Tuesday, 14 Jun 2022

Written Answers Nos. 1026-1043

Residential Institutions

Ceisteanna (1026)

Catherine Murphy

Ceist:

1026. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education when she intends to introduce legislation to formally wind up Caranua; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30316/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

As the Deputy will be aware, Caranua was established in 2013 to disburse the contributions of €110m (€111.38m including interest) provided by the religious congregations following the publication of the Ryan Report by funding approved services to support the needs of former residents who, as children, suffered abuse in relevant institutions.

As the funding available to Caranua was finite in nature, Caranua announced in May 2018 that it would cease to accept applications from 1 August 2018. All outstanding applications were finalised by Caranua by March 2021.

A General Scheme providing for the dissolution of Caranua has been prepared and it is my intention to progress this legislation shortly.

Site Acquisitions

Ceisteanna (1027)

James Lawless

Ceist:

1027. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education if she will assist in identifying a site for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30384/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

A Minister-owned site has been identified as an option for potential redevelopment to accommodate a second school. Representatives of the existing school have agreed to collaborate with my Department to carry out a master plan study to assess the potential of developing a second school on the Minister-owned site. The outcome of the master plan study will determine the next steps to be taken.

It is not possible to provide any further information at this time.

Special Educational Needs

Ceisteanna (1028)

Danny Healy-Rae

Ceist:

1028. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae asked the Minister for Education if an occupational therapist report is a requirement in order to qualify for a grant for a laptop at a secondary school for a student with dyslexia; if this varies by each school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30386/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

Under the Assistive Technology scheme, as set out in my Department’s Circular 0010/2013, funding is provided to schools towards the cost of computers and specialist equipment, which are required for educational purposes. All equipment provided under this scheme supports children with more complex disabilities who, in order to access the school curriculum, require essential specialist equipment. It must be clear that the existing I.T. equipment in the school is insufficient to meet the child's needs. Where necessary, schools may also purchase new or additional equipment or software for students from normal school resources or funds.

Where children with more complex disabilities require essential specialist equipment to access the school curriculum, which they do not already have, or which cannot be provided for them through the schools existing provisions, schools may make an application for such equipment to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) under the terms of this scheme. The NCSE through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. SENOs also make recommendations to my Department where assistive technology/specialised equipment is required. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in making recommendations for support. Schools make applications directly to the SENO, providing details of the student’s special educational needs or disability, including details of the approach taken by the school in making relevant interventions.

In order to qualify for equipment under the Assistive Technology Scheme, a student must have been diagnosed with a physical or communicative disability and must also have a recommendation in a professional assessment that the equipment is essential in order to allow the student to access the curriculum. SENOs will review the application, and professional reports provided in support of same, in order to establish whether the criteria of the scheme have been met. They will then make a recommendation to my Department as to whether or not assistive technology is required; and based on this recommendation, my Department will decide on the level of grant, if any, to be provided.

Traveller Education

Ceisteanna (1029)

Mary Lou McDonald

Ceist:

1029. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education if work has commenced on the Traveller education strategy, which was committed to in the 2020 programme for Government; the progress that has been made to date; and when the strategy will be completed and rolled out across the education system. [30398/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

It is my intention to advance a Traveller education strategy in line with the Programme for Government commitment. Work has progressed and is underway on a number of areas which will inform the development of a Traveller education strategy.

This includes:

- a pilot project Supporting Traveller and Roma (STAR) which is underway in 4 areas with the aim of improving attendance, participation and school completion;

- work underway by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) to support teaching and learning of Traveller history and culture, which follows the 2019 audit of the curriculum in respect of Traveller culture and history;

- the refined DEIS identification model I announced in March of this year which includes components to reflect the educational disadvantage experienced by students who have self-identified as Traveller or Roma.

In addition, in line with National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) commitments, my Department commissioned research on the effectiveness of the Department’s anti-bullying procedures on Traveller and Roma experiences in the school system. The report of the research, which was carried out by DCU’s Anti-Bullying Centre, was published on their website in March and will feed into the ongoing work in relation to developing a new Action Plan on Bullying, and reviewing and revising anti-bullying guidelines and procedures for schools.

Officials from my Department, together with officials from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, engage with Traveller representative organisations as part of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS) education subcommittee. This engagement will continue in the context of the development of the Traveller education strategy.

School Attendance

Ceisteanna (1030, 1031)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Ceist:

1030. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the number of children currently on reduced timetables who have been notified to her Department under the new guidelines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30400/22]

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Ceist:

1031. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the number of children with disabilities who are currently on reduced timetables who have been notified to her Department under the new guidelines, by each diagnostic category; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30401/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1030 and 1031 together.

A commitment was made under the Programme for Government to ensure robust data collection on the use of reduced school days and to further ensure that they are only used in a manner that is limited, appropriate and absolutely necessary.

My Department issued guidelines to schools on reduced school days in September 2021 which came into effect from 1st January 2022. My Department is working closely with Tusla Education Support Service to ensure that all students are supported to the greatest extent possible to attend for the full school day.

Tusla Education Support Service are tasked with gathering data from schools in relation to the use of reduced school days. It is my intention to publish this data in the near future and details of this will be on my Department's website.

Question No. 1031 answered with Question No. 1030.

School Attendance

Ceisteanna (1032)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Ceist:

1032. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the number of young persons who have had suspensions or expulsions notified to her Department in this academic year since January 2022; if she will provide the comparable data for the period 12 months previously; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30402/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

Under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, schools are obliged to notify Tusla (educational welfare officers) when the school intends to expel a student. The educational welfare officer shall, after receiving a notification, make all reasonable efforts to ensure that provision is made for the continued education of the student to whom the notification relates.

The data requested by the Deputy in relation to expulsions is contained in the following table. Given the period of school closures in 2020 and 2021, detail on previous school years is also included for comparative purposes.

-	2018-2019	2019-2020	2020-2021	2021-2022 August – December	2021-2022 January – Present
Total intentions to expel received	378	228	141	71	114
Post-primary intentions	322	206	127	70	107
Primary intentions	56	22	17	1	7
Total expulsions confirmed	255	155	100	53	57
Post-primary confirmed	214	140	87	52	52
Primary confirmed	41	15	13	1	5

Schools are also obliged to report to Tusla where a student is suspended for a period of not less than 6 consecutive school days.

Data on suspensions from January 2022 is not yet available as the data in respect of suspensions is submitted by schools to Tusla via the Annual Attendance Return/Student Absence Report at the end of the school year.

Special Educational Needs

Ceisteanna (1033)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Ceist:

1033. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Education the current status of the proposed front-loading model for special education needs assistants; the modelling or algorithm that informs the front-loading model; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30403/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Education

The availability of SNAs is critical to the inclusion of students with significant care needs in education and in school life. The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.

I can inform the Deputy that schools were notified of the arrangements for the allocation of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support in respect of students in mainstream classes for the 2022/2023 school year on 31 May 2022. The arrangements include the following provisions:

- SNA allocations for the 2022/23 school year are being maintained at existing levels to give schools clarity and certainty, a process is now available to schools where their change needs have reduced to contact the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) so as to ensure that resources are focused on schools with the greater care needs.

- The exceptional review process can result in an increase or decrease in SNA resources depending on changing care needs in a school.

Schools have maintained their SNA allocations since 2019 and in addition an average of 1,000 SNAs per annum have been allocated to schools since that time in 2020 and again in 2021. This year 1,165 extra SNAs will be allocated to schools for the 2022/23 school year – 620 in special schools and classes and 545 across mainstream setting. This will bring the total of SNAs in our schools to 19,169 – a record number of SNAs supporting children with special educational needs.

It was intended to introduce a front loaded model of SNA allocations for 2022/2023 however to do now would be very significantly disruptive to schools at a time when they are still managing the impacts of Covid-19 and staffing challenges including for SNA. Work has been ongoing on an appropriate front loading SNA model that is fully cognisant of matching SNA resources with the care needs of those children who need it and while significant progress has been made it has become clear that to introduce it now would not achieve this.

Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Ceisteanna (1034)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Ceist:

1034. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Education the estimated full-year and first-year cost of reducing the pupil-teacher ratio at post-primary level by one point. [30406/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

Teacher allocations to all schools are approved annually by my Department in accordance with established rules based on recognised pupil enrolment. The criteria for the allocation of posts are communicated to school managements annually and are available on the Department website. Teachers are currently allocated to post primary schools at a ratio of 19:1 in the free education system and 23:1 to schools in the fee charging sector.

Each 1 point adjustment to the pupil teacher ratio at post primary level would require approximately 1150 teaching posts at an estimated cost of €57.8m per annum. The average cost of a new entrant post primary teacher is currently €50,327.

Site Acquisitions

Ceisteanna (1035)

Neale Richmond

Ceist:

1035. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Education the status of the provision of a permanent site for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30422/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

The acquisition of the site for the school referred to by the Deputy was completed in 2020.

The building project for the school is being delivered under my Department's Design and Build programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction.

The Letter of Acceptance issued to the successful Contractor on 18th May 2022 commencing the school building contract and the contractor has mobilised on site.

Question No. 1036 answered with Question No. 1008.

State Examinations

Ceisteanna (1037)

Neale Richmond

Ceist:

1037. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Education the results date for the leaving certificate examination in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30424/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

The State Examinations Commission and my Department are acutely aware of the needs of candidates and end users in regard to the provision of Leaving Certificate results and are doing everything they can to ensure results are delivered as soon as possible.

In identifying the 2022 results date, there are a number of significant factors which when taken together mean it is not possible to give a date for issue of the results at this time.

Firstly, there is the commitment to having a deferred series of exams for certain defined categories of eligible students. It is not yet possible to fully assess at this point how many students will become eligible for the deferred sitting and how many exams each will need to take.

The timeline for marking the examinations critically depends on the availability of sufficient numbers of experienced examiners to mark candidates’ work. There are still opportunities for teachers who wish to apply to be examiners with the SEC to do so and I would encourage teachers to apply for these roles.

Finally, in February I also announced that the outcomes of the 2022 Leaving Certificate will, in the aggregate, be no lower than the outcomes in 2021. This was to ensure that the students of 2022 are not disadvantaged relative to those in 2021. This will require time for analysis, implementation and quality assurance. This work can only be completed when the marking of the deferred examinations has itself been completed.

It has to be recognised that sufficient time must also be allowed for the range of checks and quality assurance procedures which are required in the resulting process to ensure that the highest standards possible are maintained.

With the above range of factors in play, it is not possible to give a date for issue of the results at this time. However, the SEC is committed to providing a date as soon as it can.

Ukraine War

Ceisteanna (1038, 1039)

Neale Richmond

Ceist:

1038. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Education the number of Ukrainian refugees who have enrolled in primary school across Ireland, per county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30425/22]

Neale Richmond

Ceist:

1039. Deputy Neale Richmond asked the Minister for Education the number of Ukrainian refugees who have enrolled in secondary schools across Ireland, by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30426/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1038 and 1039 together.

As of 3 June, 6,797 Ukrainian pupils have been enrolled in schools across Ireland. Out of that figure, 4,766 of these pupils have been enrolled in primary schools, while 2,031 pupils have enrolled in post-primary schools.

Enrolment data by county is given in the table below.

Enrolments by County as of 3 June

County	Primary	Post-primary
Carlow	50	26
Cavan	112	53
Clare	348	166
Cork	454	222
Donegal	229	85
Dublin	819	373
Galway	295	108
Kerry	443	175
Kildare	90	34
Kilkenny	68	46
Laois	78	37
Leitrim	117	30
Limerick	165	72
Longford	29	12
Louth	144	93
Mayo	174	59
Meath	178	31
Monaghan	14	7
Offaly	42	15
Roscommon	92	11
Sligo	49	38
Tipperary	83	38
Waterford	156	76
Westmeath	76	32
Wexford	285	100
Wicklow	176	92
Total	4,766	2,031

Question No. 1039 answered with Question No. 1038.

Schools Building Projects

Ceisteanna (1040)

Eoin Ó Broin

Ceist:

1040. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education the status of the new building for a school (details supplied); and the timelines for planning, tender, commencement and completion. [30471/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

The permanent building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is being delivered under my Department's Design and Build programme. This delivery programme uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction.

An application for planning permission for a 1,000 pupil post-primary school building, including a 4 classroom Special Educational Needs Unit, was submitted to the relevant Local Authority in June 2021. A Request for Further Information (RFI) was received on 27th July 2021 and the response submitted to the local authority on 7th December 2021. A Clarification of Further Information was received from the Local Authority on 12th January 2022 with the response submitted to the local authority on 24th January 2022.

The Grant of Planning decision was received from the Local Authority on 24th February 2022.

The next step in the progression of this project is the preparation of tender documentation. Once this stage is complete, the project will then proceed to tender stage.

School Staff

Ceisteanna (1041)

Seán Canney

Ceist:

1041. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Education if she will take steps to allow a school (details supplied) to retain an eighth teacher given that the school now exceeds the threshold by six pupils but was one short in September and it will now have two super-sized split classes of 36 pupils each due to the increased numbers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30484/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

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.

For the 2022/23 school year, the staffing schedule for primary schools has been improved by one point and schools will be provided with class teachers on the basis of 1 teacher for every 24 pupils which is a historical low ratio, with lower thresholds applying to DEIS Urban Band 1 schools.

The staffing process contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. Details of the appeal process are available in Circular 25/2022.

School Accommodation

Ceisteanna (1042)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

1042. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the status of an application for extension for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30576/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority referred to by the Deputy.

The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

Supplementary information was requested from the school authority and has recently been received. Once the application has been assessed, the school authority will be contacted directly with a decision.

Site Acquisitions

Ceisteanna (1043)

Pádraig O'Sullivan

Ceist:

1043. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the status of the acquisition of a site for replacement of a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30577/22]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Education

As the Deputy is aware, following an extensive site identification, assessment and negotiation process, the Department reached an agreement in principle, subject to contract, for the acquisition of 8 acre site at Magee Barracks in Kildare Town to facilitate the relocation of the school to which the Deputy refers.

The acquisition process is at an advanced stage. Heads of Terms have been agreed with the Vendor and draft contracts have been exchanged.

The site will accommodate a new 1,000 pupil school plus 4 classroom special education needs unit as a replacement and expansion of the existing Curragh Post Primary school and will cater for the increased demographic growth at post-primary level due to occur in the region over the coming years.

The development of the post primary school on this site will enhance the education facilities available to the Curragh Post Primary school and the existing primary schools in a new educational campus arrangement. The delivery of this school building project is a priority for my Department.

In order to meet the more immediate needs for post primary school places in the Kildare area, the Department is working with Kildare Wicklow ETB, as patron of the school, to deliver modular accommodation on the former Magee Barracks site to facilitate the relocation and expansion of the school for the 2023/24 academic year.