Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 5: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will examine and reverse Circular 0017/2011 with regard to the withdrawal of resource teacher for traveller posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5643/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The programme for Government sets out that education will be a priority for this Government and that we will endeavour to protect and enhance the educational experience of children, young people and students. To that end, we are committing during the tenure of this Government to improving the co-ordination and integration of the delivery of services to the Traveller community across all Government Departments, using available resources more effectively to deliver on principles of social inclusion, particularly in the area of Traveller education through the DEIS programme.

I do not intend to revisit the decision of the previous Government to withdraw resource teacher for traveller posts. The Deputy will understand that Ireland is effectively now in economic receivership because of the disastrous legacy of the last Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government. The requirements to make expenditure savings and to ensure that staffing numbers remain within the public service employment control framework prevent me from revisiting this decision.

The decision, however, is broadly in keeping with the recommendation in the Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy that an integrated, collaborative and in-class learning support system should be adopted for all children, including Travellers, with an identified educational need. The strategy aims to enhance access, attendance, participation and engagement for Travellers and is underpinned by the principles of inclusion and mainstreaming with an emphasis on equality and diversity.

Traveller pupils eligible for learning support teaching will, from the next school year, receive this tuition through the existing learning support provision in schools. All schools should select students for learning support on the basis of priority of need.

I recognise that withdrawing all RTT posts will place a strain on existing learning support services in schools. In recognition of this, limited alleviation measures are being provided to assist some schools that have high concentrations of Traveller pupils and who were previously supported by resource teachers for Travellers.

I want to advise the Deputy that, in respect of the DEIS scheme, Traveller pupils have been included in the valid enrolment for the purpose of allocating additional staffing under DEIS from the 2011-12 school year. The schools involved have already received their staffing allocations for next year.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister might send me a note at some stage on the limited alleviation measures to which he referred.

Would the Minister agree it is unacceptable that one in every ten Travellers who enrolls in post-primary education completes that education but that one in every 100 goes on to a third level programme? No Minister can justify the withdrawal of resource teachers for Travellers at primary level, the withdrawal of teaching hours for Travellers in post-primary education, the withdrawal of visiting teachers for Travellers in September 2011 and the phasing out of senior Traveller training centres in June 2011.

Will the Minister accept the importance of the outreach work by visiting teachers for Travellers, which has led to a significant increase in Traveller participation up to junior certificate level? The role of the visiting teacher service is to break down hostility and suspicion, particularly on the part of people who do not have a tradition of going on to education.

With regard to the cuts in the programme, could the Minister elaborate about the alleviation measures?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I will send the Deputy the detailed information he requires. We must assess how effective the allocation of resources was in the past in terms of the outcomes. A task to be carried out within the Traveller community and with the support groups for Travellers is to try to convince Traveller parents of the value of education in the first instance. Education starts in the home before young people reach the classroom and staying in the classroom requires the commitment of parents as much as the enthusiasm and dedication of teachers. One cannot work without the other. We are trying to enhance that commitment across a wider range than just Travellers. However, there are outcomes that are unsatisfactory at present and the figures the Deputy quoted indicate that. We will have to try harder. It must be said in all honesty that we must try to achieve more with less. That is the position at present.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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What alleviation measures does the Minister propose to introduce for schools with a large number of Traveller pupils, given that the cut in the allocation will lead to a serious loss of staff in these schools? Is it based on the cuts to the education budget being dictated by finance rather than educational need? That is a terrible indictment of our system.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I am aware that, for historical reasons, in certain towns in certain parts of the country with settled communities there is a large concentration of Travellers, including in parts of the Deputy's constituency. In a sense, the first step for the Traveller community in maximising educational opportunities for their children is to become settled. That has led, by virtue of the location of those settlements, to high concentrations of Travellers. I do not have the detailed statistics with me to give the Deputy that information but I will write to him. We recognise that some schools have a high concentration of Travellers and that has a knock-on effect both within the Traveller community in the school and within the wider school community. They require additional support. I will send the Deputy the details of that support.

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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That concludes priority questions.