Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will give consideration to introducing an annual education impact study in advance of the budget each year so as to ensure that the impact of changes to staffing schedules are properly assessed in advance of decisions being taken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2696/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Government decisions on reductions in resources in any area are not taken lightly nor are they done in isolation from the likely impact. The key challenge is to do this while also improving outcomes. We all have to achieve more with less.

Within the schools sector we know from international research that while class size is a factor the quality of teaching is a far more significant factor in determining successful outcomes. We therefore have to focus on the drivers of good performance. We need to have the right people becoming teachers, we need the right training for them in college and we need to support them with the right professional development throughout their educational career. To this end we are making significant changes to both the structure and format of initial teacher education so that our colleges and teachers are comparable with the best in the world.

At school level we need to foster and develop a culture of self-evaluation. In addition to supporting school self-evaluation, our school inspection system will continue to provide robust external evaluation of schools and promote improvement in quality and standards in teaching and learning. This, along with targeted initiatives such as those for improving literacy and numeracy, will all help to restore and improve our education system and how it compares with our international competitors.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. During Private Members' time last week and on Friday my party brought forward, with the support of the other Opposition parties and I thank Deputy O'Brien for his party's support, a proposal to require the Minister and the Department to ensure an impact assessment is done in advance of introducing budgetary measures which impact on education. The Minister spoke about ensuring schools conduct self-evaluations, with which I agree. Evaluation at all stages in the education system is important to measure effectiveness. However, it is crucial that the same self-evaluation is also undertaken at departmental and political level. Since the Minister took office he has introduced a number of budgetary cuts, such as cuts to DEIS schools, and an impact assessment was not done.

In fact, in partially reversing those DEIS cuts the Minister himself said he had not fully evaluated the impact they would have and that if he had done so he would not have taken that decision.

The pupil-teacher ratio cuts in further education were discussed in detail here last week. I see, however, that after making that decision the Minister has asked County Dublin VEC for an impact assessment. That evaluation should have been done before the decision was taken. We will now see the impact it will have on the ability of many colleges of further education to carry out that work and continue the courses they provide. It will affect many specialist courses in particular.

From now on, there should be an engagement concerning the impact assessment and it should be published. There should also be an engagement with the education committees and the sector generally as to the impact of any proposals before they are introduced.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I understand what the Deputy is proposing and I have read the comments he has made elsewhere in this regard. In reference to last year's budget, I was not proposing to cut DEIS resources as such. I was trying to equalise out of the system what we refer to as legacy posts in which one school had more resources than another, even though they were both categorised as being in precisely the same socio-economic area of distress. Perhaps I should have been wise and realised that what people have they hold, no matter what basis it has come to and how they have acquired it.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Always equalise upwards.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Yes.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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That is life.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The process of decision-making - some day, no doubt, the Deputy will be in this process of responsibility - is to examine a proposal and try to assess what its likely impact would be. Part of our difficulty in the further education and current VEC side is that the Department has incomplete information as to the precise detail on the ground. It is a legacy of the past and is one of the reasons why we are moving towards the education and training boards. In order to find out what would be the impact of equalising the PTR for post-primary schools and PLCs, we would have had to ask every one of the 33 VECs. They in turn would have had to get results and feedback from their own colleges. We simply would not have had the time to do that and we are not sure that we would necessarily have got the accurate information. As we know, only about three or four areas are significantly impacted by this, including Cork City, Dublin County and Dublin City, which are up around 20 or 30. After that, when one looks at the list it is down to two or three in any one county VEC.

When the VECs are merged into the ETBs there will be the possibility for those people to be accommodated elsewhere. Let us be clear, however, that it is a saving and we will be reducing the number of full-time or whole-time equivalent jobs.

As regards the exact number of people who can be redeployed back into the system in other vacancies, I will have to wait until the CEOs tell us what that is. We do not have the information in the Department of Education and Skills to undertake that exercise. I am not so sure that we should have.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Question No. 132 is in the name of Deputy Sean Fleming. I call the Minister.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I said I would provide additional information to the House on SUSI. Would I be in order to do so now? You can rule on whether or not I should give this information, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. I can do it at the end of questions or I can do it now, whichever you rule.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Is it agreed to have the information provided now? Agreed.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I will make the figures available to the House so the Deputy does not necessarily have to take them down. The correct figures for the numbers of students paid by SUSI as of last Friday, 18 January, are as follows: awarded to date, 30,658; provisionally awarded, 1,185; total paid grants, 19,743; total paid fee-only awards, 5,949; total overall paid by SUSI, 25,692; and awarded but still awaiting some form of payment, 3,781. Of that 3,871 still awaiting some form of payment, the vast majority of these students have not submitted their bank account details to SUSI.

SUSI is telephoning students proactively to get their banking details. I will arrange for this information to be placed in Members' post boxes later today.