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Tuesday, 1 May 2018

Written Answers Nos. 136-149

Teacher Career Breaks

Ceisteanna (136)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

136. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of teachers who have availed of career breaks, the duration of career breaks and how many are on on career breaks in each year since 2010, by primary and secondary teachers, and in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18655/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The information on the numbers of Career Breaks availed of by teachers in primary and post primary schools excluding those employed in schools operated by Education and Training Boards since the 2012/13 school year is provided in the table. This information is also available on my Department's website.

A teacher may engage in the career break scheme subject to an overall maximum absence of 10 years in the course of his/her professional career. A career break shall be a period of not less than one school year and may be extended on an annual basis provided that the total period of the Career Break does not exceed 5 years at any one time. A subsequent Career Break may not be taken until the teacher has served for a period equal to the duration of the previous Career Break.

Each application for or extension of a Career Break shall be considered on its own merits by the employer within the context of the school's policy statement. The decision of the employer shall be final. The employer means an Education and Training Board (ETB) for vocational schools/community colleges, community national schools and a Board of Management/Manager in the case of primary(excluding community national schools) voluntary secondary, community and comprehensive schools.

The Department's website holds further information on the Career Break Scheme - (Terms and Conditions of Employment for Registered Teachers in Primary and Post Primary School - Chapter Eight refers.)

Breakdown of Career Break by year, sector and gender for 2012/13 – 2017/18

Date

Primary Male

Primary Female

Post-Primary Male

Post-Primary Female

Overall Total

2012/2013

123

1,105

53

254

1535

2013/2014

178

1,183

62

292

1715

2014/2015

210

1,236

75

321

1842

2015/2016

236

1,251

103

351

1941

2016/2017

245

1,348

124

373

2090

2017/2018

287

1, 420

146

411

2264

Excludes info from ETB's and Community National Schools.

Schools Building Projects Applications

Ceisteanna (137)

Éamon Ó Cuív

Ceist:

137. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills when a building project to provide a permanent replacement school for a school (details supplied) will be approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18672/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I can confirm that building projects for the two schools referred to by the Deputy are included in my Department's 6 Year Construction Programme.

Site issues have arisen in respect of the projects in question and my Department is continuing to liaise with the school's Patron in this regard. I understand that my Department is awaiting a suitable meeting date to be notified by the Patron to discuss the matter further.

Special Educational Needs Data

Ceisteanna (138, 139, 140, 141)

Tom Neville

Ceist:

138. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of resource teachers recruited in each of the years from 2005 to 2017, inclusive, and to date in 2018, by county and in tabular form. [18676/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Tom Neville

Ceist:

139. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of SNAs recruited in each of the years from 2005 to 2017, inclusive, and to date in 2018, by county and in tabular form. [18677/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Tom Neville

Ceist:

140. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special classes the National Council for Special Education plans to open in 2018, by county and in tabular form. [18678/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Tom Neville

Ceist:

141. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special classes opened in each of the years from 2005 to 2017, inclusive, and to date in 2018, by county and in tabular form. [18679/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 139 to 141, inclusive, together.

On 24th April, in reply to a parliamentary question from the Deputy, I provided information on spending on special educational needs and Tables showing the following totals:

- The number of SNAs allocated from 2005 to 2018;

- The number of special classes from 2010 to 2018; and

- The numbers of learning support and resource teachers from 2009 to 2017, and Special Education teachers in 2017/18.

Details on the numbers of special classes in each school per county for the 2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16, 2016/17 and 2017/18 school years are available on the NCSE website at http://ncse.ie/special-classes; while details on SNA and Resource teaching allocations for the same years, in each school per county, are available at http://ncse.ie/statistics.

I will arrange for the NCSE to reply directly to the deputy with Special Class, SNA, and Resource teaching details per county from 2005/06 to 2011/12, inclusive.

School Staff

Ceisteanna (142, 143)

Thomas Byrne

Ceist:

142. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a school (details supplied) will receive additional teachers in September 2018. [18723/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Mick Barry

Ceist:

143. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the application by a school (details supplied) for additional teachers has been refused in view of its growth and reduced pupil-teacher ratio. [18742/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 142 and 143 together.

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. Budget 2018 announced a one point improvement to the primary staffing schedule, which reduced the average pupil teacher ratio to 26:1. The improved staffing schedule has been implemented for the 2018/19 school year and is set out in Circular 0010/2018, available on the Department of Education website.

In establishing their staffing for the 2018/19 school year, schools may appoint the number of teachers allowed for on the staffing schedule using the school enrolment of 30 September 2017. Any teachers appointed from the staffing schedule must be engaged in teaching duties within the school. Schools are subject to the published redeployment arrangements in filling teaching vacancies.

Qualifications Recognition

Ceisteanna (144, 145)

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

144. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there is a requirement (details supplied) for persons to seek recognition of their professional qualifications for regulated construction industry activities that were obtained outside the State; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty this requirement creates for residents of Border communities who have previously obtained the relevant qualifications in Northern Ireland and wish to work and provide services here and who may, in previous years, have provided such services here; the actions he will take to address the anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18747/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Pearse Doherty

Ceist:

145. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason there is a requirement (details supplied) for persons seeking to have professional qualifications for regulated construction industry activities recognised for the provision of services on a temporary or occasional basis in relation to qualifications obtained outside the State; if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty this requirement creates for residents of Border communities living here and who wish to work and provide services here; the actions he will take to address this anomaly; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18748/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 145 together.

A number of professional activities in the construction sector are regulated by the SOLAS Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work (Construction) Regulations 2013. These professional activities may only be pursued by persons who are suitably qualified.

Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications provides the legal framework for the recognition of qualifications obtained outside the State and is transposed into Irish law by S.I. 8 of 2017. This Directive enables EU/EEA professionals to move between Member States and practice their chosen professions while respecting the regulatory standards of each jurisdiction.

SOLAS recognises qualifications in line with the provisions of Directive 2005/36/EC and S.I. 8 of 2017 which specifies processes which apply to professionals seeking to provide services on a temporary and occasional basis in the State. For professionals to avail of this option under the Directive, they must provide evidence that they are legally established to practice that profession in another Member State.

Where a profession is regulated in one Member State but not another, as is the case with the CSCS professions, legal establishment is evidenced by the professional displaying that they have pursued that profession in one or more Member States for at least one year during the last 10 years.

School Transport Administration

Ceisteanna (146)

Seán Sherlock

Ceist:

146. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Skills the changes implemented in the school transport scheme ahead of the next round of school bus places being allocated; the meetings he has held on the matter; and if the concerns of parents who have paid for tickets and are not guaranteed a place will be considered. [18749/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.

Currently over 116,000 children, including almost 12,000 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 at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.

The purpose of my Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.

Children are generally eligible for school transport if they satisfy the distance criteria and are attending their nearest school. It is important to note that all eligible children are accommodated under the terms of the scheme.

Arising from commitments in the Programme for Government, a review of the Concessionary Charges and Rules element of the School Transport Scheme was undertaken.

The review was published in December 2016 and made recommendations on both the charges and the rules element of concessionary school transport.

With regard to the charges for concessionary school transport the recommended course of action was to continue with the current position whereby charges remain in place for those in receipt of concessionary places. I agreed with this recommendation on the basis that those applying for concessionary transport are making a conscious decision to do so, understand that they are not eligible for school transport and understand the implications of this choice at the time of application.

The report also recommended that the number of concessionary places should be reduced in line with the rules introduced in 2012 on a phased basis. Previous plans to advance this option were put on hold, pending the completion of the review.

However upon consideration of the review and following discussions with the Cross Party Working Group which I established to feed into the review, I decided that there should be no planned programme of downsizing in the coming years except in line with normal operational decisions within the current scheme.

The terms of the School Transport Scheme are applied equitably on a national basis.

School Transport Appeals

Ceisteanna (147)

Seán Sherlock

Ceist:

147. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Education and Skills the detail of the responses issued to the appeal made by the parents of a child (details supplied) for the provision of school bus services. [18750/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.

Currently over 116,000 children, including almost 12,000 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 at a total cost of almost €190 million in 2017.

Under the terms of my Department's Post Primary School Transport scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 4.8 kms from and are attending their nearest education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.

My Department has been advised that the child referred to by the Deputy is not attending their nearest education centre and is, therefore, not eligible for transport under the terms of the scheme.

Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only. Concessionary transport is subject to a number of terms and conditions including the availability of spare seats on an existing service and payment of the annual charge.

Seats for concessionary applicants are allocated after all eligible children have been accommodated on school transport services. This exercise normally takes place after the closing date for receipt of payments. Where seats are limited a random selection process is used.

This case was also the subject of an appeal to the School Transport Appeals Board which has made a determination in the matter. The parents have been notified of this decision.

School Accommodation Provision

Ceisteanna (148)

Anne Rabbitte

Ceist:

148. Deputy Anne Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education and Skills the accommodation funding that was granted to a school (details supplied). [18766/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for major capital works to my Department under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme. The Additional Accommodation Scheme is designed to address immediate essential classroom accommodation deficits.

In that regard, having examined the application, approval in principle has been granted to the school in respect of four additional temporary classrooms to meet immediate requirements in September 2018.

School Staff

Ceisteanna (149)

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

149. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a school (details supplied) will no longer meet the threshold for an administrative principal from September 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18773/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The school has been in touch with my office in relation to the matter raised. 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 criteria for the appointment of an administrative principal to a school, which are enrolment related, are set out in Appendix B of Circular, 0010/2018. The school referred to by the Deputy does not meet this criteria. There is no scope to deviate from these arrangements.

The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location.

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