. It is the responsibility of the classroom teacher to ensure that each pupil is taught in a stimulating and supportive classroom environment where all pupils feel equal and valued. The Circular also notes that many children with significant special educational needs require additional teaching support in schools. In such circumstances, the classroom teacher will be supported by a resource teacher/ /learning support teacher, who are fully qualified teachers who will have access to additional training in the area of special education. To provide for this additional teaching support, my Department currently allocates over 11,800 additional teachers to schools to support children with special educational or learning support needs. These allocations are made to schools, either through General Allocation schemes for primary and post-primary schools, or through additional allocations made to schools by the NCSE in respect of Low Incidences disabilities, as set out in my Departments Circular DES 02/05. Such additional teaching support allocations are made to schools in addition to any SNA provision. The Circular therefore notes that although the SNA can provide useful assistance to the teacher in ensuring that the pupil is able to access education, the role of the SNA is not to provide additional tuition, as this is the role of qualified learning support/resource teachers who may assist the teacher to provide additional teaching to pupils with special educational needs. In order to provide further clarity in relation to the SNA scheme, my Department also asked the NCSE to prepare an Information Booklet for parents which has now been published and is available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie.

School Staff

Ceisteanna (476)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

476. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the proposed loss of a mainstream class teacher and the loss of a portion of a learning support post for a primary school (details supplied) in County Cork for the 2016-2017 year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5053/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2016/2017 school year are set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0007/2016) which is available on the Department website. The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule and pupil enrolments on 30 September 2015. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are outlined in the published staffing arrangements, Circular 0007/2016. The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal for consideration by the Appeals Board for the March 2016 meeting of the board. The Appeals Board determined that this appeal was unsuccessful. The school has been notified accordingly. The Appeal Board operates independently of the Minister and the Department and its decision is final. Circular 0007/2016 also sets out the arrangements for GAM/EAL (learning/language support) for the 2016/2017 school year in detail. A school's GAM/EAL allocation for the 2016/17 school year is based on its mainstream classroom posts for the 2015/16 school year. Schools can also enter into cluster arrangements with neighbouring schools to make a full-time GAM/EAL post (25 hours). Following the school-led process for clustering GAM/EAL hours the school in question has entered into an arrangement to share the post with a neighbouring school and so retains the GAM/EAL post on a shared basis.

School Accommodation Provision

Ceisteanna (477)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

477. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for funding for a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5061/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

Under my Department's Emergency Works Grant Scheme, the school in question applied for a range of works including ramps, railings, automatic front doors, a designated wheelchair car-parking spot and widened footpaths to enable a special needs pupil to attend the school. Funding was approved for these works last February. In addition to this, funding for an enlarged classroom and a resource room was recently approved under my Department's Additional Accommodation Scheme. The school has been notified of this. Neither of the school's applications requested the provision of the facility referred to in the details supplied.

School Staff

Ceisteanna (478)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

478. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for funding by a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5066/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts for the 2016/2017 school year are set out in the Staffing Schedule (Circular 0007/2016) which is available on the Department website. 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 30 September 2015.

The staffing arrangements include an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the published staffing arrangements, Circular 0007/2016. The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an appeal under two criteria to the March 2016 meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. The Appeals Board determined that the applications did not satisfy the published criteria as set out in Circular 0007/2016. The school has been notified accordingly. The Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.

Schools Building Projects Status

Ceisteanna (479)

Fergus O'Dowd

Ceist:

479. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for an extension to a school (details supplied) in County Meath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5075/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning, Stage 2B Detailed Design Stage. All statutory approvals have been secured. A brief change request, from the Board of Management of the school in question, to use an adjoining site to fully decant the school during construction was approved by the Department on 15th September 2015. The Board and its design team were authorised to secure planning permission, fire cert and DAC for the temporary decant accommodation in parallel with the pre-qualification of contractors for the main project. The planning application for temporary accommodation was lodged with the relevant local authority on 22nd December 2015 and planning permission was granted on 24th February 2016. The Department has been informed that the design team are currently working on the DAC and Fire Cert applications for the temporary decant building and these applications are scheduled to be lodged with the Local Authority by the end of March 2016. The stage 2(b) cost plan and tender documentation have to be updated by the design team to reflect the brief change and the revised decant costs and resubmitted to the Department for review once the statutory approvals have been secured.

State Examinations

Ceisteanna (480)

Michael Lowry

Ceist:

480. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure that a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary will have a waiver for spelling, grammar and punctuation in language subjects granted in time for the leaving certificate applied examinations. [5076/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. Full details of the scheme are available from their website: www.examinations.ie/candidates/reasonableaccommodations. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

School Accommodation Provision

Ceisteanna (481)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

481. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the cramped and inadequate facilities at a school (details supplied) in Cork City shared by children as young as three years of age and as old as 18 years of age; if she will expand the facilities on the site or move the school to new accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5083/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department approved funding last year for the school in question to allow them to provide additional accommodation to meet their accommodation requirements. At present, my Department has not received any further applications from the school referred to by the Deputy for additional accommodation. My Department expects to be in contact with the school in question in the near future in relation to its long-term accommodation requirements.

State Examinations

Ceisteanna (482)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

482. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills to review the decision to refuse reasonable accommodations for a reader for a leaving certificate pupil (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5090/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. Full details of the scheme are available from their website:

www.examinations.ie/candidates/reasonableaccommodations.

In view of this I have forwarded the Deputy's query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply.

Summer Works Scheme Applications

Ceisteanna (483)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

483. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for funding for a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5094/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an application from the school in question under the Summer Works Scheme. Commensurate with the level of funding available for the Scheme, applications including that from the school concerned, will be assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015) is available on my Department's website www.education.ie. It is my intention to publish a list of successful applicants in due course.

Summer Works Scheme Applications

Ceisteanna (484)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

484. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for funding for a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5095/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an application from the school in question under the Summer Works Scheme. Commensurate with the level of funding available for the Scheme, applications including that from the school concerned, will be assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015) is available on my Department's website www.education.ie. It is my intention to publish a list of successful applicants in due course.

Summer Works Scheme Applications

Ceisteanna (485, 497)

Michael Healy-Rae

Ceist:

485. Deputy Michael Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application for a grant by a school (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5102/16]

John Brassil

Ceist:

497. Deputy John Brassil asked the Minister for Education and Skills to investigate and allow for improvement works under the summer works scheme for a school (details supplied) in County Kerry which was badly damaged in the recent storms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5185/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

I propose to take Questions Nos. 485 and 497 together.

I wish to confirm to the Deputy that my Department is in receipt of an application from the school in question under the Summer Works Scheme.

Commensurate with the level of funding available for the Scheme, applications including that from the school concerned, will be assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015) is available on my Department's website www.education.ie.

It is my intention to publish a list of successful applicants in due course.

In relation to any damages caused during the recent bad weather, this would be a matter for the school to address with their insurers.

School Staff

Ceisteanna (486)

Thomas Pringle

Ceist:

486. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the issue regarding the retention of a much needed teaching post in St. Peter's National School, Mountcharles in County Donegal; the measures she will take to address this; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5112/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The criteria used for the allocation of teachers to primary schools are 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 arrangements for the coming school year are set out in Circular 0007/2016 which is on the website. An appeals process is available to small schools losing a classroom post in the event that they can show that their projected enrolments are sufficient to allow them to retain their classroom teacher in the longer term. Details of the appeal criteria are set out in the published staffing arrangements. The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.

Question No. 487 answered with Question No. 455.

State Examinations

Ceisteanna (488)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

488. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills to review a decision to refuse a scribe for a pupil (details supplied) in County Cork; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5117/16]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education and Skills

The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations. The State Examinations Commission operates a scheme of Reasonable Accommodations in the Certificate Examinations. Full details of the scheme are available from their website: www.examinations.ie/candidates/reasonableaccommodations. In view of this I have forwarded the Deputy's query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply.