Martin Heydon
Ceist:167. Deputy Martin Heydon asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the prospect of minor works grants for schools in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47950/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraMinor Works Scheme
Ceisteanna (167)
Freagraí scríofa
The normal practice is for the Minor Works Grant 2017/2018 to be announced towards the end of the year if funding permits. Over the next number of weeks the issue of the Minor Works Grant will be considered in the context of my Department's overall capital position.
Institutes of Technology Staff
Ceisteanna (168)
Pearse Doherty
Ceist:168. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the date on which the latest pay scale was implemented in respect of lecturers, technical assistants and related staff at Letterkenny Institute of Technology; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47968/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Circular 0019/2017 contained the latest revised pay scales and was issued to the IOT's in March 2017. These revised salary rates were introduced as a result of the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013 – 2018 (Haddington Road Agreement/Lansdowne Road Agreement) and the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2015.
Revised scales for Technicians represented by UNITE trade union, implementing a Labour Court decision, issued in June 2017.
Salary scales for the new grades of Technical Assistant 1 and 2 issued in September 2017.
Institutes of Technology Staff
Ceisteanna (169)
Pearse Doherty
Ceist:169. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a pay scale date can be backdated in order for a person (details supplied) in County Donegal to qualify for a higher payment in respect of their pension; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47969/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Any changes in pay scales across the education sector come into effect on specific dates. These dates are determined by a number of factors such as legislation and national pay agreements. It is not possible for a pay scale to be back dated on an individual basis.
Minor Works Scheme
Ceisteanna (170)
Dara Calleary
Ceist:170. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills when schools can expect to have their minor works scheme applications processed and payments issued; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47993/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The normal practice is for the Minor Works Grant to be announced towards the end of the year if funding permits.
Over the next number of weeks the issue of the Minor Works Grant 2017/2018 will be considered in the context of my Department's overall capital position.
Subject to funding, the Minor Works Grant issues to primary schools without the need for schools to submit applications.
Schools Building Projects Status
Ceisteanna (171)
Joe Carey
Ceist:171. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the provision of a new school (details supplied) in County Clare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47998/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy may be aware a building project for the new primary school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s current 6 year construction programme.
A suitable potential site option has been identified and the Department is in the process of acquiring this site. Officials from my Department and Clare County Council are working collaboratively to finalise this acquisition.
Due to the commercially sensitive nature of site acquisitions generally, it is not possible to provide further information at this stage.
Schools Building Projects Status
Ceisteanna (172)
James Lawless
Ceist:172. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills the progress which has been made on an application by a school (details supplied); if his Department has decided whether a refurbishment programme or a new building would be more appropriate; the timeframe and next steps for delivery of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48003/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Deputy will be aware that a building project for the school to which he refers is included on the 6-year Construction Programme. In this regard, my Department has carried out a site visit to the school. The next step includes the formulation of the accommodation brief for the project and this process is in train. My Department will be liaising with the school in due course in the context of initiating the architectural planning process for the project.
Departmental Investigations
Ceisteanna (173)
Thomas Pringle
Ceist:173. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department is conducting an investigation into alleged financial irregularities at a centre (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48012/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In 2015, the Centre reported allegations of alleged financial irregularities to my Department. The matter was immediately referred to the Gardaí by Centre management. I can confirm that the Gardaí have conducted an investigation.
As the process is ongoing I do not have any further comment to make at this time.
Education and Training Boards Expenditure
Ceisteanna (174)
Thomas Pringle
Ceist:174. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of education and training boards, ETBs, that are paid up members of an organisation (details supplied); if funds provided to ETBs by his Department are used to pay subscriptions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48013/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Education and Training Boards (ETBs) are funded by my Department via Pay and Non-Pay budget allocations.
Each ETB has a responsibility to ensure that maximum value is obtained from the funding provided to them. ETBs are afforded considerable flexibility in the use of resources to meet the needs of individual schemes.
Non-pay covers all items other than pay and certain committed expenses that are provided for separately. To afford flexibility, a block grant is made under the non-pay heading, giving each ETB a high level of autonomy in its management.
My Department has been informed that ten out of sixteen of the ETBs are members of the organisation outlined in the details supplied. My Department does not provide specific funds to ETBs for the payment of subscriptions for the organisation detailed. As outlined above ETBs are provided with a non-pay block grant, the management of which is a matter for each ETB.
It should be noted that ETBs also receive funding from sources other than my Department, for example through self-financing programmes or from other Departments and agencies, most notably for further education and training which is funded by SOLAS. The annual accounts for each ETB provide detailed information on funding from all sources and how it was used. These accounts, when finalised and audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General, are published on the Oireachtas website.
School Transport Eligibility
Ceisteanna (175)
Kevin O'Keeffe
Ceist:175. Deputy Kevin O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if school transport will be put in place for a person (details supplied). [48033/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Currently over 113,000 children, including almost 11,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in over 4,500 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
The purpose of the scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children with special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability.
Children are eligible for transport where they:
- have special educational needs arising from a diagnosed disability in accordance with the designation of high and low incidence disability set out in Department of Education and Skill’s (DES) Circular 02/05
and
- are attending the nearest recognised: mainstream school, special class/special school or a unit, that is or can be resourced, to meet their special educational needs
Eligibility is determined following consultation with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENO).
The child referred to is not eligible for special school transport as it is reported that he does not have special educational needs as set out in the Department's Circular 02/05.
The terms of the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs are applied equitably on a national basis.
Aitheantas Scoileanna
Ceisteanna (176)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:176. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Peadar Tóibín den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna cén staid ina bhfuil an t-iarratas ar stádas neamhspleách do scoil (sonraí tugtha); cathain a eiseoidh a Roinn toradh an chinnidh seo; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [48034/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Is mian liom a chur in iúl don Teachta go bhfuil iarratas ar stádas neamhspleách i leith Choláiste Eoin, Inis Meáin, á bhreithniú faoi láthair. Tabharfar an cinneadh d’údarás na scoile a luaithe atá an próiseas breithniúcháin curtha i gcrích.
Scéim na nOibreacha Éigeandála
Ceisteanna (177)
Peadar Tóibín
Ceist:177. D'fhiafraigh Deputy Peadar Tóibín den Aire Oideachais agus Scileanna cén staid ina bhfuil an t-iarratas ó Bhord Oideachais agus Oiliúna na Gaillimhe agus Ros Comáin ar leithris bhreise a sholáthar do scoil (sonraí tugtha) , faoin scéim éigeandála do scoileanna; cathain a eiseoidh an roinn toradh an chinnidh seo; agus an ndéanfaidh sé ráiteas ina thaobh. [48035/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Is féidir liom a dheimhniú go bhfuil iarratas déanta ag an mBord Oideachais agus Oiliúna a bhfuil an Teachta Dála ag tagairt dó chuig mo Roinn ar mhaoiniú le haghaidh áiseanna leithris breise don scoil faoi chaibidil faoi Scéim Oibreacha Éigeandála mo Roinne. Tá an t-iarratas á mheas faoi láthair agus cuirfear an cinneadh in iúl d’Údarás na Scoile chomh luath agus is féidir.
Schools Building Projects Status
Ceisteanna (178)
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:178. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the building of a permanent school building for a school (details supplied); the reason for the ongoing delays; the steps his Department is taking to overcome these issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48043/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The school to which the Deputy refers is currently located on the Notre Dame campus, Upper Churchtown Road, Dublin 14 pending completion of the permanent accommodation for the school at the St. Tiernan’s Community School site in Balally.
As the Deputy may be aware, outline planning permission at a site in Balally for the school to which the Deputy refers was submitted to the relevant local authority in December 2012 but was refused on the grounds of site access. This was appealed by my Department to An Bord Pleanála but subsequently withdrawn to facilitate submission to the local authority of an amended outline planning permission in 2013, which was also refused on similar grounds.
This decision was appealed by my Department to An Bord Pleanála but was refused. However, the Board considered that the matter of assessing alternative means of accessing these lands would benefit from a co-ordinated approach by my Department and the local authority in the interests of achieving a comprehensive and balanced solution to ongoing access issues on this educational campus.
In relation to progress on the permanent school accommodation, as has been stated previously, access to the permanent site is complex planning issue. Since June 2017, my Department has met with a third-party landowner on a number of occasions with a view to negotiating an acceptable solution to the access issue. As these are commercially sensitive negotiations it is not possible to comment further at this stage. All aspects are being progressed in close liaison with the local authority in order to ensure that a further planning application has the best likelihood of success. My Department is fully committed to bringing this project to a satisfactory conclusion as soon as the planning issues have been resolved.
School Textbooks
Ceisteanna (179)
Carol Nolan
Ceist:179. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason books have not been supplied to schools for the new subject of politics and society; the reason the earliest guaranteed date for the provision of the books is January 2018; his plans to ensure the books are supplied as soon as possible and in time to allow students to prepare for mock and State examinations in the subject; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48069/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Department of Education and Skills does not publish or promote school textbooks for any subject, at any level. Where textbook publishers wish to produce books for any particular subject, this is entirely at the discretion of publishers. Equally, it is at the discretion of teachers and schools should they wish to use textbooks where these are available. The Department, through both the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), has provided training, guidance and resources for teachers in Politics and Society since Phase One of the subject’s introduction began in 2016, and will continue to provide such support, including online support. Participating teachers have also been supporting each other by pooling and sharing resources, with the encouragement of the PDST. As this subject is so strongly rooted in current affairs, and is so strongly linked with active, student-centred methodologies, these are other factors which suggest that the absence of textbooks should not be seen as a drawback to delivery of the subject in any way.
The Department is happy to advise that sample examination papers have now been made available by the State Examinations Commission. These can be accessed at the links:
https://www.examinations.ie/misc-doc/BI-EX-25277051.pdf .
https://www.examinations.ie/misc-doc/BI-EX-32783695.pdf .
These sample papers, following on from sets of sample questions provided previously to teachers by the NCCA, should help to give a general indication of what the eventual examination papers may look like, but it is important to stress that teaching and learning should always focus on what is required in the subject specification primarily, not in textbooks or examination papers.
Schools Establishment
Ceisteanna (180)
Lisa Chambers
Ceist:180. Deputy Lisa Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for the establishment of an Educate Together school in Westport; the steps taken to date to establish the school; and the proposed date for the school to open. [48118/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As the Deputy may be aware, the report of the Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector recommended that demand for patronage diversity should be met in areas of stable population by divesting patronage of existing schools where there is evidence of parental demand for change. Following surveys conducted by my Department in areas of stable population, sufficient demand emerged in 28 areas, including the Westport area. Under this patronage divesting process, ten new schools have opened from 2013 to 2016.
As the Deputy may be aware following discussions on patronage divesting with education stakeholders and patron bodies in 2016, on the 30th January 2017, I announced new plans aimed at providing more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools across the country, in line with the choices of parents, families and school communities and the Programme for Government commitment in this area. I believe that the new schools reconfiguration for diversity process has the potential to significantly increase patron diversity in our school system with a target of reaching 400 multi-denominational and non-denominational schools by 2030.
In tandem with the implementation of the schools reconfiguration process, my Department is continuing to work with the main stakeholders to progress delivery of diversity in the areas already identified, including Westport.
Ministerial Travel
Ceisteanna (181, 182)
Darragh O'Brien
Ceist:181. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department has received a formal request from members of the Cabinet to visit North Korea; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47736/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraDarragh O'Brien
Ceist:182. Deputy Darragh O'Brien asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on whether it is appropriate for members of the Cabinet to visit North Korea for peace talks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47737/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I propose to take Questions Nos. 181 and 182 together.
The Government position remains that we do not support any parliamentary delegation visiting North Korea at this time, given the sensitivities involved.
Ireland fully supports the EU policy on the DPRK and the international sanctions regime against North Korea as outlined in multiple UN Security Council Resolutions. Ireland supported the adoption of additional EU measures against DPRK by the Foreign Affairs Council on 16 October. More recently, the European Council on 19 October re-affirmed its resolve to implement the sanctions regime, and a commitment was made to consider further responses in close consultation with partners.
I have not received a formal request from members of the Cabinet to visit DPRK. I have set out my position on the matter in my press statement of 3 November and as soon as their schedules permit, my Department will be happy to arrange a briefing on DPRK for Ministerial colleagues.