Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The NTA rerouted two bus services, specifically the No. 18 and the No. 17. The school engaged in the public consultation. Did the Department engage in that and has it had any correspondence with the NTA on this matter?

A recurring issue in school transport is that of the pay and conditions of school escorts and the difficulties schools experience in recruiting escorts to be on the buses with students. This issue arose recently when the committee visited the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra, where an escort was essentially volunteering for a significant portion of the day. The escort got on the bus in the morning with the kids, stayed in Dublin for the day at the escort’s own expense – the bus came from Monaghan, by the way – and travelled back to Monaghan with the students. If that escort is ill or otherwise unable to attend, those students cannot avail of the specialist education they receive in Cabra. If the Minister commented on this matter, it would be appreciated.

That leads nicely – “segue” is the term, I believe – into the issue of capital projects. Will the Minister provide an update on the new school building that is proposed for the Holy Family School for the Deaf? The educators we engaged with there and the children, one of whom is coming to work as an intern with a member of the committee in the new year, were vocal about their need for engagement with the Department, given the unique nature of the school and its students’ needs. If the Minister commented on how that engagement stood, it would be appreciated.

Will the Minister update us on the delayed projects, for example, the solar panel scheme?

I wish to refer to a special school in County Kildare called Stepping Stones Special School. There seems to be a gaping hole in the management of the project that is under way there. The project keeps getting pushed back. Dates have been set and missed. A parent got in contact to say that responsibility for this lay with the Department, not with the school. An update on this situation would be appreciated.

I will move on to the issue of funding. The Minister stated that specific capitation would be made available for students from Ukraine. That is the right thing to do. My question relates to children who sign up with a school and move into the school community from direct provision after the end of September. A school in Donegal missed out on more than €30,000 in funding because it welcomed 52 students in October. That is a significant sum of money for any school to miss out on.

I did not quite catch the response to Deputy Farrell’s question on the difference in the bilingual grants for meánscoileanna and ETBs. If the Minister repeated it, I would appreciate it.

I have a copy of the primary school grants calendar for up to next June in front of me. I see no money for minor works grants on it. Is that an omission or will the money not be paid by the end of the school year next summer?

Regarding the Covid cleaning grants, how much of the amount listed as due to be paid has been recouped from schools that underspent in previous years? I have another email, this one from a school in a different area of Dublin.

It is a DEIS band 1 school in a disadvantaged area and the school has been asked to repay €6,000 in Covid cleaning grants. How many schools are in that position and what is the total money those schools have been asked to repay?

On the expansion of the book grant scheme, a growing number of schools at post-primary level use devices, either tablets or some form of digital device, to assist in learning. Books are often preloaded on to the devices but pupils are also issued with hard copies or paper books. Has that aspect been taken into consideration by the Department? What engagement has it had on that issue?