Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Some of those would be teachers coming out of retirement. People at home listening to this might be concerned about their loved ones in that regard. The Minister said he accepted the Seanad amendment proposed by Senator Power relating to unregistered teachers and Garda vetting, which makes sense. We need to work out how that can be processed in a speedy manner. Even the previous Government was supposed to be addressing that matter and hopefully it will be addressed soon.

Section 6 drops the existing provisions in sections 23(1) and 24(3) of the Education Act which provides for consultation and agreement on certain matters. The INTO pointed out that the appointment procedures are currently agreed every four years when the rules and constitution of boards of management are reviewed and there has never been any difficulty with that consultation and agreement process which is of long standing. I ask the Minister to outline why this change has been made either on the conclusion of Second Stage or on Committee Stage.

The Bill also includes an amendment to section 38 of the Act which relates to the council's role in reviewing and accrediting programmes of initial teacher education. The proposed amendment clarifies the council's power to refuse or withdraw professional accreditation, where appropriate. Similarly, the INTO has also raised concerns that section 24(8) legitimises the employment in schools of persons without teaching qualifications, albeit in defined and limited circumstances. What will has happen to people working in Youthreach who have a craft background and are not fully qualified teachers? In the interim, I urge all practising teachers who are not registered with the council to apply for registration without delay.

The Bill also provides for the amendment of the Education Act 1998 and the amendment of the Teaching Council Act 2001 in a number of education matters. These include: clarification on the delivery of speech therapy services to students; the abolition of the Educational Disadvantage Committee; revised procedures for the appointment, suspension, dismissal and remuneration of teachers; and provision for the Teaching Council to make regulations to apply certain conditions to the renewal of registration of teachers.

The Act lists the planning and co-ordination of support services, including speech therapy services, as a function of the Minister for Education and Skills. While there is agreement at policy level that the HSE will provide such services, it is important that the proposed amendments to the Education Act 1998 are in a position to deliver speech therapy services to students of school-going age. As public representatives we are aware of the difficulties, the frustrations and the long, tortuous delays through which students and their parents have to go to get basic resources and supports, especially in the speech therapy area. We are also aware of the difficulty facing families who miss out for a certain period which results in the child dropping back and so on. We have probably all dealt with such situations over the years.

The legislative framework is to be regularised in accordance with what exists at present, that is to say, the provision of speech therapy services is a matter for the Health Service Executive. It is important that the provision of funding to the HSE to deliver such services is ring-fenced and used to provide essential health supports including speech and language therapy and occupational therapy to children. I understand that in some circumstances such therapy services are delivered in schools and the proposed amendment will not change this existing position.

Despite the fact that specific speech and language impairment, SSLI, is known to be a long-term disability, a continuum of provision is not available in Ireland. I am unsure why. A significant number of children continue to receive speech and language therapy in a local clinic after they return to their local school and many are allocated extra resource teaching hours.

There is agreement across the House that resources should follow the child. The trap door between junior and senior school must be removed. The hope of seeing this matter resolved appears to be a long way off but perhaps we can address this on Committee Stage. I realise the Minister is nodding his head in agreement on this matter. This problem exists and it would be fantastic if it could be addressed under this Bill.

One particular problem is the grey area surrounding what the existing provision covers and how pupils and schools are affected. If we are serious about addressing a child's speech and language disorder through appropriate education and intensive speech and language therapy within the context of a broad and balanced primary school curriculum, then the emphasis must be on early intervention. There is a long-standing, misguided belief that SSLI is a short-term and largely resolvable condition. However, research into SSLI and professional practice have highlighted the long-term nature of the disorder. Consequently, attendance in a language class should be regarded as only one part of a child's continuum of care. It is important to retain and develop a flexible system that can deliver the necessary supports for children with SSLI in a mainstream classroom setting. This means retaining a full-time teacher assigned to each class that operates with a ratio of 7:1 and, where necessary, a speech and language therapist should be available to provide therapy for the children in the class.

I understand the operation of section 40 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act 2004 will change if this legislation goes through and the Minister will not have the function of requesting the assistance of the relevant health authority in respect of planning, provision and co-ordination of support services. However, perhaps I am wrong about this.

The Minister has made the point in the past that the HSE has the responsibility for providing services but the trouble arises if the HSE does not adequately provide specialised support services, including language support and occupational therapy. Is it then the Minister's responsibility to ensure services are provided and will this be weakened by the legislation? Perhaps not. If a child does not receive the adequate education, the buck stops with the Minister and the Government. I call on the Minister to offer some clarity in this regard.

It is important that children in hospital have access to adequate levels of support to ensure their specific needs are met. Under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, each child assessed with a special educational need should have a personal education plan. However, the implementation of the assessment of need and individual education plans must be implemented. How will this affect a child in the hospital setting? I realise this is a specialised area but we must consider such circumstances when we introduce legislation. Changes took place recently with regard to the special education needs assistants and these changes did not necessarily concur with the needs of the children in that setting.

When the Minister's party colleague, Senator Mary Moran, spoke on the Bill in the Seanad she welcomed the changes which will empower the Teaching Council of Ireland as a regulator. She pointed out the importance of ensuring that teachers who enter the profession are educated to the highest possible standards and that student teachers should receive the best possible preparation for their professional careers.

The Bill is before the House at a time when the Government is imposing cuts to a range of allowances and supports for teachers, especially those newly qualified. Teachers have already absorbed the non-payment of the last promised pay increase of 6%, the pension-related deduction of 7%, a pay cut of 6%, as well as the universal social charge, PRSI contributions and all the levies. Pay cuts amounting to 14% have been imposed on new teachers. These substantial reductions have made a considerable difference to teachers, many of whom are finding it remarkably difficult to make ends meet. The Minister would have heard these sentiments at the teacher's conference recently. In return, teachers are doing more work and enabling the Exchequer to make substantial payroll savings. Redeployment has delivered savings of €60 million. Additional working hours have been implemented resulting in fewer school closures and better planning while more pupils are being taught by fewer staff.

As a result of the 2012 budget, teachers who enter teaching on or after 5 December 2011 will be subject to a cap on allowances equivalent to the honours degree allowance, currently at €4,426. Existing teachers who receive or have received additional qualifications, such as a master's degree, on or after 5 December 2011 will not receive these additional allowances. A recently qualified teacher who contacted my office asked how the Department of Education and Skills, as an equal opportunities employer, could expect new entrants to the teaching profession to work under the same conditions as teachers who are paid 30% more. This reduction is unjustifiable and a move which depreciates and undervalues the quality of education undertaken by new entrants in comparison to those who have entered the profession in previous years. It is wrong that the Government is expecting new entrants from February 2012 to carry out the same duties while starting on a maximum salary some 30% less than what they would have earned had they been in a position to enter the system two years ago. These changes risk creating a two-tier teaching system - we already have a two-tier education system - and a sense of resentment and bitterness on the part of teachers who are not being paid a fair wage equal to that of their colleagues.

Another equally important matter that must be addressed is the practice of re-hiring retired teachers. My colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith, referred to the hiring of retired teachers to temporary teaching positions at a time when there is a shortage of teaching posts. This is yet another barrier that prevents newly qualified teachers from working in schools and gaining invaluable classroom experience. We have discussed the temporary nature of some of this work.

Teachers currently undertaking academic courses have a legitimate expectation to receive allowances that were available when they signed up for further study. There was an expectation in this regard and unfortunately that expectation has been dashed. The capping of teacher allowances is not only unfair, it will also have serious implications for the standards of teaching in our schools because it will discourage some teachers from engaging in further study. The Government is removing an important incentive for those working within the education sector to up-skill and it will be a major deterrent in the current economic climate because of the personal and financial commitments required by those undertaking higher education courses.

Having highly qualified teachers benefits the entire school community. High level qualifications are particularly valuable to teachers in light of the moratorium on posts of responsibility which has resulted in a suspension of promotional opportunities for the many primary and second level teachers. Clearly, this is yet another attack on young teachers entering the teaching profession, who earn approximately 14% less than their colleagues and will soon be forced to join an inferior pension scheme which will see them pay more towards their pensions than they will ever receive in pension benefits. This is a crazy scheme.

An equally harsh cut was the decision that school guidance counsellors will no longer be provided on an ex-quota basis in post-primary schools. This will result in a significant cut in the number of guidance hours in schools and force some teachers back into the classroom as subject teachers. The loss of guidance counselling comes at a time when there has been an alarming rise in the rate of suicides, self-harm and depression among young people and when schools are finding it difficult to address issues arising from bullying in the classroom. Students will find it difficult to access one-to-one counselling support for a wide range of personal problems, such as issues relating to self-esteem, family breakdown, mental health, bereavement, stress and sexuality. Vulnerable young people will be placed at even greater risk. This is a decision that is difficult to justify.

One of the most contentious measures in the 2012 budget was the change to the staffing levels for one, two, three and four-teacher schools. A primary school teacher in the Taoiseach's own constituency accused the Government of overseeing education cuts that would lead to a "scorched earth" policy in rural Ireland. He also correctly asserted that schoolchildren and rural communities were more important than the bondholders of Europe, the €70 million EU Presidency bill or the €28 million legal bill for NAMA. Alternatives to closures and amalgamations must be considered along with the possibility of repopulating existing schools rather than constantly expanding already larger schools, often with unsuitable temporary accommodation.

I urge the Minister to recognise the importance of small schools in rural Ireland. Financial concerns taken in isolation cannot be the sole reason governing a small school's viability and must be counterbalanced by many other considerations. A further consideration is that schools may find it impossible to fulfil their obligations under section 9(c) of the 1998 Education Act which requires that guidance services be provided in schools and that students should have access to appropriate guidance to assist them in their educational and career choices.

The Minister mentioned that the educational research centre, ERC, in Drumcondra and the inspectorate had carried out important work with regard to the DEIS programme and he himself has said the DEIS programme has had a positive effect on tackling educational disadvantage.

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