Written Answers Nos. 39-46
39. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address the ongoing funding issues regarding institutes of technology across the country and in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2006/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) are aware of the financial difficulties being experienced by a number of the Institutes of Technology (IoTs), including Letterkenny IoT. The HEA has been closely monitoring the financial position of all of the IoTs and in particular is working closely with those Institutes operating in deficit to ensure appropriate mechanisms are put in place to eliminate the deficit as quickly as possible.
The Financial Review of the Institutes, published last year by the HEA, was carried out in order to provide an overview of the financial health of the sector, to consider capacity issues and to examine the challenges for the institutions given their respective plans for the future. It was based on the assumption that static Exchequer funding coupled with continuing growth in student numbers could make a number of Institutes unsustainable. The Report recognised the need to examine the underlying sustainability issues that existed across the sector and highlighted the need for a review of how funding is being allocated given the significant changes that are occurring in the higher education sector. It makes a number of recommendations on how some of the issues which contribute to funding problems in the IOT sector can be addressed. My Department is working closely with the HEA in relation to those recommendations.
For example, the report clearly identifies the need for a review of the present funding model and work is under way in the HEA to undertake this task as quickly as possible.
Funding overall for the higher education sector is a key concern for me, particularly in light of the additional pressure that will fall on the system over the next decade or so – an issue which is clearly set out in the Report of the Expert Group on the Future Funding for Higher Education, which is currently with the Joint Oireachtas Committee for consideration. However, in seeking to address the issue in the short term, I have for the first time in nine years secured additional funding for the sector with €36.5m additional being made available this year and €160m additional overall over the next three years.
In addition, in Budget 2017 the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I announced a policy review with the aim of designing and implementing a sustainable and predictable multi-annual funding model for higher and further education and training involving increased Employer and Exchequer contributions from 2018. The review will be undertaken as part of the overall response to meeting the anticipated skills needs in the economy over the coming years, in line with the policy framework set out in the National Skills Strategy.
It will include an analysis of the business case for enhanced investment in the higher and further education and training sectors. In this context it will identify key elements of the new funding model and of the expected impacts including those on employers. The review will include consultation with stakeholders. It is expected that the policy review will be published by the end of April 2017, and will complement the ongoing work by the Oireachtas Committee in relation to the Cassells report.
41. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the disparity between primary and secondary level education in the number of school places for children with autism; and the measures his Department is taking to improve access to appropriate places in mainstream secondary schools for children with autism. [1896/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with Special Educational Needs, including establishing special classes in mainstream primary and post primary schools.
Progress in developing the network of Special Classes has been significant.
In 2011 there were 548 special classes, of which 224 were primary ASD classes, 72 were post-primary ASD classes and 34 were early intervention classes. The remaining 218 were special classes service children with mild to moderate/severe general learning difficulties and specific learning difficulties, including speech and language difficulties.
There are currently 1,153 special classes, which is an increase of over 100% on the number available in 2011. Of these, 127 are ASD early intervention classes, 525 are primary ASD classes and 237 are post-primary ASD classes. The remainder are non-ASD special classes.
The NCSE has advised that there are almost 18,000 students with ASD attending schools nationally. Of these 3,484 are attending primary ASD classes and 1,118 are attending post-primary ASD classes.
The NCSE continues to review special class placement requirements nationally and has informed the Department that, in general, it is satisfied that there are sufficient ASD special class placements to meet existing demand.
The continued growth in post-primary special class numbers is a natural consequence of the earlier growth in primary special class numbers. However, it should not be assumed that the same levels of growth in post-primary class numbers should apply. This is because, for children with Autism, transferring from a special class in a primary school to a special class in a post-primary school may not always be the optimal choice. Many children can progress to mainstream post-primary with the support of SNA and Resource Teaching hours, while more may transfer from primary to a special school depending on their presentation and needs.
It should also be noted that there is a proportionally larger enrolment at Primary level due to the higher number of standard years. Of the total enrolment in schools currently 68% of students are enrolled at Primary Level (which includes all Special Schools) and 32% are enrolled at Post Primary level.
As such my Department does not consider the lower number of Post-Primary Special classes for students with ASD currently constitutes a shortage of placements.
42. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress of the development of the new plan for educational inclusion. [1889/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraA great deal of work has gone into the review of the DEIS Programme which began in 2015 and is progressing very well and it is my intention to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion in the coming weeks.
The review process has looked at all aspects of DEIS, including the range and impact of different elements of the School Support Programme, the potential for innovation within and between schools and its scope for increased integration of services provided by other Departments and Agencies in order to improve effectiveness.
The development of a new assessment framework using centrally held CSO and DES data for the identification of schools for inclusion in a new Programme is also included in the review process.
A series of pilot schemes aimed at introducing measures shown to work well in improving results for disadvantaged students will be introduced. Targeted measures to be included are, School Leadership, School networking/clustering, teaching methodologies, integration of all supports within communities, and greater use of HSCL services.
Implementation of actions arising from the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion will begin in the 2017/18 school year, and will be a continuing theme in our wider Annual Action Plan for Education.
43. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if the Action Plan for Education will address the increasing use of precarious contracts and poor work conditions and pay in the third level institutions for lecturers and other workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1915/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn September, I launched the first ever Action Plan for Education aimed at making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. This plan, which incorporates my Department's Strategy Statement as well as the Action Plan of Education outlines over one hundred actions to be implemented across the period 2016-2019.
It provides the strategic framework for planning and reporting across the Department and its agencies over the next three years and timeframes for each action are included.
In May 2016 I also welcomed the report of the Chairperson of the Expert Group on Fixed-Term and Part-Time Employment in Lecturing in Third Level Education in Ireland. The recommendations contained in the report will assist in addressing concerns raised about precarious employment by Union representatives.
In July my Department issued circular letters to employers in the third-level sector, setting out the detailed arrangements and procedures for implementation of the recommendations to academic staff who are covered by the Lansdowne Road Agreement.
44. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the development of an education campus comprising three schools at Ballinrea, County Cork, in association with the Cork Education and Training Board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1808/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe delivery of the new education campus at Ballinrea, Carrigaline has been devolved to Cork Education & Training Board (CETB). Planning permission has been received for the three schools following an appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
To comply with recent changes to the Public Works Contract, the Design Team was requested to assess the additional work that needs to be carried out to bring the project to tender ready stage. The Design Team has completed this assessment and it has submitted a fee proposal for the additional work. This is currently being assessed by my Department's Planning and Building Unit.
In addition, the Public Spending Code requires that a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) be carried out for projects of the scale involved for the Carrigaline Campus. I understand that the CETB have recently appointed consultants to carry out the CBA and the final report is expected by end of January/early February.
As soon as contractors are pre-qualified and tender documents completed, the project will then be considered for progression to tender and construction.
45. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Action Plan for Education will address pay inequality and ensure that workers in the education system receive equal pay for equal work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1914/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn September, I launched the first ever Action Plan for Education. It set out the overall ambition of making the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. The plan itself focuses on the period 2016-2019 and outlines over one hundred actions to be implemented across the period.
It provides the strategic framework for planning and reporting across the Department and its agencies over the next three years and timeframes for each action are included.
Equality and fairness are of course at the heart of everything this Government is trying to do, particularly in the education area where I am particularly focused on creating better opportunities for people from disadvantaged areas in our schools system and in higher education. The recent Budget contained measures to deliver on this.
The public service agreements have allowed a programme of pay restoration to start. I have used this to negotiate substantial improvements in pay for new teachers. The agreement reached with TUI and INTO will see pay rises of between 15-22% (between €4600 and €6700) for new entrant teachers. The pay increases for new teachers are now also available to ASTI members under the proposals which members will be balloting on shortly.
In education, there is a well-established increment system. Teachers are not paid equally. For example, the pay scale for teachers appointed prior to 2011 ranges from €32,009 to €60,155 depending on the date that the individual began teaching. Part of the negotiation to date has secured a convergence of the scales of recruits at different periods. Any further negotiation on new entrant pay cannot focus on just one sector. A broader assessment of pay and new entrant pay will be informed by the analysis of the Public Service Pay Commission.
In addition, the Government yesterday moved to address an anomaly issue arising in the context of the recent Labour Court Recommendations in respect of the Garda Associations through an increase in annualised salaries of €1,000 for the period 1 April 2017 to August 2017, inclusive, for public servants on annualised salaries up to €65,000 who are parties to the Lansdowne Road Agreement and who do not stand to benefit from those Labour Court Recommendations.
However there are other types of equality that we must also bear in mind – equality between public servants in different parts of the public service, and equality between public servants and people who work elsewhere or do not work at all. It would also not be equal or fair for us to do unaffordable deals with particular groups of public servants that mean that we do not have the money left in the public purse to provide increases in social welfare payments for vulnerable groups, tax reductions for people at work, or investments in improvements in public services that people rely on.
46. Deputy Fiona O'Loughlin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the details of the plan that has been put in place to develop resilience and emotional coping skills at an early age; the way in which this is being rolled out in primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39935/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department's Action Plan for Education 2016-19 underlines the important function served by the education system in promoting wellbeing in our schools. At an overarching level it commits to supporting schools in the implementation of Wellbeing Guidelines for Primary and Post-Primary schools and providing a framework for a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing.
There are a wide number of dimensions to my Department's work in this area and I have recently conducted an audit of our work to ensure that our efforts are integrated and effective.
We plan to step up our engagement in this field in a number of different ways. These include, for example:
- Restoring ex quota guidance provision in post-primary schools;
- Rolling out the 'Friends' and 'Incredible Years' programmes in DEIS schools;
- Implementing a new Wellbeing area of learning at Junior Cycle from September 2017;
- Increasing the resources of the National Educational Psychological Service.
I intend as part of the 2017 Action Plan to develop detailed actions to intensify our work in this area.
