Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I have received similar correspondence to that which he has raised with me. I think he knows the backdrop to this issue better than I do in that there is a compulsory Gaeltacht placement element of the course and that it arose when teacher education courses were reconfigured in line with the recommendations of my Department's literacy and numeracy strategy and the Teaching Council's policy on teacher education. There is a need to ensure all primary teachers are competent and confident in their use of the Irish language, especially given its importance in the primary school curriculum. Changes to the structure and content of the Gaeltacht placement arose from the Teaching Council's new accreditation criteria, published in June 2011, which provide for "an extended and reconceptualised Gaeltacht residency which will now form part of the overall programme and be under the direct jurisdiction of the teacher education providers". The report of the Teaching Council’s Gaeltacht placement working group provides for the operation of the revised placement and that initial teacher education providers have responsibility for quality assuring the content, teaching and assessment of the Gaeltacht element of initial teacher education programmes.

My Department supports the changes which contribute to overall quality improvement in initial teacher education. As the Senator indicated, the revised Gaeltacht placement now consists of two two-week blocks which take place in separate academic years. Prior to 2012, student primary teachers spent three weeks on Gaeltacht placement, usually during the summer months following the first year of their course. My Department paid a grant of €637 per student per three week placement directly to the Gaeltacht summer colleges. The average annual cost was €850,000. The decision to stop the payments by my Department was made with effect from September 2012. In the context of budget 2012, difficult choices had to be made to achieve savings. To that end, in 2011 all Departments carried out a comprehensive review of expenditure on all budgets and programmes and proposals to achieve savings were put to the Government. It was in this context that the decision was taken to stop the payment of grants towards the cost of student teachers' attendance at Gaeltacht courses from September 2012. The removal of the grant means that students are liable for this cost which I understand is in the region of €1,500 for the four weeks spent on placement. This cost is split over two years in accordance with the Teaching Council's requirements. The Senator will understand, therefore, that the decision to stop the Gaeltacht placement grants was taken during the economic crisis when, unfortunately, very difficult decisions had to be made to stabilise the nation's finances. Priority was given to protecting resources for front-line education services as far as possible, which remains particularly challenging with rising numbers of schoolgoing children. The changes to the Gaeltacht placement grant were publicised in advance of implementation in order that students would be aware of the new arrangements before embarking on initial teacher education programmes.

The Senator may wish to note that, to assist with the cost of the Gaeltacht placement, students qualifying for a 100% fee grant or who would have qualified for a full fee grant but for the free fees scheme can apply for a field trip grant towards travel and accommodation costs, subject to the normal terms and conditions of the student grants scheme. Apart from the student grants system, in circumstances of particular need students may apply for support under the student assistance fund. In view of other pressing demands on the education budget it has not been possible to consider reinstating this subvention to date. The Senator will be aware that a major report on the funding of third level education, chaired by Mr. Peter Cassells, has been published and is being examined by the Oireachtas committee. The report outlines a number of options for future funding. The committee is assessing the appropriateness of the different options.