Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an Seanad arís. I thank the Minister for outlining the provisions in this complex Bill. I agree with much of what Senator Power has said in respect of what may be teased out in the debate on later Stages. In that context I shall refer to three or four issues, the first of which appears to be the imbedding of unqualified teachers into the system.

As a school principal for many years I know it is hard to get a qualified teacher on the spur of the moment. With the intention of being helpful, the Bill appears to imbed unqualified teachers in the system. Like Senator Power, I would prefer to have a retired teacher than an unqualified teacher within the school. However, there are pragmatic issues in regard to the employment of unqualified teachers and we have to find the balance.

On the issue of support services the amendment of the definition, in order to clarify the position in respect of the delivery of speech therapy services and other health and personal services, is of vital importance. The provisions will not impact on the availability of speech therapy services for children with special educational needs through the HSE. However, much works remains to be done to ensure the provision of services, such as speech and language and occupational vocational and behavioural therapy, are made available to children in a timely manner. I am concerned that nobody will be compelled to offer support services which the Department of Education and Skills declines to offer. Children with serious medical needs and none in schools could be left without assistance. While I applaud the excellent work carried out by the cross-sectoral team I suggest it may be time to investigate the viability of establishing a central co-ordinating agency for the provision of specialist services to school children, the objective being to have a centre of excellence in each region.

On the issue of teacher redeployment, there can be problems where the panel may not be cleared in a timely fashion, leading to a flurry of appointments after 1 September in some cases. That is an ongoing problem. To counterbalance that, boards of management consider they are losing the power to employ - as the Minister said - in emergency circumstances. Could these emergency circumstances be used not by the Minister or his Department but in the future by a not so discerning person to override boards of management and management authorities for the flimsiest of reasons and take on the role of effective employment appointment, thus diminishing the powers and responsibilities of boards of management? We have to strengthen the boards of management and get them to use their powers. That would improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools, which should be the ultimate aim in legislation. Some consider they are losing power and control. Specifically, in what circumstances would the emergency powers be used by the Department of Education and Skills to appoint staff to schools?

I wish to refer to the appointment of unqualified teachers in schools. This is a personal bugbear of mine - when provision was made in primary schools that teaching principals, in order to undertake administrative duties, would get 18 days off for four teacher schools or less and 22 days off in six teacher schools. That led to the appointment of many unqualified teachers and took the teacher out of the classroom for 22 days. This had a pernicious effect on the teaching and learning of pupils in the classroom and needs to be better regulated. Sometimes principals take the class that is moving into secondary schools. Would the Minister like his son or daughter to be without his or her class teacher for 22 days of the year? Teaching principals need time for administrative tasks. I estimate it costs at least €6,000 per annum to provide substitute teachers for a principal teacher. Surely there is a better approach to this issue.

I welcome the Bill and the Minister's zeal in seeking to improve the quality of teaching and learning in schools. I have concerns, however, about a couple of issues which could eventually develop into the thin edge of the wedge for boards of management and schools.