Thomas Byrne
Ceist:147. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full-year cost of employing an additional 100 new NEPS psychologists. [51120/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraPsychological Assessments
Ceisteanna (147)
Freagraí scríofa
I can inform the Deputy that the direct annual cost of employing an additional 100 NEPS psychologists would be an estimated €7.3m.
Special Educational Needs
Ceisteanna (148)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:148. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full-year cost of restoring temporary English as an additional language post to pre-2012 levels. [51122/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools were published on 7th March 2017.
These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools.
The new Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile and also encompasses the Language Support (EAL) allocation that schools were allocated in previous years.
Under the new allocation model, schools have been provided with a total allocation for special education needs support based on their school profile.
The provision of a profiled allocation is designed to give a fairer allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support including language support but which provides a graduated allocation which takes into account the actual level of need in each school.
Under the new allocation model, schools are frontloaded with resources, based on each school’s profile, to provide supports immediately to those pupils who need it without delay.
It should be noted that this is a brand new model of allocation and is not comparable to the previous model. By using a broad range of attainment and socio-economic criteria, it is expected that generally, a school’s profile will remain relatively constant from year to year. Each year, some students with additional teaching needs will leave and others will enrol, broadly balancing the school profile.
Further additional temporary Language Support is also provided, as necessary, to schools that have high concentrations of pupils that require language (EAL) support. At primary level, these allocations are made on the basis of appeals by schools to the Primary Staffing Appeals Board and at post-primary level to the Post Primary Staffing Appeals Board.
Question No. 149 answered with Question No. 145.
School Guidance Counsellors
Ceisteanna (150)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:150. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full-year cost of restoring ex-quota guidance counsellors to all schools. [51124/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Measures announced by my Department as part of Budgets 2016, 2017 and 2018 mean that 500 of the 600 guidance posts that was withdrawn in Budget 2012, will be restored to schools from September 2018.
All of these 500 posts are allocated separately and transparently on the normal staffing schedule of posts for schools. These posts have been ring-fenced so they can only be used for guidance activities and to meet the guidance needs of the school.
The cost of restoring the remaining 100 posts is in the region of €6m. This will be considered in the context of future Budgets, however there are needs across the system which have to be balanced in the decisions made in each budget.
Question No. 151 answered with Question No. 145.
Momentum Programme
Ceisteanna (152)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:152. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of increasing the number of places available on the Momentum programme by 20%. [51126/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Momentum programme was created in 2012 during the economic downturn to address the needs of long term unemployed and young unemployed individuals. It funded the provision of free education and training projects to support over 12,500 jobseekers (who had been unemployed for twelve months or more) to gain skills and access employment opportunities in growing sectors of the economy.
It was delivered through two programme iterations. The first (Momentum I) ran over the period 2012-2014, and the second (Momentum II) commenced in 2014 and concluded earlier this year. Momentum 1 cost in the order of €17m and Momentum II cost almost €19m. The cost of another round of Momentum with 20% greater numbers than Momentum II would be €22.8 million. It is likely that this total cost would be spread over more than a single year.
Given the overall improvement in the economic position, the welcome decline in the numbers who are unemployed and the consequent reduction in demand for training, there are no plans for a further round of the Momentum programme and participants are not currently being recruited.
Independent evaluations of both programmes have been carried out and published and are available on the SOLAS website at www.solas.ie
School Transport
Ceisteanna (153)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:153. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of restoring school transport services to the criteria that existed pre-2011. [51127/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently over 114,000 children, including over 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 changes introduced in Budget 2011, derived from recommendations in the Value for Money Review of the Scheme and encompassed a number of elements such as national application of the distance rule of 3.2 kilometres at primary level, the cessation of the Closed/Central School Rule at primary level, the cessation of catchment boundary area to determine eligibility at post primary level, the increase from seven to 10 eligible pupils residing in a distinct locality to retain or establish a school transport service and the introduction of charges at primary level.
Given that school transport is a demand led service it is difficult to cost school transport services on the basis of restoring the Scheme to the criteria that existed pre 2011. However, in general the unit cost for transporting mainstream children is some €1,000 per annum, while the unit cost for transporting children with special educational needs is €7,000 or €9,000 when the provision of escorts are included.
During the 2010/11 school year almost 124,000 children were availing of school transport including over 8,000 children with special educational needs.
Teachers' Remuneration
Ceisteanna (154)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:154. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of restoring all allowances to new entry teachers which were abolished in 2012 to 2013. [51128/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
As a consequence of the economic crisis, there was a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure so as to stabilise the country’s public finances.
The Government approved a number of measures relating to public service allowances following a public service-wide review of allowances and premium payments conducted by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. As a result of the Government decision, certain allowances were withdrawn for new beneficiaries with effect from 1 February 2012. The details are set out in Circular 08/2013.
Any person who was in receipt of the relevant allowances on 31 January 2012 will continue to be paid that allowance except where that teacher ceases that job role or changes school or employer on or after 1 February 2012. Where a teacher is redeployed under the agreed redeployment scheme, this will not be regarded as a cessation.
As part of the public service-wide review of allowances, the Government withdrew qualification allowances for new teachers altogether. As a result of the September 2016 Agreement with Unions, revised salary scales which include the Honours Primary Degree allowance will apply from 1 January 2018 to teachers recruited since 1 January 2011. This will mean that a teacher will start on a salary of over €35,900.
The annual cost of restoring the H.Dip allowance is estimated at €6.5 million.
The annual cost of restoring other allowances to new entry teachers in Primary, Voluntary Secondary and Community and Comprehensive schools would be in the region of €0.87m, comprised of €0.37m to restore the Gaeltacht Allowance, €0.49m to restore the Teaching Through Irish allowance and €0.01m to restore the Island Allowance (Primary only).
These costs relate only to teachers paid on payrolls operated by my Department only and do not include the cost of teachers employed by Education and Training Boards.
Teacher Data
Ceisteanna (155)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:155. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of appointing 350 assistant principal posts. [51129/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The recently published Circular 0063/2017 "Leadership and Management in Primary schools" sets out a framework for promotion posts in recognised primary schools.
The commencement of the restoration of middle management posts as part of an agreed distributed leadership model means that the rigidity of the longstanding moratorium on these posts has been lifted and all primary schools can now fill middle management posts in line with circular 0063/2017. This recognises the key role school leadership has in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive and accountable.
The annual allowance payable in respect of these middle-management posts are as follows:
Assistant Principal I - €8,520
Assistant Principal II - €3,769
Approx. 2600 additional posts of responsibility have been provided for at primary and post-primary level in 2017/18.
Budgets 2016 and 2017 provided an additional 420 Deputy Principal posts in the post primary sector.
Discussions are ongoing with the post primary education partners with the view to agreement and publication of a circular as soon as possible.
School Curriculum
Ceisteanna (156)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:156. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of introducing a computing and coding curriculum for primary schools. [51130/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Exact expenditure figures regarding the teaching of Computing or Coding in primary schools are not available, as funding is not allocated by my Department on a subject-by-subject basis. However, work in this area is taking place at both primary and post-primary levels.
The NCCA is in the process of developing a new primary mathematics curriculum and will consider my request to have coding, creative and computational thinking included in the revised curriculum. The NCCA will work with a network of schools during this school year to explore different approaches to integrating coding in the primary curriculum.
Currently the PDST Technology in Education provide training for both primary and post primary teachers in ICT which includes 'Scratch' coding. 5,800 teachers received ICT training in 2016.
Furthermore, a large number of schools are running voluntary coding programmes through initiatives such as Coder Dojo (over 200 dojos in Ireland), Hour of Code, where over 200 events took place in Ireland and the annual computer programming Olympiad held at Dublin City University.
Further resources in this area will be looked at in conjunction with the STEM Education policy statement and implementation plan, which I launched yesterday.
Student Grant Scheme
Ceisteanna (157)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:157. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of restoring postgraduate grants to 2011 levels. [51131/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The Deputy will be aware of the Programme for Government commitment to increase financial supports for post graduate students with a particular focus on those from low income households.
In response to this commitment, I secured additional funding of €4 million in Budget 2017 and a further €3 million in Budget 2018, to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants, from September 2017, for the most disadvantaged post graduate students.
This will benefit approximately 1,100 of the most disadvantaged post graduate students who meet the eligibility criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant, from September 2017, and it reverses the budgetary cut that was imposed on this cohort of students in 2012.
However, if the maintenance grants and eligibility for full fees were reintroduced for post-graduate students, the total estimated cost would be approximately €40m. This is additional to the €7 million secured in Budgets 2017 & 2018.
This costing assumes that the actual number of post graduate grant holders (2,141 in 2016/17) will increase to the level prior to the introduction of 2012 Budget measure (6,027 students). It also assumes that students will qualify for the higher fee and maintenance grants.
Student Grant Scheme Expenditure
Ceisteanna (158)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:158. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of linking student maintenance grants to the consumer price index, CPI. [51132/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The cost of linking student maintenance grants to the CPI would be entirely contingent on movements in the CPI.
For instance, the annual cost of paying student maintenance grants is circa €172m and therefore, a 1% movement in the CPI would cost €1.72m per annum.
Student Assistance Fund
Ceisteanna (159)
Thomas Byrne
Ceist:159. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills the full-year cost of increasing the student assistance fund to peak levels in 2012 to 2013. [51133/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
In December 2012, an additional €3 million was approved to supplement the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) following a survey conducted by the HEA in relation to the demand for the Fund.
This supplementary funding was a once-off exceptional measure which was taken in the context of long grant delays/issues encountered by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) in its initial year of operation.
An additional allocation of €1.5m was secured in budget 2016 for the Student Assistance Fund. The allocation under the Fund in 2017 is €8.1 million.
Pupil-Teacher Ratio
Ceisteanna (160)
Willie O'Dea
Ceist:160. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which the reduced pupil-teacher ratio, 26:1, as announced in budget 2018 will be implemented; the way the reduced ratio to the 2018-2019 staffing schedule will be applied; if the reduction will be applied to all points on the staffing schedule; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51178/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
The criteria used for the allocation of teaching posts is published annually 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 previous 30 September. The staffing schedule also includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeals Board.
The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location.
Budget 2018 marked the second year of major reinvestment in the education sector, as we continue to implement the Action Plan for Education, which has the central aim to make the Irish Education and training service the best in Europe within a decade.
Budget 2018 includes a further one point improvement in the staffing schedule in primary schools which brings the position to the most favourable ever seen at primary level. This measure will further assist all schools at the upper end of their individual respective bands. This budget measure delivers on a commitment made in the Confidence and Supply Agreement and Programme for Government to reduce primary schools class size.
These changes will come into effect in September 2018 for the 2018/19 school year.
The detailed staffing arrangements including the staffing schedule for 2018/19 will be set out in the staffing schedule Circular for the 2018/19 school year. The circular will be published early in 2018.
Special Educational Needs
Ceisteanna (161)
Róisín Shortall
Ceist:161. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider exempting children with dyspraxia from the requirement to learn Irish; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51246/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Exemptions from the study of Irish are granted in accordance with the provisions of Departmental Circular 12/96 for primary schools and M10/94 for post-primary schools. The criteria provides that exemptions may be granted by school authorities for certain categories of students with special educational needs as set out in these Circulars. Currently, a diagnosis of dyspraxia is not among the categories of special educational need for which an exemption may be granted.
My Department is currently conducting a review of arrangements for the granting of exemptions from the study of Irish. To date, the review has included a research phase and is being led by the Department’s Inspectorate and the Department’s Curriculum and Assessment Policy Unit. This research phase is ongoing and will inform further policy actions in this area.
Brexit Staff
Ceisteanna (162)
Stephen Donnelly
Ceist:162. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the estimated cost of hiring additional Brexit staff in his Department; the cost by grade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50914/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
Managing our response to Brexit has impacted on the work of many staff at Headquarters and a significant number of those overseas. It is important to emphasise that our approach has not been merely to recruit or assign additional staff, but rather also to prioritise Brexit in the work of our entire Department. Additional staff have been assigned to the key Divisions with responsibility for Brexit matters, the European Union Division and the Ireland, UK and Americas (IUKA) Division, to cover the issues arising from the UK exit process. For operational and service oriented units like the Passport Office and Consular service, there has been a marked increase in demand for passports and citizenship via foreign birth registration from applicants in Northern Ireland and in Britain.
Many business units of my Department at headquarters in Dublin are involved in some way as part of the response to the UK exit. For example the Legal Division, the Trade Division and the Policy Planning Unit.
Overseas, additional posts have been assigned to our Embassies in London, Berlin, and Paris as well as the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels.
To support the complex and intensive negotiation process, my Department received an additional €3.2 million as part of the 2017 allocation. The Department has also allocated an additional budget of €2 million. This budget was used to increase the number of staff assigned to the management and support of the negotiations and to increase the level of support provided to our colleagues across all Government Departments and agencies.
These measures remain under review. The Department will allocate additional staff resources as deemed necessary to further augment our level of support across Government and across our network.
Departmental Communications
Ceisteanna (163)
Micheál Martin
Ceist:163. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the internal report by his Department that was reported in the media on 23 November 2017 (details supplied) [50531/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí scríofa
I am aware of the matter to which the Deputy refers. A core part of the work of our Embassies in the EU is to report on views on Brexit in other Member States. A weekly summary of such reports is prepared. These summaries, like the reports on which they are based, are internal and confidential and not intended for the public domain. In the light of this regrettable event, arrangements for their preparation and circulation are being reviewed within my Department.