20 OCTOBER 2010

Dáil Debates

• SNA cuts a St. Senans in Enniscorthy

Parliamentary Questions

• Community Employment Schemes
• Transfer of responsibility for speech and language therapy to HSE from Education
• Delays in registering vehicles under the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme
• Disability Organisations receiving funding from Dept. of Health
• Disability Organisations receiving funding from HSE
• Budget allocation for disability
• Social Welfare Appeals

DÁIL DEBATES

• SNA cuts a St. Senans in Enniscrothy

Deputy Paul Kehoe (FG): It is with regret I must raise such a matter in the Dáil. I am referring to the review carried out earlier this year by the Department of Education and Skills of the allocation of special needs assistants, SNAs, to special units in primary and post-primary schools. As a result of the review, a primary school in my constituency, St. Senan’s in Enniscorthy, has lost seven SNAs, five from its specialist autism unit and two assigned to children with autism in the mainstream classes. As such, the school believes it was hard done by. Last Saturday week, I attended a protest march in Enniscorthy where more than 300 parents turned out in frustration at the cutbacks applied by the Department. When the autism unit opened in St. Senan’s school in 2004, the Department recognised the special needs of the children and sanctioned SNAs for each child based in classes in the autism unit. Back-tracking and removing SNAs from those children several years later is sad. Parents with whom I spoke explained to me how much their children came on thanks to the SNAs. As I stated in an earlier debate this evening, the Cabinet and Members opposite do not realise how important an SNA is to a child and how much his or her skills can develop with the help of one-to-one special needs assistance. I have no doubt that this is a cost saving exercise on the part of the Department of Education and Skills. Nor do I doubt that the Department, if it examined its budget and spending, would find other areas in which to apply cost saving measures without touching front line services. The SNAs based in St. Senan’s school and many other schools across County Wexford form part of our front line services. They have been removed from children. Parents and teachers alike would tell the Minister of State about the importance of having an SNA available. The children in question have special and autistic needs. It is sad to see a cost saving exercise being put in place at the expense of a child and that child’s future. It is with total frustration and anger that parents took to the streets in Enniscorthy last Saturday week. The parent does his or her very best when his or her child returns from school in the evening. Parents expect a special level of education and a level of help for their children in the schools they attend. I remember when the then Minister, Deputy Hanafin, visited the autistic unit in St. Senan’s school and saw the great work the school was carrying out. I commend the principal, the teachers, the board of management and every parent on putting this excellent facility in place. They have fundraised to make it so. The work done by teachers and SNAs alike is special for the children who attend the school. They had the opportunity to access a proper education, one that recognises the importance of integrating the children in question into the mainstream setting, including its social aspect. These children were made to feel special by being able to attend a mainstream school like St. Senan’s in Enniscorthy. With one fell swoop, the Department has saved money and removed SNAs from that school.

Acting Chairman (Deputy Joe Costello):    The Deputy’s time has expired.

Deputy Paul Kehoe:    I will conclude on this point. When replying, the Minister of State will give the Government’s standard reply. I know that cutbacks must be made, but I would rather that the Department of Education and Skills save money on costs in other areas and not hit the front line service provided by SNAs. Children should be given every opportunity to have a proper education.

Deputy Seán Haughey:    I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Mary Coughlan. I thank the Deputy for giving me this opportunity to outline the position in regard to the special needs assistant, SNA, scheme generally and, in particular, the allocation of SNA support to schools working with children with autism in specialised units.

The House is aware that the education of children with special educational needs has been and remains a key priority for Government. The Department of Education and Skills continues to invest huge resources into schools to enable them to meet the needs of children with special educational needs. This year alone, more than €1 billion of the Department’s budget is being spent to provide supports to enable learners with special educational needs access an education appropriate to their needs. The SNA scheme, in particular, has been a major factor in both ensuring the successful integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream education and the provision of support to pupils enrolled in special schools and special classes.

I take this opportunity to assure the House that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is processing applications from schools for SNA support and sanctioning SNA posts to schools. Schools, which have enrolled children who qualify for support from an SNA continue to be allocated SNA support. The terms and criteria for the SNA scheme have not changed.

The Deputy will be aware that the NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENO, is responsible for allocating resource teachers and SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within the Department of Education and Skills criteria in allocating such support and is independent in the making and issuing of its decisions relating to the allocation of such supports.

It is important to understand in regard to the SNA allocation process that the allocation for any school, and any adjustments to that allocation, depend on a number of factors such as the number of pupils with care-medical needs leaving, the number of new pupils and the changing care needs of existing pupils in the school. SNA allocations are therefore not permanent but are increased or decreased as pupils who qualify for SNA support enrol or leave a school. They are also decreased where a child’s care needs may have diminished over time. There has been no policy change in this regard.

The Deputy may be aware that one of the reasons for the allocation of SNAs is to assist children to develop greater levels of independent living skills. It is not generally in the interests of a child for the NCSE to leave an SNA in place where a child has achieved a greater level of independence. To do so has the potential to impact on a child’s personal development in a negative way. I am sure the Deputy will agree that many children with disabilities develop independent living skills as they grow and mature. Where a child develops to such an extent that he or she no longer needs the support of a SNA, that is a positive development. Likewise, where children to whom SNA support was previously allocated have left a school, it would be inefficient to leave those resources in place.

The Deputy is fully aware that the Department has prioritised the provision of special education supports to schools. This remains a key Government policy. However, this does not mean that resources, allocated in response to various historical factors, are retained in schools ad infinitum. At a time of constrained resources, it is essential to ensure that public resources are deployed as effectively as possible. Resources left in an area that are not in accordance with criteria mean public resources are not available for another deserving area.

The Deputy may be aware that the NCSE has introduced an appeals procedure whereby schools and parents may appeal a decision in relation to the allocation of teaching and SNA resources. Where a school is unhappy regarding a decision in regard to its SNA resource allocation, it is open to the school and-or the parents concerned to appeal the decision of the SENO to the NCSE through this appeals mechanism.

I understand that a number of schools in the Wexford area have appealed the decision of the NCSE in relation to the allocation of supports. These appeals will be processed by the NCSE in line with that body’s procedures in this regard.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

• Community Employment Schemes

 Deputy Mattie McGrath (FF): asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her plans regarding access to community employment schemes of persons in receipt of one-parent family allowance or disability allowance payment; the conditions that will apply both financially and regarding length of time available to partake on a community employment scheme for persons in receipt of the one-parent family allowance or disability allowance; her plans regarding access to community employment schemes of persons in receipt of one-parent family allowance or disability allowance payment; the conditions that will apply both financially and regarding length of time available to partake on a community employment scheme for persons in receipt of the one-parent family allowance or disability allowance;

Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Seán Haughey): Persons aged 25 years or over and who are currently in receipt of One Parent Family Payment for 12 months or more continue to be eligible to participate in the Community Employment Programme. Persons aged 18 years or over who are currently in receipt of Illness Benefit for 6 months or more are also eligible for participation in the programme and subject to approval from the Department of Social Protection to engage in employment of a rehabilitative nature. I have no plans under consideration at present to change the current eligibility requirements for entry to the programme. Persons can remain on a CE scheme for longer than the standard three years if they are aged 55 years or over, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria and the availability of places. In addition persons in receipt of the following disability linked Social Welfare payments may be eligible for an additional 1 year’s participation: Disability Allowance; Blind Pension; Invalidity Pension; Illness Benefit for 6 months or more; All lone parents and persons with disabilities participating on CE retain all or part of their Social Welfare payment simultaneously to their CE payment, the minimum weekly payment currently being €216.

• Transfer of responsibility for speech and language therapy to HSE from Education

Deputy Ulick Burke (FG): asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills her plans for the transfer of speech and language personnel from her Department and their respective children to the Health Service Executive; the numbers involved and the number of children currently receiving support in this area in her Department in view of her proposal in the current Education (Amendment) Bill 2010;

Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Mary Coughlan): Speech and language support therapy is provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to school children who have been assessed as having communication difficulties. The Education (Amendment) Bill 2010 provides for an amendment to the Education Act 1998 to clarify the position in relation to the delivery of speech therapy and other health and personal services to students of school-going age. The amendment acknowledges the role of the HSE in the delivery of health and personal social services under the Health Act 2004. It will not involve a transfer of speech and language personnel from my Department, as such services are presently provided for by the HSE. The legislative amendment is designed to clarify and reflect this position. The proposed provisions will not impact on the availability of speech therapy services for children with special educational needs through the HSE. The Department of Education and Skills commitment to support the co-ordinated delivery of services to families of children with special educational needs is not diminished and the Department will continue to work with service providing partners in the health and disability sectors.

Additional funding of €7.2 million for disability was provided to the HSE in Budget 2009 for the provision of 90 additional therapy posts. These posts are targeted to support children with disabilities of school-going age and include speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and psychologists. Recruitment for these posts is ongoing. The HSE will continue to work with funded specialist providers and in co-operation with the education sector to address the health related needs of children with special educational needs in the context of the resources available.

• Delays in registering vehicles under the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme

Deputy Olivia Mitchell (FG): asked the Minister for Finance if he will explain the delays in registering vehicles under the disabled drivers and disabled passengers scheme since the scheme has come under the administrative control of the National Car Testing Service; if he will intervene directly to restore appropriate processing times;

Minister for Finance (Deputy Brian Lenihan): I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that under the revised registration procedures (operated by the National Car Testing Service (NCTS) since 1 September 2010), the Revenue Commissioners continue to manage and administer the scheme of relief from vehicle registration tax (VRT) for Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers. In this regard, where Revenue approves an application for relief under the scheme, a letter confirming the appropriate relief from VRT is issued to the applicant, which must then be presented at an NCTS centre in order that the relevant vehicle may be registered. The Deputy may wish to note that the content and format of this notification were updated as part of the revised registration process. Unfortunately, this led to some difficulties as, in a limited number of cases, the applicant had possession of the old style notification letter produced prior to 1 September 2010, and this was rejected at the time of registration at NCTS centres, thus leading to delays in the registration of some vehicles. Revenue has since identified the customers who were issued with an old style letter of approval in order to issue them with the updated notification and so eliminate this cause of delay in registration.

Since the introduction of VRT on 1 January 1993, there has been a requirement that all new vehicles modified for use under the Disabled Drivers and Disabled Passengers relief provisions must be examined before the relief is granted and the vehicle is registered under the scheme. Under the revised arrangements, this pre-registration examination is now carried out by the NCTS rather than Revenue, and at present delays are being experienced in booking pre-registration examinations in some NCT Centres. With the exception of one centre, these delays are a matter of days and the Deputy may wish to note that under the new arrangements, a person importing a vehicle has up to 30 days to complete the process. In the past, the law required a vehicle to be registered within 24 hours and in practice Revenue allowed 7 days. The introduction of the revised registration procedures has presented a considerable challenge for all stakeholders involved in the process. Revenue, in consultation with the major stakeholders, including the NCTS, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry and individual motor dealers bringing vehicles into the State, have identified the major challenges, and are now putting procedures and processes in place to address these challenges. Significant progress has been made to date and, with the implementation of these procedures and processes, Revenue is confident that an efficient user-friendly service will again be available to all persons requiring vehicle registration, notwithstanding the fact that the vehicle will in all cases, as required by law, have to be presented for examination.

• Disability Organisations receiving funding from Dept. of Health

Deputy Denis Naughten (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will provide a complete list of the disability organisations in receipt of funding from her Department in tabular form, including the value to each organisation;

Minister for Health and Children (Deputy Mary Harney): The funding made available to disability organisations through Vote 39 from the National Lottery in the most recent year, 2009, is set out in the table below. The table details the names of the organisations to whom the grant was paid and the amount of the grant.

The Deputy will be aware that the Health Service Executive funds a wide range of disability organisations through Vote 40. Therefore, my Department has requested the Parliamentary Affairs Division of the Executive to provide details of the funding provided by the HSE and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

• Disability Organisations receiving funding from HSE

Deputy Denis Naughten (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children if she will provide a complete list of the disability organisations in receipt of funding from the Health Service Executive in tabular form, including the value to each organisation; Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy John Moloney):  As the Deputy’s question relates to service matters, I have referred the question to the Health Service Executive for direct reply to the Deputy.

• Budget allocation for disability

Deputy Denis Naughten (FG): asked the Minister for Health and Children the total budget allocation for disabilities in each of the years 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, in tabular form;

Minister for Health and Children (Deputy Mary Harney): Expenditure on disabilities for the years 2005 to 2010 as set out in the Revised Estimates Volumes for the relevant years is set out in the table below. The outturn figure has been used in relation to the years 2005 to 2009 and the 2010 amount is that provided for in the REV.

As the Deputy may be aware, the definition of disability as set out in the Disability Act 2005 also includes mental health. The corresponding figures for mental health expenditure are therefore also set out in the table below.

• Social Welfare Appeals

Deputy Emmet Stagg (FG): asked the Minister for Social Protection if his attention has been drawn to the fact that appeals requiring an oral hearing in the social welfare appeals office are being delayed with the office dealing only with appeals lodged in August 2009 at present; if he will investigate this matter with a view to sanctioning additional staff to clear the backlog;

Minister for Social Protection (Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív): I am informed by the Social Welfare Appeals Office that the average time to process all appeals is at present 28 weeks. Carers allowance appeals take 29 weeks on average and Disability Allowance appeals take 35 weeks. There was a 46% increase in the overall number of appeals received by that Office in 2009 when compared to 2008, which in itself was 27% greater than the numbers received in 2007. There was an increase of a further 44% in the number of appeals received in the first eight months of 2010. While this growth is clearly impacting on processing times, it must also be remembered that they cover all phases of the appeal process including the submission by the Department of its comments on the grounds for the appeal and, in the case of Disability Allowance and in some Carer’s Allowance cases, a second assessment must be carried out by the Department’s Medical Assessors. On the return of the Deciding Officer’s submission and case papers to the Social Welfare Appeals Office the case is referred to an Appeals Officer who will either make a summary decision based on the documentary evidence or, if s/he considers it necessary, list the case for oral hearing.  Given the logistics involved in organising an oral hearing, a considerable period of time is added to the process. During 2009, 59% of all appeal cases were dealt with by way of oral hearing but, due to some of the initiatives outlined below, this has been reduced to 31% in 2010 to date. In order to be fair to all appellants, the vetting of appeals and the arranging of oral hearings are being dealt with in chronological order. A number of initiatives have been put in place to enhance the capacity of the office to deal with the current caseload and inflows.

In that regard:

• 2 additional Appeals Officers were assigned to the Office in 2009,

• A number of additional staff were assigned to the administration area of the Office,

• The organisation of the Appeals Officer’s work has been changed so as to increase productivity,

• A project to improve the business processes in the office was undertaken which has resulted in a number of improvements being implemented, and

• Significant enhancements have been made to the office’s IT and phone systems.

In addition, it was decided to use experienced retired staff strictly on a short-term basis to supplement the current resources and the services of eight retired officers have now been secured on a part-time basis and have been operating since July.

I am assured by the Chief Appeals Officer that she is keeping current processes under continuous review with a view to achieving a more effective throughput of appeals, while ensuring that any progress does not conflict with due process in terms of the rights of appellants and adherence to the requirements of natural justice. The need for additional staff is also kept under review but any decision on the assignment of new staff must be taken in the context of the present embargo on recruitment in the public sector.

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