Written Answers Nos. 220-236
220. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent of information sharing between the OPW and insurance companies in respect of flood risk; his views on the practice of insurance companies denying flood cover to households at which no flooding has taken place; his plans to address the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23629/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhile the Office of Public Works (OPW) has no responsibility for oversight or regulation of the insurance industry in relation to flood risk insurance, or to insurance matters generally, the OPW has a very specific role in the exchange of information with the insurance industry in relation to completed flood defence schemes.
On 24th March 2014, the OPW agreed a Memorandum of Understanding with Insurance Ireland, the representative body for insurance companies in Ireland. This Memorandum of Understanding sets out the principles of how the two organisations work together to ensure that appropriate and relevant information on completed flood relief schemes is provided to insurance companies to facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, the availability of insurance against the risk of flooding.
The Memorandum notes the requirement for insurance companies when assessing exposure to flood risk to take full account of information provided by the OPW on completed flood defence schemes. Under this Memorandum of Understanding, Insurance Ireland provides the OPW with details of the level of policies that include flood risk insurance within the benefitting areas of these schemes.
The initial tranche of data provided by the OPW to Insurance Ireland in 2014 covered twelve completed flood defence schemes; showing the design, extent and nature of the protections offered by these works. Details of a further five schemes were provided in January 2015 and details of the Waterford Flood Defence Scheme were shared last year.
Since the initial tranche of data provided by the OPW, Insurance Ireland has completed four surveys of its members to assess the level of flood insurance in benefitting areas. The most recent returns highlights that 83% of policies issued for residences and small businesses include flood risk insurance cover, with 90% of policies having flood cover in those areas protected by permanent flood defences.
The Department of Finance has responsibility for Government policy on flood insurance. In late 2016, the Minister for Finance prepared a report on policy options to support flood insurance. This was considered by Government that agreed to continue with its policy of flood insurance cover being returned through Government investment in flood relief schemes.
Under the Memorandum the Department of Finance, Insurance Ireland and my officials meet with the insurance sector quarterly. I am satisfied that in relation to the role of the OPW, my officials will continue to work with Insurance Ireland on this matter to ensure that the insurance industry has the required knowledge with regard to OPW flood defence schemes to facilitate, to the greatest extent possible, the availability of insurance against the risk of flooding.
221. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if parkland (details supplied) was disposed of by Dublin City Council to the OPW in 1986; when the disposal will be finalised; if the OPW will clean the area which is to the north west of the national monument; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23679/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is my understanding that the area in question is currently still in the ownership of Dublin City Council and it is therefore a matter for the Council to clean and maintain this area.
222. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to establish a construction sector group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23705/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Development Plan contains a commitment to establish a Construction Sector Working Group. The purpose of the Group is to ensure regular and open dialogue between Government and the construction sector to support the successful delivery of the NDP on a value-for-money basis for the Exchequer.
It is vital that the Group’s remit is clear and speaks to the issues that require dialogue between Government and the sector. To that end, my Department is consulting potential members of the Group in advance of the first formal plenary, to seek their views on issues that might be appropriately addressed in this forum.
Once this round of consultations is complete, I will set out a focused scope and work programme for the Group.
223. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he and his departmental officials have discussed the retirement cliff for the Civil Service in view of the age profile and the impact of the loss of expertise; and the actions being taken to address the matter. [23444/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Taoiseach’s Department, are fully cognisant of the changing demographic of the Civil Service. Under their leadership and sponsorship, strategic workforce planning is an action of One Vision - Civil Service Renewal Plan 2014 and the People Strategy 2017-2020 of the Civil Service.
The Management Boards of Civil Service Departments and Offices retain ownership and responsibility for workforce planning of their respective organisations. This business process is an ongoing and dynamic activity, responding to environmental challenges and developments in relation to their strategic business goals.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform now has formal responsibility for the development and coordination of strategic workforce planning in the Civil Service by the provision of guidelines, training and support to all government Departments and Offices. At present, officials in the Civil Service HR Division of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, are engaging with Civil Service HR Managers, in preparation for the next round of workforce planning, with a view to developing rolling workforce plans with a 3 year horizon.
The staffing requirements identified in these plans will inform the recruitment strategies of the Public Appointments Service in the context of anticipated retirements.
Identified learning and development interventions, arising from anticipated retirements, are being addressed through OneLearning, the Learning and Development Centre for the Civil Service.
A skills register for the Civil Service is being developed which will assist with future strategic workforce planning by informing on skills gaps, individual and organisational learning and development plans, workforce plans and future recruitment drives.
Under the leadership of the Secretary General of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Secretary General of the Department of An Taoiseach, (as chair of the Civil Service Management Board), specific initiatives are underway to build capability in the Senior Public Service that are intended to mitigate any loss of leadership arising from probable retirements of Senior civil servants. In addition to mobility and Senior Leadership programmes aimed at Assistant Secretaries and Principal Officers there are also talent management, mentoring and coaching programmes equipping serving and emerging leaders with the competencies and skills required to lead into the future.
224. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of ministerial cars or vehicles in operation in each of the past six years; and the costs associated with same. [24035/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMinisterial cars or vehicles from the fleet of An Garda Síochána have not been operated by my Department over the past six years.
225. Deputy Jack Chambers asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason SNA services at a school (details supplied) have been cut for the next academic year; if this cut will be reversed in view of the fact that the service is of enormous importance to the development of children at the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23100/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.
The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed. The Department’s policy is to ensure that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.
In considering applications for SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources. SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource.
SNA allocations to all schools can change from year to year as children with care needs leave the school, as new children with care needs enrol in a school and as children develop more independent living skills and their care needs diminish over time.
I was very pleased to announce on Friday 18th May that 800 additional Special Needs Assistants will be allocated for the beginning of the next school year, with a further 140 expected to be allocated by the end of the year.
I was also pleased that the announcement on Friday was in keeping with the commitment made last year to inform schools of the September 2018 allocation before the end of May. In making this announcement at this time the Department is providing certainty to schools, parents and of course SNA's in relation to the posts that will be in place for the coming school year.
By the end of this year, there will be a total of 15,000 Special Needs Assistants working in our schools, a 42% increase on 2011. The National Council for Special Education notified the schools of their SNA allocations on Friday last and the details of these allocations are now published and available on their website.
The NCSE Appeals Process may be invoked by a parent or a school where it is considered that a child was not granted access to SNA support on the grounds that Department policy was not met in accordance with Circular 0030/2014.
Schools may also appeal a decision, where the school considers that the NCSE, in applying Department policy, has not allocated the appropriate level of SNA supports to the school to meet the special educational and/or care needs of the children concerned.
Where a school has received its allocation of SNA support for 2018/19, but wishes new enrolments or assessments to be considered, which were not taken into account when the initial allocation was made, they may continue to make applications to the NCSE. The closing date for receipt of any appeals in regard to SNA allocations is Friday, 28th September 2018.
As this question relates to an individual child I have referred the question to the NCSE for their direct reply.
226. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding that will be made available and when for capital developments planned for a school (details supplied) in County Sligo under Project Ireland 2040; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23109/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2007, my Department has invested €1.8m of capital funding in the college referred to by the Deputy. This includes €0.343m of funding approved during the summer of 2017 for refurbishment and repair works related to an increase in its student intake.
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is currently in discussions with the college in relation to further campus development plans. Officials from the HEA recently met with representatives of the college to discuss its capital requirements and it is expected that an updated submission will shortly be forwarded by the college to the HEA.
The National Development Plan (NDP) signals Exchequer investments of €2.2 billion in higher education infrastructure over the coming decade. This welcome increase in funding will present major new opportunities for the higher education sector. However, it should be noted that the significant ramp up in investment will take place over time and particularly in the second half of the NDP period.
In that context, a capital investment prioritisation framework, together with updated appraisal approaches, will be advanced over the coming months to inform funding decisions and to ensure that maxiumum impact and value for money can be achieved from Exchequer investments.
Any proposal from a Higher Education Institution that is under consideration for capital funding will be subject to detailed appraisal in accordance with the Public Spending Code.
227. Deputy Maurice Quinlivan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of abolishing apprenticeship fees in 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23126/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn Annual Student Contribution is levied on all students attending Institutes of Technology (IoTs). Previously this Annual Student Contribution was paid by FÁS/SOLAS with apprentices themselves paying the part of the contribution relating to examination fees. As part of Budget 2014, SOLAS ceased making payments to IoTs and apprentices pay the full pro rata Annual Student Contribution.
The amount charged to apprentices is calculated on a pro rata basis of the time which they spend in IoTs during the academic year. This cost would typically be one third of the Annual Student Contribution paid by students attending for the full academic year, currently €3,000 and would amount to approx. €1,000 per student per annum.
The cost of not charging the Annual Student Contribution is estimated to be €4.2 million in 2018, although there are no plans to abolish the Annual Student Contribution for apprentices.
228. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address a matter (details supplied) relating to the employment of superintendents by the State Examination Commission for leaving certificate and junior certificate exam centres. [23134/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations.
In view of this I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you
229. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a contractor (details supplied) has withdrawn from a tender process for a school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23161/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe contractor in question has not withdrawn from the tender competition for the project to which the Deputy refers.
However, the local Education and Training Board, to whom the project has been devolved for delivery, has excluded the contractor from the competition and has now moved on to evaluating the tender from the next lowest bidder.
230. Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for Education and Skills the options available to a person (details supplied) who has been deemed suitable for a course in IT Carlow but cannot afford the €9,750 annual fee. [23162/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder my Department's Free Fees Initiative, the Exchequer provides funding towards tuition fees in respect of eligible students who are pursuing approved full-time undergraduate courses of study within the State. In order to qualify for funding under the Free Fees Initiative, students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia, EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course.
Eligible students may also receive supports via the statutory based Student Grant Scheme. To qualify for grant support, a grant applicant must meet various criteria relating to means, residency, nationality and progression.
Where students do not qualify for free fees funding, they must pay the appropriate fee - either EU or Non-EU, as determined by each higher education institution. These institutions are autonomous bodies and the level of fee payable by students who do not meet the requirements of the free fees scheme is a matter for the relevant institution to determine.
Tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education. Further information on this tax relief is available from the Revenue Commissioners at www.revenue.ie
231. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria used for dividing the country into 314 school planning areas; when the criteria was last reviewed; and the body responsible for its review. [23171/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data in a way that takes account of the significant local and regional variations in demographic trends and enrolment projections, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas, of which some 40 are in Dublin.
Using school planning area boundaries within my Department’s Geographic Information System (GIS) allows data within those boundaries, including data for enrolments in schools, child benefit and other relevant data to be added to the mapping information, grouped and analysed. The GIS records the number of primary and post-primary schools within each planning area, the combined enrolments for all of the schools within each area, including total enrolment and enrolment in each class group, together with child benefit data for the 0-4 age group relevant to the area.
In most areas, school planning areas were based on traditional school catchment areas where all primary schools were assigned to a post-primary feeder area (typically a population centre or town), containing one or more post-primary schools. With the introduction of Small Areas in Census 2011, these feeder areas were amended to align with Census Small Areas. The current school planning areas take account not only of local groupings of schools, but also of natural boundaries, Census Small Areas and other local conditions.
These school planning areas are used in the demographic exercise as a basis for the assessment of areas of growth and to inform recommendations on the establishment of any new schools required in that school planning area. My Department does not have plans to review the school planning areas at this point. However, the implementation of Ireland 2040 may require further review of school planning areas based on spatial planning considerations and the roll-out of significant new residential developments over time.
232. Deputy Noel Rock asked the Minister for Education and Skills the school planning areas in which Meakstown and Charlestown belong; and the reason they have not been defined in their own school planning area at this stage. [23172/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. For school planning purposes Meakstown/Charlestown is located in the Finglas East_Ballymun_Dublin 11 school planning area, in which there are currently 9 primary schools.
Each school planning area, including the Finglas East_Ballymun_Dublin11 school planning area, encompasses a number of areas such as Charlestown and Meakstown. It is not necessary to have an individual school planning area for each area and such a division would not allow for a comprehensive analysis of demand in the wider area.
233. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills the financial supports available to support the development of an astroturf pitch at a school (details supplied); the other schemes that can be applied for in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23177/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's focus in recent years has been on prioritising the funding available for the provision of essential classroom accommodation to meet demographic need.
As the Deputy will be aware, due to the competing demands on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise the available funding in this manner, it is not possible at this point to provide an indicative timeframe for the provision of funding for sports facilities generally.
It is open to the school in question to explore any funding options that may be available under the Sports Capital Programme administered by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
234. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the sole SNA working in a school (details supplied) in County Sligo has been withdrawn; the reason the SNA service has been withdrawn from the school; if the case will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23200/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.
The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed. The Department’s policy is to ensure that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.
In considering applications for SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources. SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource.
SNA allocations to all schools can change from year to year as children with care needs leave the school, as new children with care needs enrol in a school and as children develop more independent living skills and their care needs diminish over time.
I was very pleased to announce on Friday 18th May that 800 additional Special Needs Assistants will be allocated for the beginning of the next school year, with a further 140 expected to be allocated by the end of the year.
I was also pleased that the announcement on Friday was in keeping with the commitment made last year to inform schools of the September 2018 allocation before the end of May. In making this announcement at this time the Department is providing certainty to schools, parents and of course SNA's in relation to the posts that will be in place for the coming school year.
By the end of this year, there will be a total of 15,000 Special Needs Assistants working in our schools, a 42% increase on 2011. The National Council for Special Education notified the schools of their SNA allocations on Friday last and the details of these allocations are now published and available on their website.
The NCSE Appeals Process may be invoked by a parent or a school where it is considered that a child was not granted access to SNA support on the grounds that Department policy was not met in accordance with Circular 0030/2014.
Schools may also appeal a decision, where the school considers that the NCSE, in applying Department policy, has not allocated the appropriate level of SNA supports to the school to meet the special educational and/or care needs of the children concerned.
Where a school has received its allocation of SNA support for 2018/19, but wishes new enrolments or assessments to be considered, which were not taken into account when the initial allocation was made, they may continue to make applications to the NCSE. The closing date for receipt of any appeals in regard to SNA allocations is Friday, 28th September 2018.
As this question relates to an individual child I have referred the question to the NCSE for their direct reply.
235. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills if a request by a person (details supplied) to become an administrative principal will be examined in order that the appointment can be made in September 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23220/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 deputy principal to a school, which are enrolment related, are set out in Appendix B of Circular, 0010/2018. 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.
236. Deputy Jackie Cahill asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an application for funding for a sensory garden for a school (details supplied) will be expedited in view of the fact that the school has a successful Autism Spectrum Disorders, ASD, unit and a sensory garden is vital for that service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23221/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department provided very significant devolved funding to the school in question to provide a 470m2 two classroom ASD Unit.
The grant approved included funding for a large central activities space in the Unit together with a 200m2 secure hard/soft play area and six car parking spaces to meet the needs of the children attending the unit in question.
