Written Answers Nos. 36-43
36. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the HEA financial review of institutes of technology; if the financial deficits uncovered will have an impact on services and courses provided by the institutes; his plans to assist these institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35025/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the Financial Review of the Institutes of Technology (IoTs) by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) was to provide an overview of the financial health of the sector, to consider capacity issues and to examine the challenges for the institutions given their respective plans for the future.
It examined the impact of decline in the State grant in the years since 2008 and looked at projections assuming a static State funding environment. It has made a number of policy recommendations which will feed into the work on developing a sustainable funding model for the sector.
The HEA has been closely monitoring the financial position of all of the IoTs and in particular are working closely with those Institutes operating in deficit to ensure appropriate mechanisms are put in place to eliminate the deficit as quickly as possible.
The HEA has a policy framework in place for engaging with vulnerable IoTs which requires Institutes to submit a three year plan to return them to a balanced budget situation. If the Institute is unable to demonstrate how a return to a balanced budget can be achieved within this timeframe, or if actual performance deviates significantly from the plan, then the HEA will seek the appointment of an independent financial expert to work with the Governing Body and Executive Management Team to agree a revised plan and programme of remedial action.
My Department and the HEA are aware of the financial difficulties being experienced by a number of the IoTs. The Financial Review of the Institutes recently published by the HEA was based on the assumption that static Exchequer funding coupled with continuing growth in student numbers could make a number of Institutes unsustainable. The Report recognised the need to examine the underlying sustainability issues that existed across the sector and highlighted the need for a review of how funding is being allocated given the significant changes that are occurring in the higher education sector. It makes a number of recommendations on how some of the issues which contribute to funding problems in the IOT sector can be addressed.
The Report clearly identified the need for a review of the present funding model and I have asked that this be completed as a matter of urgency. Among the other recommendations is the need for a sectoral voluntary redundancy package and I understand that this being developed for submission to the HEA who are working closely with my Department to address all the recommendations.
Funding overall for the higher education sector is a key concern for me particularly in light of the additional pressure that will fall on the system over the next decade or so . In seeking to address the issue in the short term, I have for the first time in nine years secured as part of Budget 2017, additional funding for the sector. In 2017 additional funding of €36.5m will be made available with €160m additional over the next three years.
The Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education, published in July, clearly outlines the funding challenges and offers a number of approaches and recommendations for consideration for the medium term. As committed to in the Programme for Government, the report has been referred to the Oireachtas Education Committee and this consultation will form part of the process of formulating a plan for the future of the sector.
In Budget 2017 the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I, announced a policy review with the aim of designing and implementing a sustainable and predictable multi-annual funding model for higher and further education and training involving increased Employer and Exchequer contributions from 2018. The review will be undertaken as part of the overall response to meeting the anticipated skills needs in the economy over the coming years, in line with the policy framework set out in the National Skills Strategy.
It will include an analysis of the business case for enhanced investment in the higher and further education and training sectors. In this context it will identify key elements of the new funding model and of the expected impacts including those on employers. The review will include consultation with stakeholders.
The policy review will be published by the end of April 2017, and will complement the ongoing work by the Oireachtas Committee in relation to the Cassells report.
37. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reduce class sizes and build on the measures to reduce class sizes in the previous budget. [34873/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraReducing class sizes has been a target of successive Governments. Budget 2016 provided for an improvement in the staffing schedule in primary schools by one point, from 1 teacher for every 28 pupils to 1 teacher for every 27 pupils for the 2016/17 school year. The Programme for Government has a commitment to reduce class sizes at primary level and it is my intention to make further improvements to class sizes over the life of the Government.
My focus in Budget 2017 was on obtaining additional funding to provide for demographic growth, additional special education and school leadership resources for our schools.
Budget 2017 sets out the resources available for schools for the 2017/18 school year. This Budget represents the start of a major reinvestment in education, and the first phase of implementation of the Action Plan for Education, aimed at becoming the best education system in Europe within a decade. The budget provides for over 2,400 additional teaching posts for our primary and post primary schools next year. The 2017/18 school year will see a significant increase in teacher numbers (almost 4,700) in our schools compared to the 2015/16 school year.
There is no change in relation to the staffing schedule of 27:1 that will apply to primary schools for the 2017/18 school year. However, it should be noted that the current staffing schedule of 27:1 for primary schools has restored it to the position it was at prior to the fiscal crisis.
In considering any approach to the restoration of posts, it is important that there is a fairness in the restoration and that a balance between primary and post primary is achieved in future budgets. At second level there is still a substantial degree of restoration to be made.
38. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills his efforts to resolve the pending industrial relations disputes involving members of the ASTI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31004/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraI and my Department has been engaging with ASTI bilaterally in relation to issues of concern over a period of several months.
I welcome the decision by ASTI last week to suspend its two industrial actions i.e. their one day strikes and their withdrawal from Supervision and Substitution duties. I also welcome the fact that a process has started under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC) aimed at finding a resolution to this dispute.
Discussions are taking place under the auspices of the TCC, to which the Department, school management and teacher unions are all party. As the proceedings of the TCC are confidential, it would not be appropriate for me to make any further comment.
I hope that this process will be successful in resolving all of the issues involved.
39. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the principle of equal pay for equal work; if he will implement this principle in the education system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35178/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs a consequence of the financial crisis, there was a need to enact a number of measures to reduce public expenditure so as to stabilise the country's public finances. These included pay reductions since 2010 and also reductions to the pay of new entrant public servants including teachers, since 2011. Collective agreements reached between the Government and the public service unions provided vital industrial peace during this very difficult period for the State.
Equality and fairness are at the heart of everything this Government is trying to do, particularly in the area of education where I am especially focused on creating better opportunities for people from disadvantaged areas in our education system. Indeed, the recent budget secured funding to deliver on a wide range of measures to support this objective.
The Haddington Road/Lansdowne Road Agreement has allowed a programme of restoration to start. I have used this to negotiate substantial improvements in pay for new teachers. The agreement reached with TUI and INTO will see pay rises of between 15-22% (between €4600 and €6700) for new entrant teachers.
In education, there is a well-established increment system. Teachers are not paid equally. For example, the pay scale for teachers appointed prior to 2011 ranges from €32,009 to €60,155 depending on the date that the individual began teaching.
Part of the negotiation to date has secured a convergence of the scales of recruits at different periods. Any further negotiation on new entrant pay cannot focus on just one sector.
A broader assessment of pay and new entrant pay will be informed by the analysis of the Public Service Pay Commission.
40. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether supervision and substitution are the core duties of a teacher; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35181/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSupervision and substitution duties are core duties for all teachers since the Haddington Road Agreement. A limited group of teachers were allowed to opt-out of the duties in return for a pay reduction. Department Circular 0006/2014 states that with effect from the beginning of the 2013/14 school year, participation in the Supervision and Substitution scheme will be compulsory for all teachers, save for those who avail of the opt-out arrangement.
41. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will report on discussions being held with the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland regarding the pay and conditions of employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35182/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department has been engaging with ASTI bilaterally in relation to issues of concern over the last few months.
I welcome the decision by ASTI last week to suspend its two industrial actions i.e. their one day strikes and their withdrawal from Supervision and Substitution duties. I also welcome the fact that a process has started under the auspices of the Teachers Conciliation Council (TCC) aimed at finding a resolution to this dispute.
Discussions are taking place under the auspices of the TCC, to which the Department, school management and teacher unions are all party. As the proceedings of the TCC are confidential, it would not be appropriate for me to make any further comment.
I hope that this process will be successful in resolving all of the issues involved.
42. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine the school transport scheme, which has been proven not to be adequately working in view of the recent number of children who were not accommodated en route to a school; if he will make available additional funding to allow operators use higher capacity vehicles in order to alleviate this problem; if he will provide an update on the work of the cross-party forum to deal with transport issues; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35158/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSchool transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department.
Currently over 113,000 children, including some 10,000 children with special educational needs, are being transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country covering over 100 million kilometres annually.
In general, children are eligible for school transport if they are attending their nearest school and satisfy the requisite distance criteria. Bus Éireann plans routes and bus sizes based on eligible children who have applied and submitted payment details on time.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis only.
Transport on a concessionary basis is subject to a number of conditions which are detailed in the School Transport Scheme such as the existence of spare seats on the bus after all eligible children have been catered for and payment of the school transport charge. Routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children who have no eligibility for school transport and are only travelling on a concessionary basis.
The review of the concessionary charges and rules element of the School Transport Scheme committed to under the Programme for Government has been completed and is under consideration. As announced in July, a cross party group was established to feed into this review. A meeting with this group has taken place and subsequently submissions on the school transport scheme generally were received by my Department. These are now being examined.
Given that the cost of school transport provision will exceed €175m in 2016 there are no plans to increase the size of the school transport fleet to accommodate children who are not eligible for school transport.
43. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will direct Caranua to expand the range of services covered by the fund in view of the publication of Caranua's annual report for 2015 and the report of the appeals officer. [34881/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraSubsection 8(1) of the Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 sets out the classes of services from which Caranua can determine the approved services to be provided. Those classes of services comprise:
- mental health, counselling and psychological support services
- health and personal social services;
- educational services; and
- housing support services.
Following its establishment, Caranua determined the approved services to be provided by it and determined the criteria by reference to which it would make decisions on applications made to it. Caranua has recently expanded the approved services it provides and amended its criteria. The additional approved services now include support towards the cost of household goods such as cookers, fridges, floors and home decoration as a housing support and the provision of a contribution towards funeral costs and a contribution to the cost of reconnecting with family members and home place as health services.
While subsection 8(3) of the Act provides that Caranua can recommend to the Minister that an additional class or service be prescribed and the Minster can consult with the Board on the inclusion of additional classes of services, I am satisfied that the current arrangements provide an appropriate and flexible framework to enable Caranua to meet the emerging needs of former residents. Accordingly the issue of invoking the power provided in section 8(3) does not arise at this point.
