Thomas Byrne
Question:29. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills when primary schools will be notified of a payment date for funding under the minor works grant scheme. [52198/17]
Priority Questions
Minor Works Scheme Payments
Tá áthas orm bheith anseo chun an cheist seo a chuir ar an Aire ar maidin. The question might appear to be somewhat moot but I do not believe it is. It asks when primary schools will be notified of a payment date for funding. I believed it was necessary to table a question on the minor works grant because of the incredible delays in that respect this year and the stress caused to principles because of that. The Minister will not mind my expanding it to encompass the press release issued yesterday regarding the minor works grant which contained the bombshell of an indication that the grant may not be paid in 2018. I ask the Minister what was meant by that statement in the press release.
As the Deputy knows, this issue has been raised in the House in the past few weeks, including by members of his party, and I explained at that stage that money was very tight but we were reviewing the capital position for the end of the year and I was endeavouring to find a solution. I am pleased to tell the House that I yesterday announced that €28.8 million minor works grant funding for primary schools throughout the country will be paid next week. The applicable rates are €5,500 per school plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil attending the school. The grant allows schools to carry out minor works without needing to deal directly with the Department by way of capital application. This has always been a residual sum. There is no annual provision for the grant and it has always been set out in the circular that it depends on the availability of resources. I appreciate that many people believe that is unsatisfactory.
The Deputy asked whether the grant will be paid next year. In view of the flow of new school commitments we will need to meet, it is currently unlikely that we will be in a position to pay a minor works grant during calendar year 2018 and it will probably have to be paid early in 2019. I make that announcement in order to give schools adequate notice of our position. People will appreciate that there has been a strong surge in the number of pupils in the school system and that the priority for the Department must be to ensure that those children have a school to which to go each September. That has been the focus of our provision and we successfully delivered 19,000 permanent places this year.
I am grateful that the Minister has confirmed the information contained in yesterday's press release. It will come as a bombshell to schools throughout the country that there will be no minor works grant next year and that it is likely to be paid in January 2019. According to the press release, the Minister will decide in January 2019 whether money is available to pay the grant but the Minister has said it will be paid at that stage. That would be utterly unsatisfactory for the House. The Minister must tell his Cabinet colleagues, including the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, that this is not a discretionary grant but, rather, money on which schools have come to depend toward the back end of every year to do necessary minor works and without which they could not function. What should happen and what Fianna Fáil advocates is that the scheme and others like it should be put on a statutory footing such that Ministers would not have discretion over them. It is noteworthy that the grant was not paid in only one year during the recession. I ask the Minister to confirm that. It would be bizarre if, as the economy starts to turn, this were to be the key turning point at which the grant would not be paid. This relates to issues I have previously discussed with the Minister such as his capital budget being under severe pressure due to various factors, including the price of land. I hope that as part of the national capital plan he will highlight to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, that the grant is absolutely necessary for schools.
I ask the Minister and all Deputies to try to keep to time allocations in order to facilitate as many questions as possible being answered.
It is a discretionary grant, not a permanent one and is not part of the first call on a capital budget. As the Deputy recognised, it has not been paid every year. Nonetheless, I recognise the point he has made and am very keen that as we shape our ten-year long-term capital plan schemes such as this would become a permanent fixture and I will be putting that case to the Government. However, I have to manage the budget available to me as prudently as possible in order to deliver the needs of the education system. The Deputy knows, as do all Members, that during the crash capital budgets dropped to one third of what they were, which has put pressure on meeting demands in an area such as this wherein there are increasing needs in terms of demographics, special education and so on. A balance must be struck and I believe that my decision is reasonable and I am accomodating the needs of all stakeholders in the system as best I can.
It would be unthinkable for the grant not to be paid next year. I hope that the Minister's press release turns out to be wrong and that he revises his ambition regarding the minor works grant for next year. Schools will not function without it and repairs will go undone. This week, principals were preparing to go to banks to seek overdrafts to fund projects it had been intended to fund out of the grant. The Minister said it has not been paid every year. However, it was not paid in only one year, which was in the depths of the recession and caused considerable controversy, difficulty and hardship. That cannot be allowed to happen as the economy begins to turn. The grant must be paid and put on a statutory footing, as Fianna Fáíl is seeking, such that schools can have certainty on how they will be funded. The back end of the year would be a financial black hole for schools if they did not have the grant. They have come to depend on the Government for this funding and rightly so because they are publicly funded schools.
They should not have to reach into their own pockets or opt for further fundraising on top of the burdens they place on parents already.
I understand what the Deputy said. I will seek to have this incorporated in a ten-year plan but I have no doubt that if Deputy Barry Cowen was here he would be demanding extra capital spending on housing and if Deputy Kelleher was here he would be demanding extra capital spending on health-----
Those Departments are not cutting capital spending. The Minister is cutting a project.
-----but the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, has to add up all those demands and ensure a balance is achieved in terms of what is affordable. That is the exercise that has to be done each year at budget time but I take the point the Deputy is making. I would certainly like to see this being put on a permanent footing over time but this is a reasonable arrangement for the schools.
Departmental Schemes
Kathleen Funchion
Question:30. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which he plans to ensure schools and teachers are resourced to support children who are homeless across the school system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52197/17]
My question relates to the current homeless crisis and how that is impacting children who are currently homeless and living in unsuitable hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. What plans does the Department of Education and Skills have to give teachers and schools the necessary skills to deal with children who are experiencing a very difficult time of crisis in their lives? Would the Minister comment on that?
I thank Deputy Funchion for her question. The entire House acknowledges that we are dealing with unprecedented levels of homelessness and the Government is seeking to respond to that. My Department has a number of schemes that support the position of children who are homeless but the first point of call would be the Tusla educational welfare service. The Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness includes specific actions for delivery by Tusla. They include that home school community liaison and school completion staff will assist children and families experiencing homelessness to maintain regular school attendance. Children in homeless accommodation will be prioritised within the school completion programme for services such as breakfast and homework clubs.
Additional resources will be put in place to strengthen inter-agency arrangements with Tusla including family support, social work and education welfare. Tusla will appoint specific staff to assist in accessing requisite family support and child welfare services and managing any difficulties that arise for children in relation to school participation.
A joined-up approach will be promoted between education, health and Tusla to meet the needs of homeless families using the existing children and young people’s services committees.
Access to free public transport will be provided for school journeys and outings away from the emergency accommodation. The staff of schools are very sensitive to the needs of children who are experiencing disruption in their lives and make every effort to support the additional needs they experience. In this regard, they have the support of the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, which works with schools through the continuum of support model it has developed. I have strengthened the provision of NEPS staff.
In addition, we have the professional development service for teachers, PDST, well-being team, which provides support to teachers and schools.
DEIS, which is our main policy initiative for disadvantaged areas, has the scope to cater to children with particular needs as a result of homelessness.
I raise this issue because there are 1,200 children in homeless accommodation who are attending primary school and 600 children who are attending secondary school. Those figures are from Focus Ireland.
I was glad to hear the Minister mention school completion. I am a big advocate of that programme but its funding has been cut massively in recent years. It is struggling as it is so I do not see how it would be able to take on the extra burden of dealing with children in homeless accommodation unless its funding is increased. If that is the case it would be a welcome statement.
I am well aware of the position with regard to DEIS but only 55% of children in this situation are in DEIS schools, which means that 45% - nearly half - fall out of that system. The Minister mentioned Tusla and NEPS but not everything will fall within their remit. I cannot see Tusla dealing with practical situations such as children trying to get to and from school or children being unable to concentrate because they are not getting adequate sleep due to living in one room with their family, not getting an opportunity to complete work and being completely exhausted from the experience. I do not see Tusla playing a role in that. If it is, I would welcome that and the Minister might provide further information on it.
I outlined in the reply the role Tusla plays, in particular using its home school community liaison service, its support for public transport, the additional resources for family support, social work and education and welfare. As the Deputy is aware, that whole element has been transferred to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. My Department's national educational psychological service, NEPS, provides support to schools to allow them have the capacity to deal with well-being problems presented by all students. Children who are homeless are likely to present with particular problems so we have strengthened that service. It has a model where individual children can be referred but also it tends to work more to build the capacity of schools to deal with problems they encounter. Across the range we are very sensitive to the needs. There is no doubt that children who are homeless present particular problems but as the Deputy knows, there are many children who present problems to which we have to cater. The build up of the well-being programme and the NEPS and the Tusla services are designed to be flexible and respond to the needs as they arise.
The Minister mentioned that there is a support programme for teachers. Could he expand on that? Are there guidelines or some sort of guidance for schools? I ask this because many of the teachers I deal with are not aware of any supports for them to deal with children living in emergency accommodation.
In terms of what the Minister said about Tusla, I was not aware it had a role. My understanding was that it passed that on to another service. If that is the case, are there guidelines that can be issued to schools, particularly those that have a high volume of children living in emergency accommodation? That would be very helpful for teachers in terms of counselling services for them. This is a new phenomena that has developed in recent years and it is a major issue for teachers to try to deal with, particularly the more recently qualified teachers who are trying to get to grips with all the issues that present in a classroom but particularly those to do with children living in emergency accommodation.
I assure the Deputy that Tusla has a service to every school in the country. It is responsible for monitoring school attendance. It deals with schools on a very regular basis to understand the problems it is encountering, monitor difficulties and provide supports as appropriate. The same is true of the National Educational Psychological Service. It has a capacity building service to every school in the country. It responds flexibly to acute cases in terms of referrals but provides a more capacity building service to schools. Both those services are well known to schools and are available to assist in any individual case.
Special Educational Needs Staff
Margaret Murphy O'Mahony
Question:31. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on concerns being expressed that there are more special needs assistants than members of An Garda Síochána; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52199/17]
Does the Minister agree with concerns being expressed that there are more special needs assistants than members of An Garda Síochána, and will he make a statement on the matter?
No. I would not agree with any such concerns being expressed. It has been a core goal of our Action Plan for Education that every child will have an equal opportunity to fulfil their potential in school. That has had strong legislative support from the Oireachtas when as far back as 2004 we passed the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, which set out the inclusive approach to education of children with special educational needs. The consequence of that is that we have had an enormous growth in both resource teaching and special needs assistants, SNAs, and that has a knock-on effect. The number of SNAs is currently 13,990, which represents an increase of 32% since 2011. There are over 34,000 children receiving the support of SNAs. That figure is up dramatically in that same period, more or less proportionately. Almost 60% of those children are supported in mainstream schools, 20% in special classes and the remainder in special schools. It is provided to ensure that all pupils have the care needs to allow them participate in education. It has resulted in a dramatic improvement in the completion of children with special needs in school so we are seeing children with special needs getting to fulfil their potential in the school.
The allocation is done entirely independently by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. It assesses objectively the needs of each child and decides against criteria where they are allocated.
The NCSE is carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the SNA scheme aimed at providing better outcomes for students and ensuring we are making the best additional investment for children with special educational needs. The Government is committed to ensuring the best possible results for children and students in this area. This process is the best way to deliver that. I have therefore asked the NCSE to conduct a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme and this review is due to be completed early next year.
As a former SNA, I acknowledge the fantastic work SNAs do. They are a huge part of the education system. I welcome the increase in special needs provision in recent years. The transformation of special education over the past 20 years, in which successive Governments have played a part, has been remarkable. We can all be very proud of this. Nonetheless, parents of children with special needs were shocked to hear a senior Government Minister say that there are now more SNAs than there are gardaí. There is concern that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, believes this is a bad thing as he is reported as having expressed alarm about the sharp increase in the cost of education for children with special needs - our most vulnerable children - which is costing the State more than the higher education system. It is reported that the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, has commissioned a review of the special needs assistance scheme. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, referenced this review in his reply. According to Lorraine Dempsey of the Special Needs Parents Association rising costs are more than justified and what is alarming is that the Department of Education and Skills has not anticipated these increases. I would like the Minister to comment on the matter.
I can assure the Deputy that the Minister for Finance is one of the strongest supporters of investment in special education needs, in respect of which provision has increased since 2011. Even in the most difficult times, in 2011 22,000 children were provided with SNA support. SNA provision now stands at 34,000, which means an additional 12,000 children are now in receipt of SNA support. Also, with the agreement of the Minister for Finance, into the future the provision of SNAs will be provided for in the Estimates such that schools will no longer have to wait until late in the year for know their allocations. We have already made provision for the appointment of SNAs for September 2018 in this year's budget. This is the first time this has been done and this has been facilitated by the Minister for Finance. In response to the Deputy's question, we will be in a position to allow parents and schools know earlier of their allocations.
A review of this scheme is really important. We did a similar review in respect of resource teaching and it resulted in the development of a model that I believe is much better than the previous model.
I welcome that into the future everyone will know earlier where they stand with regard to the allocation of hours. The Minister mentioned the review. Have the terms of reference for this review been agreed? Will the emphasis be on short-term financial sustainability or the long-term social and individual good of enabling children to realise their full potential, which is more important? Will the terms of reference acknowledge that, as stated by the special education supports groups, costs are rising owing to better diagnosis, additional medical complexities and the growth in child population?
I can assure the Deputy that there is wide consultation on this review. The Deputy will be aware that the chairman of the NCSE, Mr. Eamon Stack, is a former inspector of the Department of Education and Skills and a man of high reputation. The review is being conducted to ensure that the full potential of each child is secured. Great care will be taken to ensure that all evidence on need in this area, international and domestic, will be gathered. Having had sight of the work done on the resource teaching model, which I believe is a much better model as a result of the review, I look forward to the findings and recommendations of the new review early in the new year.
Schools Property
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:32. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether it is acceptable that seven members of the board of a school (details supplied) had to go to court in order to protect the school's playing pitches and the public investment in the school; the actions he will take in regard to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52201/17]
I have raised with the Minister on several occasions, including by way of meeting, the fate of the playing pitches at Clonkeen College. As the Minister is aware, the Christian Brothers are planning to sell 7.5 acres of land used as playing pitches by Clonkeen College. Seven members of the board of management have been forced to take High Court proceedings to prevent this sale, which will rob the current 500 students and future generations of students of playing fields, from proceeding. Will the Minister help to secure the future of these pitches or will he take a hands-off attitude and force the board of management members to take very expensive legal proceedings, with uncertain outcomes, to save them?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, organised the deputation of which Deputy Boyd Barrett was a member. The Deputy and I have had frequent conversations about the issue since.
The difficulty is that the fields in question are owned by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. The decision by the Congregation of Christian Brothers, which is a private entity, to dispose of land owned by the congregation is a matter for it.
My Department understands that the board of management or members of the board of management are taking legal proceedings against the Congregation of Christian Brothers relating to the sale of the fields. My Department has no role in such proceedings.
I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the Congregation of the Christian Brothers wrote to my Department in early May in regard to the disposal of part of the lands at Clonkeen College and it stated that this disposal was the subject of contractual arrangements between the congregation and a builder. The Brothers indicated that 7.5 acres of land currently licensed to Clonkeen College, together with the Edmund Rice School Trust, ERST, head offices, which borders Clonkeen College, are involved in the sale.
I have tabled several parliamentary questions to the Minister on this issue. In the most recent parliamentary question I asked the Minister for the details of the so-called binding agreement referenced by the Christian Brothers and recycled by him in various responses. The Minister's response was that the Department has not seen the contacts for sale. In regard to the case being taken to the courts, the details of which I cannot comment on, the Christian Brothers have indicated that this will delay the sale which suggests there is no binding contract and the sale is not complete. There is time to intervene. The members of the board of management and the wider Clonkeen College community cannot afford to raise the type of money necessary to take a case to the High Court to secure these pitches. What they and I want to know is how the Minister can say a school in which there has been massive public investment is not his business but is a private matter for the Christian Brothers. It is bizarre that facilities in which there has been major public investment are going to be substantially degraded to the detriment of 570 students.
The congregation has informed the Department that the lands concerned have been sold, that it has signed and exchanged legally binding contracts with the purchasers and that it cannot reverse this transaction. If a legal challenge is made to those contracts, which like the Deputy I am not in a position to comment on, it will be for the courts to determine the matter. Where my Department invests in property, there is a lean on those properties to ensure they are used for the educational purpose. This is true of anything the State has invested in these properties and they are protected. In this instance, we are speaking about land adjacent to Clonkeen College which has been in the use of students. The Christian Brothers as the legal owners of that land have the right to dispose of it. That is the legal position that I cannot alter.
The Minister could alter it, for example, by subjecting it to compulsory purchase order. When I previously suggested this to the Minister his response was that the Department cannot do that but it can and does do so by asking local authorities to compulsorily purchase land for school building. I would suggest that the Minister do that in this instance and thus save the board of management and the wider Clonkeen College community the hardship of having to raise vast amounts to take a case to the High Court to save these pitches. The Department has invested in these pitches. They were upgraded and fenced with departmental funding. The sale of this land will impact on the capacity of the school to deliver recreational and sports facilities which matter. This provision is not an optional extra in education: it is critical in the context of the proper development of young people and in terms of tackling obesity by encouraging healthy exercise and so on. For these pitches to be sold and the Minister to stand idly by is unconscionable in terms of his responsibilities as Minister for Education and Skills for the education of these young people.
The patron, which in this case is ERST, has, of course, the responsibility to provide for the students in the school. It is making provision and I understand the Christian Brothers have made arrangements for the transfer of some of the land. However, they own other land which they have made a decision to dispose of. I am not in a position to purchase it from them or to block the sale. This is a decision they have made and we have no role in the proceedings being taken by an entity to challenge the sale. I regret that this is the situation and that I cannot give the Deputy more reassurance.
Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Board
Catherine Connolly
Question:33. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 132 of 25 October 2017, the number of outstanding appeals at Caranua; the length of time those appeals are outstanding; if the delay involves cases being held up by an appeals officer awaiting a decision of the High Court, cases determined and either upheld by the appeals office or referred back to Caranua for further consideration, new cases in response to which Caranua has advised the appeals office that they will not take part in the appeals process until the High Court Case or another reason; the correspondence procedure in place to notify applicants of the delays; when it is expected the backlog will be cleared; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52202/17]
I am afraid I have no choice but to follow up on the Caranua situation. My specific question is on the number of outstanding appeals at Caranua, the length of time they have been outstanding and clarification on the nature of the delay in relation to the High Court action. Is the delay because Caranua is not dealing with appeals while a High Court action on a specific issue? Is it because the appeals officer has refused to deal with them or is it because the decisions have been made and Caranua is using a blanket decision not to deal with this? Can the Minister clarify what correspondence exists to tell the clients of Caranua what is happening, in particular in relation to the appeals process?
The Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 provides for the appointment of suitably qualified persons who will consider appeals made by persons against decisions of Caranua. As I explained to the Deputy in response to her question of 25 October, I appointed two new appeals officers earlier this year, there having been one appeals officer prior to then. The 2012 Act provides that appeals officers shall be independent in the performance of their functions. While my Department provides administrative support to the appeals officers, I have no role in relation to individual appeals or the management of appeals generally. It is a matter for the appeals officers to plan their work as they see fit having regard to all relevant considerations.
I am advised that there are currently 57 cases outstanding with the appeals officers, which is half as many as there were when I appointed them. There are seven cases which have been active for less than one month, 22 cases which have been active for between one and three months, 17 cases which have been active for between three and six months, one case which has been active for between nine and 12 months and four cases which have been active for over 12 months. I am aware that the initiation of legal action by Caranua has meant a number of cases have been held by the appeals officers pending resolution of the matter. I understand that some 12 cases are involved. I understand also that a number of new appeals cases that raise similar issues are awaiting responses from Caranua. The 2012 Act provides that a person affected by a decision of an appeals officer, including Caranua itself, may appeal that decision to the High Court on a point of law. I am aware that one such case has been initiated by Caranua and is currently before the High Court. In the circumstances, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.
I thank the Minister for the clarification and for confirming that the number of outstanding cases has reduced. In fact, there were 148 cases outstanding in June. By October, it was 76 and it is now 57. However, I ask the Minister to clarify what is happening in the High Court. I am not asking for details but about the status of the proceedings and, more particularly, how they are affecting the outstanding appeals. Significantly, there has been no report from the appeals officer. In response to a question, the Minister said it would be published shortly. We have no report to look at in relation to the 2016 appeals. Can the Minister clarify why that has not been published? I have the 2015 report before me. All the appeals were dealt with in that year and no case went to the High Court. Specifically, the appeals officer pointed out that there was a serious deficit in the notification of decisions. I asked in my question today what notification has been provided to the clients of Caranua on their cases and the High Court action. How has what is happening been spelt out for them?
As I said in the reply, I understand both an individual and Caranua have the right to appeal a decision of an appeals officer. An appeals officer made a decision challenging the approach Caranua had taken and I understand an appeal was lodged this year. Obviously, the outcome of the decision of the High Court is awaited. I am told the 2016 annual report was laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 10 November in fulfilment of the requirement laid down in the Act.
There are two distinct matters. There is the annual report from Caranua and there is the annual report from the appeals officer. Is the Minister saying the appeals officer's report has been laid before the Oireachtas and is now available for us? I have not seen it.
I would like some clarity on the High Court action. At this point, I do not know if Caranua is bringing the case or if it is the independent appeals officer. It is a sorry state of affairs which reflects on Caranua and the Department. While I welcome the appointment of two appeals officers and the fact the number of outstanding appeals has reduced, we have appeals which have been waiting an extraordinary length of time. Where there is a huge defect is that decisions are not being notified in writing. In his 2015 report, the appeals officer said he could not deal with an appeal if there was no written decision. We highlighted this at the Committee of Public Accounts and it was highlighted at the education committee also. How many times must it be highlighted to ensure that the most basic and fundamental requirement of due process, namely, a written letter on a decision, is observed?
I understand the report of the outgoing appeals officer, Mr. Patrick Whelan, was lodged, as I said, on 10 November. Since then, I have appointed two appeals officers and, as the Deputy has acknowledged, it has helped to clear the backlog. The appeal to the High Court is, as I understand it, an appeal by Caranua on a point of law, which it is entitled to bring. Caranua is entirely independent and I am not party to the reasons it made that decision. It has meant 12 cases are held up while other cases challenging the same point are potentially held up also.
What about written decisions?
I do not have a supplementary on the issue of written decisions, but I will get back to the Deputy on that.