John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 4:

To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following:

“welcomes:

- the commitments in the Programme for Government and in the Confidence and Supply Arrangement for a Fine Gael-led Government in the education area, including reducing class sizes, reintroducing guidance counselling for secondary schools and increasing financial supports for postgraduate students with particular focus on those from low income households;

- the commitments and allocations of resources in Budget 2017, including:- an additional allocation of €458 million, a five per cent increase in 2017, resulting in an overall budget of €9.53 billion, the third highest in the history of the Department of Education and Skills;

- the recruitment of 2,400 additional teachers and 115 additional special needs assistants in 2017;

- the allocation of two thirds of the guidance resources that were previously cut, separately and transparently outside the quota on the staffing schedule;

- the reintroduction of the full maintenance grant from September 2017 for 1,100 postgraduate students from the lowest income category; and

- the allocation of an additional €36.5 million for higher education in 2017 as part of a broader multi-annual package; and- the Government’s restatement of its commitment to delivering on all the elements of the Programme for Government and Confidence and Supply Arrangement for a Fine Gael-led Government in the education area over the lifetime of the Government."

First of all I wish to comment on apprenticeships briefly. A total of €20 million has been made available in the budget for apprenticeships from the national training fund. The programme for Government commits to 50,000 new apprenticeships up to 2020. SOLAS and the Apprenticeship Council are preparing a detailed plan over a period of three years which will include what my colleagues in the Labour Party have said in respect of women in apprenticeships and so on. While that plan is under way, any information that Deputies need I will make available. That is going to happen, I guarantee Members that much.

The central ambition of the Government is to sustain economic progress and make ours a fairer and compassionate society. We all believe in that, irrespective of where we come from or what part of the House. Essentially, all Deputies believe in that much. Investment in high-quality education and training is critical to achieving these goals. The programme for Government states: "Education is the key to giving every child an equal opportunity in life." We are keen to support our teachers and institutions to continually improve. Building better links between education and the broader community, including the enterprise sector, is vital.

Last week's budget was a first step in delivering the resources we need to progressively deliver on the action plan. The Department's budget will increase by €458 million compared to the 2016 allocation, which represents a 5% increase. Overall, the Department will have a budget of over €9.5 billion, the third largest allocation after the allocations for the Departments of Social Protection and Health. This will allow us to invest in measures throughout the education and training system which will drive reform, improve outcomes for new learners, tackle disadvantage and enhance quality.

A wide range of measures across the education and training system will be implemented as a result of the funding announced in the 2017 budget. The increased allocation will allow us to employ 2,400 additional teachers as well as over 100 special needs assistants. It gives us the resources to implement agreements reached with teacher unions, including an allocation of €130 million to implement the Lansdowne Road agreement. We will also implement the recent agreement reached with the TUI and INTO on salary increases for new-entrant teachers. We are willing to conclude a similar agreement to benefit newly-qualified ASTI teachers within the Lansdowne Road agreement. In that context I am keen to say that I have no wish to see any teacher taking industrial action. Everyone has a right to do so and I understand the frustration that exists. However, I echo the calls of the Minister for Education and Skills for ASTI to engage in constructive dialogue and see it as the only means to resolve the issues that concern ASTI members. That needs to be done and I hope it will be done.

Next year will see the first phase of the new investment in our higher education system. This will be critical to Ireland's economic development. As a result of the budget, over the next three years an additional €160 million will be invested in higher education. For the first time in recent years specific additional funding is being allocated for 2017 and beyond to cover the impact of increasing enrolments in higher education. Building on this, the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will also be undertaking a review and consultation on the new employer-Exchequer investment mechanism to support multi-annual funding in the higher and further education sectors. This will complement the important work of the Oireachtas joint committee in examining the Cassells report on future funding of higher education. Funding will be provided to implement the new international education strategy, which is intended to increase the economic value of the sector by €500 million per year and attract in the region of 37,000 additional students by 2020.

The budgetary allocation in my area of ministerial responsibility will provide for increased demand for traditional apprenticeships as well as the roll-out of apprenticeships in new economic sectors. I spoke earlier on this point. In the coming months I will make all the information available that Members need on our plan for apprenticeships up to 2020.

The Springboard initiative has been maintained and new funding is being made available for flexible learning and skills development in higher education. This will be of significant benefit to employers and learners. Research investments are important as well in producing the highly-educated workforce that we need to grow the economy and contribute to society. Additional funding will allow the commencement of a frontier research programme and a new initiative to attract leading researchers. Over 3,000 students will benefit from measures to support more disadvantaged students to attend higher education. The measures will include the introduction of a full maintenance grant from September 2017 for over 1,000 postgraduate students in the lowest income category.

The budget will fund the implementation of the action plan on educational inclusion, which will be launched later in the year by the Minister, Deputy Bruton. The plan will include additional measures in areas like school leadership, teaching methods and clusters to improve the outcomes for students in the relevant schools.

Following development and piloting over recent years, a new model for allocation of teaching resources for children with special educational needs will be implemented from September 2017. An additional €18 million will be provided in 2017 to provide for approximately 900 resource teacher posts. Further details regarding implementation of the new model will be announced in the coming months.

The budget continues the process of restoring guidance to schools. The equivalent of 100 additional guidance posts will be provided in September 2017. These will be allocated separately, transparently and outside of the quota in respect of the schedule of posts.

We recognise that school leadership is vital in promoting a school environment which is welcoming, inclusive, accountable and focused on high-quality teaching and learning. The budget will allow us to give greater support to schools in this area, including additional deputy principal posts for larger second level schools and middle management posts for primary and post-primary schools. We will be providing funding to support ongoing curriculum reform. This will include provision for individual professional time for teachers of the junior cycle and will involve 550 additional teaching posts. We will also be supporting reforms in several leaving certificate subjects, including economics, politics and society and physical education.

The Department's capital allocation next year will be €690 million. In the school sector this will support the creation of up to an additional 20,000 permanent school places in 2017. It is expected that up to 50 large-scale projects will reach substantial completion next year. Overall, the budget will allow us to make significant progress across a range of important areas within the education and training system and this will ultimately benefit learners.

I wish to take issue with the observations in the Labour Party motion to the effect that we will not be able to deliver on the commitments laid out in our budget day announcements.

Some of the figures they have published are incorrect. For example, the cost of keeping pace with demographic growth in the higher education sector is €14 million, meaning that with the remaining €22.5 million we will be able to deliver on all the initiatives we have set out, including over 3,000 students who will benefit from an additional package of €8.5 million to support more disadvantaged students, including lone parents and Travellers, to attend higher level. This includes the introduction of a full maintenance grant, worth almost €6,000 from September 2017 for 1,100 postgraduate students in the lowest income category. There will be new targeted initiatives to provide skills, and additional flexible learning places, funding to commence a new frontiers research programme and a new initiative to attract world-leading researchers in the context of Brexit.

For the first time in recent years, specific additional funding is being allocated for 2017, 2018 and 2019 to cover the impact of the increasing enrolments. Funding for 2017 will support 179,000 full-time enrolments. There will be provision for expansion in apprenticeships and to implement the new international education strategy, increase the value of the sector by €500 million per year and attract 37,000 additional students by 2020. On top of this initial three-year funding commitment, the Government will work with the aim of putting in place a new comprehensive and ambitious multi-year funding package for the sector from 2018. As part of this, the Department will undertake a review and consultation with the aim of developing a multiannual funding model for higher and further education and training. We have been very clear that the commitments we have set out in the action plan, reflecting the programme for Government and the confidence and supply agreement, including the commitments for further reductions in class sizes, will be progressively implemented over the coming years as resources allow.

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