Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his detailed presentation which sets out in a sobering and stark manner the challenges facing Members of the Oireachtas and those working in the education system. Many of my questions relate to the need to face up to the reality and knowledge that we must spend the funds available to us well. With this in mind, I will start with a question on special needs education. While I do not advocate any reduction in the number of special needs assistants, I have been a long-time critic of the criteria ascribed to the role of special needs assistants. Many special needs assistants are not being utilised or are not in a position to be utilised owing to the criteria laid down by the Department. In some cases, they are paid a salary roughly equivalent to a new entrant teacher, yet the tasks they must perform under these criteria include tidying up the classroom at the end of the day. A wide range of people work as special needs assistants. Some have obtained a junior certificate while others have master's degrees and every type of intermediate qualification. This issue needs to be examined.

I am aware that the Department, through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is expecting to receive advice on special educational needs policy. That this policy has not been reviewed since 1993 is an outright disgrace. It is exciting and helpful that the NCSE is carrying out the review. I ask the Minister to provide an update on progress. As he stated, despite spending a great deal on special educational needs, we are not getting the full bang for our buck in many cases.

The issue of public sector allowances arose yesterday. I note that one of the allowances to be discontinued for new entrants to the teaching profession is the qualifications allowance. Considering that we want those who teach our children and prepare them for participation in the labour force to be the best and brightest, how will discontinuing this allowance fit in with the need to incentivise teachers to upskill and constantly learn new skills? While I accept that the allowance may be too broad and encompass too many areas, it could be targeted at improving the skills we want teachers to bring into the classroom. Understanding that the Minister may not be able to do this at this point, I ask him to outline his position on the matter, at least from an ideological point of view.

What are we teaching our children? The responses I have received to a number of parliamentary questions I have tabled on the teaching of information technology and so forth suggest everything is rosy in garden, various programmes are in place and so forth. I visited the Digital Hub in Dublin and it is clear that the people who are creating jobs do not believe this is the case. The PayPal company, for example, has been unable to find recruits to fill 1,000 positions in County Louth. We talk about a smart economy but a EUROSTAT survey shows that Irish people between the ages of 16 and 24 years are below the European average for computer literacy. The time spent in the classroom and the subject matter being taught are important.

Everybody should pay the household charge and it is logical that those who refuse to do so should not expect to receive the most efficient service from their local authority. I am concerned, however, about the lack of legal basis for the approach taken by Clare County Council in linking payment of the charge with the payment of third level grants and the geographical inconsistency of its approach. The Department needs to examine this issue. If Clare County Council's approach is to be the rule, it should be prescribed in regulation or legislation. If not, local authorities should not take the law into their own hands. Clarity is needed on this matter.

On the Croke Park agreement, if teachers receive allowances which are effectively core pay, as I believe to be the case, when will these allowances be described as pay? If, for example, yard duty allowance forms part of pay, it should be described as such.

At a meeting of the Committee of Public Accounts I asked representatives of the Health Service Executive how many of its staff are earning more than €70,000 per annum, how many of this group are receiving increments this year and what will be the cost of these increments. As policy makers frame their budget and as we move towards the conclusion of the Croke Park agreement, we need to have this type of data available to us. Is such data available for the Department of Education and Skills and, if so, will the Minister make it available to us?