Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to introduce this Bill for the consideration of the House. A previous version of the Bill, namely the Education (Amendment) Bill 2010, was brought before the Dáil in October 2010 by my predecessor, Mary Coughlan, but was never presented on Committee Stage here. On becoming Minister for Education and Skills last March, I asked my Department to set about resurrecting that legislation with some changes. The Bill currently before us thus retains most of the technical, house-keeping parts of the 2010 Bill but also reflects the changed priorities of the current Government for our education system.

Perhaps the biggest change to the Bill is that it no longer provides for the involvement of vocational education committees in the provision of primary education. As an Opposition Deputy in 2010, I was of the view that the manner in which the Department of Education and Skills introduced a new pilot form of community national school at primary level, while welcome, should only have been done following consideration of the matter by a forum on patronage and pluralism in the primary school sector. One of my first acts as Minister was to establish that forum and I expect that its final report and recommendations will be published shortly.

The advisory group to the forum on patronage presented its initial reflections last November and indicated that it is broadly supportive of the continuation of the community national school model. As a result, I believe it will be necessary to provide this patronage model with a statutory footing in the near future. This reform will require separate legislation and provides an opportunity for the Oireachtas to pass one consolidated piece of legislation dealing with every aspect of VEC education. I believe that will be a more appropriate place in which to put, on a statutory footing, the arrangements for the establishment and running of primary schools by the successors to the VECs, which will be known as the local education and training boards. It is the Government's intention to make progress in this regard before the end of the year. Members of the House will be aware that I have already circulated the heads of that Bill to the Committee on Jobs, Social Protection and Education.

I will now turn my attention to the Education (Amendment Bill) 2012 itself. This Bill provides for the amendment of the Education Act 1998 and the Teaching Council Act 2001 on several education matters. These include clarification on the delivery of speech therapy services to students; the abolition of the educational disadvantage committee; revised provisions in the procedures for the appointment, suspension and dismissal of teachers and other staff; arrangements for the employment, in certain exceptional and limited circumstances, of persons who are not registered teachers under the Teaching Council Act 2001; and provision for the Teaching Council to make regulations to apply certain conditions to the renewal of registration of teachers.

The Bill also provides for the repeal of the Scientific and Technological Education (Investment) Fund Act 1997 and the Scientific and Technological Education (Investment) Fund (Amendment) Act 1998.

Sections 1 to 3 contain the standard provisions such as the Short Title, commencement and collective citations, interpretation and expenses.

Section 4 provides for three amendments to definitions contained in section 2(1) of the Education Act 1998. The definition of "educational disadvantage" is amended in section 4(a) as a result of the repeal of section 32 of the Education Act 1998 which is provided for in section 7. This section also provides for the substitution of the definition of "principal" to take account of the changes to appointment procedures proposed in the Bill.

Section 4 provides for an amendment in the definition of "support services" in sections 2 and 7 of the Education Act 1998 to clarify the position in the delivery of speech therapy services and other health and personal services to students of school-going age. The Education Act 1998 lists the planning and co-ordination of support services, including speech therapy services, as a function of the Minister for Education and Skills. The legislative framework will be regularised in accordance with the de facto position, which is that the provision of speech therapy services is a matter for the Health Service Executive, HSE. This position is already acknowledged by the Oireachtas through the provision of voted moneys to the HSE to deliver such services.

The continued existence of sections 2 and 7, as currently phrased, causes confusion for parents, schools, and professionals as to who is the service provider. There are no services which are currently being provided by the Department of Education and Skills which will no longer be provided as a result of the revised legislation. Rather, the amendment is necessary to clarify the actual position in the delivery of speech therapy services to students of school-going age. The proposed provisions will not impact on the availability of speech therapy services for children with special educational needs through the HSE. Additional funding of €7.2 million for disability was provided to the HSE in budget 2009 for the provision of 90 additional therapy posts targeted to support children with disabilities of school-going age and including speech and language therapists.

The Department's commitment to support the co-ordinated delivery of services to families of children with special educational needs is not diminished by this amendment. The Department will continue to work with partners in the health and disability sectors through the vehicle of the cross-sectorial team, as established under the auspices of the office of the Minister of State with responsibility for disability and mental health, and the national disability strategy stakeholder monitoring group.

The amendment under section 5 follows on from the amendment made in section 4, to amend the definition of "support services" in section 2 of the Education Act 1998. Section 2 of the 1998 Act has been amended to clarify the position that the delivery of health and personal services, including speech therapy services, to students of school-going age is not a support service to be provided by the Minister for Education and Skills. Section 7(5) and (6) of the Education Act, which provide for the Minister for Education and Skills to request the assistance of health boards to make provision for such services, no longer applies. These support services are now delivered by the HSE, as opposed to by individual health boards, subsequent to the establishment of the HSE by the Health Act 2004. The HSE has responsibility for the delivery and for the planning and co-ordination of service delivery.

Section 6 provides for a revised text of sections 23 and 24 of the Education Act 1998 to provide for the appointment, suspension and dismissal of teachers and other school staff in accordance with procedures put in place by the Minister following consultation with the education partners.

Sections 23 and 24 currently provide for the appointment, suspension and dismissal of principals and teachers by the board of management of a school in accordance with procedures agreed between the Minister, the patron, recognised school management organisations and trade unions.

Section 24 already gives powers of approval to the Minister for the number of teachers or staff employed by schools and the qualifications of such staff. It also gives a power to the Minister to determine the terms and conditions of such staff. In terms of the procedures to be utilised in respect of appointment, suspension or dismissal of staff, section 24 introduces a requirement for agreement of all parties. The current requirement for agreement as distinct from consultation on these matters could, on the face of it, be invoked by any one party to withhold agreement. In so doing, it could prevent the putting in place of procedures that concern the terms and conditions of staff in the areas of appointment, suspension and dismissal. The current construction could even prevent reform that has been agreed between most of the parties.

On Committee Stage in the Seanad, I stated the word "agreement" should not equate to unanimity or veto but, equally, that consultation must not mean a diktat or imposition. In response to concerns raised by many Seanad Members, I have given assurances that, following enactment of this Bill, my officials will engage in discussions with the education partners on having a general consensus around the extent and quality of this consultation and on how agreements are reached. I want to put it into a formal understanding rather than in primary legislation.

I have committed to utilising established procedures, such as the Teachers Conciliation Council, as a vehicle for these discussions. The Department will also engage directly with patron bodies which are not members of the council. This approach reflects the well-established tradition of consulting on, and wherever possible securing agreement for, change which has been, and will continue to be, used in the Department. Existing mechanisms will not be displaced. However, we need to be sure that progress can be made on such matters where total agreement cannot be reached and where this is necessary in the public interest.

The new section 24(5) provides for the redeployment of teachers and other school staff in accordance with redeployment procedures determined by the Minister of the day, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, following consultation with stakeholders. A person redeployed under these procedures will become an employee of the board of management or vocational education committee, VEC, to which he or she has been redeployed.

While having fully efficient and effective teacher redeployment arrangements has been always an objective of the Department, it has assumed a critical dimension in the context of the EU-IMF framework. This is because of the ceiling on numbers under the employment control framework and the imperative of staying within that limit because it is part and parcel of the memorandum of understanding with the troika. We also have obligations under the Croke Park agreement on redeployment.

It must be understood there is an almost total embargo on recruitment across the public service, meaning that, in most cases, vacancies are not filled. Where there are limited derogations, open recruitment can be considered only where redeployment is not an option. The education sector has been relatively well protected on this front and individual sanction by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin, is not required. However, the requirement to redeploy any surplus teachers before recruitment can be considered or authorised is as binding in the schools' sector as it is in any other part of the public service. The Bill is intended to ensure clarity and certainty by providing explicit statutory provision for redeployment. Redeployment is about a change in a teacher's appointment and is very much part of the terms and conditions of teachers.

While under the existing section 24 the Minister has the power to determine the terms and conditions of teachers, I still believe there is a value in making clear that redeployment arrangements can also be determined by the Minister, if need be. Again, this is to avoid any situation developing whereby the position of any one party might inhibit or delay the operation of redeployment processes either in general or in an individual case simply because that party seeks to invoke a veto.

Consultation is again provided for and my Department remains committed to working in partnership and building consensus. As with appointment or disciplinary matters, my policy is to create consensus on redeployment arrangements. That is the best way forward. I do, however, need a measure that, at the end of the day, enables me to ensure that redeployment is not delayed or prevented in general or in individual cases. I am confident that redeployment arrangements can continue to be developed to accommodate concerns and issues as they arise.

I wish to turn now to the employment of people who are not registered teachers, which was a matter of considerable concern at the various teachers' conferences last spring. I am fully committed to ensuring that, to the greatest extent possible, only qualified and registered teachers are employed in recognised schools which are funded by the taxpayer. Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 currently provides that a person employed as a teacher cannot be paid from the public purse unless he or she is a teacher registered with the Teaching Council. The INTO and the ASTI have argued for the commencement of this section without qualification for the past 11 years.

While the position of only employing registered teachers is a logical and desirable one, it does not always reflect the practicalities at school level. Schools may, at short notice, have to engage a person in place of a registered teacher who may be sick or unable to attend school for some other reason. Despite the high numbers of newly qualified teachers, principals can experience genuine problems in sourcing a registered teacher. If there were no exception to the requirement to be registered, there would be occasions, albeit a small number, when in the absence of such a person students would have to be sent home. The Bill amends the Education Act 1998 in order to permit the Minister of the day to regulate the conditions attaching to the employment of an unregistered person in such circumstances.

The conditions can include a requirement that an unregistered person may be employed if, and only if, a registered teacher is not available to take up the position, as well as limits on the length of time in which an unregistered person can be employed, the purposes for which he or she may be employed, and a requirement that the school continue to seek the services of a registered teacher. As a result of an amendment proposed by Senator Power in the Seanad, which I accepted, the regulations may also include a requirement that the unregistered person be subject to Garda vetting. Much of that is already being done administratively. Under Circular 31/2011 issued by my Department in May of last year following the teachers' conferences, the employment of an unregistered person is limited to a continuous period of five days at a time and schools remain under a continuing obligation to source a registered teacher. Schools must also prioritise registered teachers over unregistered people.

As a result of that approach, if there is an adequate supply of registered teachers, then schools will have to employ them over unregistered people. However, the regulations will ensure that a school does not have to close simply because it cannot find a registered teacher where there is an unforeseen absence. Locating the provision in the Education Act rather than the Teaching Council Act emphasises the fact that this is primarily an employment, rather than a registration, issue. I hope that this provision need not be utilised as I am committed to having a fully registered profession. Ideally, the provision I am making should never be used.

It is the boards of management and principals of schools who make the day-to-day decisions on employing substitute teachers. This legislation does not require them to appoint unqualified people. However, if a principal or board were to be in a position where they feel they have no other alternative in the short term, and for a limited period, then the proposed change allows for the payment of the person out of the public purse. Without the change, the position is absolute and, therefore, not practicable.

When the Bill was published it provided for two other categories in which it would be permissible for schools to employ unregistered people. They were unqualified people who had obtained automatic registration with the Teaching Council in 2006 and had subsequently let this registration lapse and those whose registration with the council is pending at the time of their appointment. In light of union representations to me on this issue generally, I decided to remove these categories and, in so doing, I have limited the exception to being registered to the urgent, unforeseen and short-term needs of schools. This means that, outside of this situation, the Department or a VEC will be prohibited from paying anybody employed as a teacher unless he or she is registered with the Teaching Council.

Section 7 provides for the repeal of section 32 of the Education Act 1998. As part of the rationalisation of agencies in budget 2009, the Government decided there was no longer a need for a formal statutory committee to advise on educational disadvantage. Section 7 gives effect to this decision and provides for the repeal of section 32 of the Education Act 1998, thereby abolishing the Educational Disadvantage Committee. The committee was established under section 32 of the Education Act 1998 in order to advise the Minister on policies and strategies to be adopted to identify and correct educational disadvantage. Its final report, Moving Beyond Educational Disadvantage, was published in December of 2005. The report was a valuable input to the development of delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, with which Members are familiar. DEIS has provided, and will continue to provide, a structured and targeted approach to dealing with educational disadvantage.

More recently, the Educational Research Centre, ERC, in Drumcondra and the inspectorate in my Department have carried out an important evaluation of the DEIS scheme. Research published last January shows the DEIS programme is having a positive effect on tackling educational disadvantage. It also shows that improvement is taking place in the learning achievements of pupils in DEIS primary schools in urban areas. I am confident that the ERC and other research bodies will continue to provide the education system with much needed data on educational disadvantage and inform future policy decisions.

Section 8 provides for a procedural amendment of section 30 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 to cross-reference the amendment of section 24 of the Education Act 1998 as provided for in section 6 of the Bill and as outlined previously in this speech. Section 30 of the 2001 Act has not yet been commenced but it is my intention to activate it as soon as the President signs the legislation.

Section 9 provides for the amendment of section 33 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 to allow the Teaching Council to apply some level of conditionality on renewal of registration by teachers. On a previous occasion in this House there was discussion on the matter with Deputy O'Sullivan. As it stands, section 33 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 requires that a registered teacher pay the requisite annual fee in order to maintain registration status. However, it is desirable to make provision for certain conditions to be fulfilled by registered teachers in order to renew their annual registration. Other provisions existing in the 2001 Act to do with making applications on time and the effective date and term of the renewal are replicated in the amended section 33 now proposed.

The main purpose, therefore, of the amendment is to allow the Teaching Council to make regulations to impose such conditions. While the change provides for standard conditions to be set, such as the form and manner in which an application for renewal is made and the documentary and other evidence required to be submitted with the application, more importantly, the council may apply conditions such as the completion of programmes of continuing education and training, evidence of character, such as Garda clearance, and teaching experience.

This amendment provides for a progression towards a more robustly regulated profession and the furtherance of the objective of maintaining and improving teaching standards, including continual professional development. As many Deputies are aware, such qualitative conditions are already the norm in other professions and there is no reason for the teaching profession to be any different.

This is an enabling amendment and before the council can make any such regulation, my consent as the Minister for Education and Skills is required. Should the council propose regulations, they would be carefully considered by the Department in terms of their potential benefit to the education system, the burden that would be placed on individual teachers and any associated resource implication.

Section 10 provides for the amendment of section 38 of the Teaching Council Act 2001 to clarify a function of the Teaching Council in respect of programmes of teacher education and training provided by institutions of higher education and training. Section 38(1) states:

The Council shall, from time to time--

(a) review and accredit programmes of teacher education and training...

This may be interpreted as requiring the council to accredit all of the programmes that it reviews. To avoid doubt, the Bill contains a provision to allow the council to accredit programmes where it is appropriate to do so.

The council reviews new programmes presented to it for first accreditation as well as existing programmes. A number of reviews of existing programmes have already taken place. In all cases, the council has produced detailed reports that include a number of recommendations aimed at improving the programmes of study in question. These have been accepted and are being acted upon by the providers in question. However, should the council determine that a new or existing programme is not up to the high standard required of an initial teacher education programme, I want there to be no doubt that the council has the authority to withhold accreditation for that programme if it is right to do so.

Section 11 provides for the repeal of the Scientific and Technological Education (Investment) Fund Act 1997 and the Scientific and Technological Education (Investment) Fund (Amendment) Act 1998, as the fund has been fully spent and the provisions of the Acts are no longer required. The Acts are being repealed to end the requirement for the production of annual reports and accounts for a fund that is now defunct. The 1997 Act made financial resources available for the provision of education and vocational training in the fields of science and technology through the Scientific and Technological Education (Investment) Fund. The fund was disbursed by my Department between 1998 and 2010, inclusive.

I look forward to listening to the opinions of Deputies and to further debate as the Bill progresses through the Dáil. I commend it to the House.

See this speech in context