Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My reply to the debate may be brief as I am due to be in the Dáil at 5 p.m. If the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, appears, I will disappear. Rather than read the prepared concluding speech, I will take the time to make a few points.

First, I welcome greatly the tone and approach of the House to the Bill, on which we will work together. There are areas where we can try to meet, if not all of the way, at least on some of it. It was noteworthy to hear Senators say in their contributions that, in the main, the legislation was good. I will refer to some of the areas in which there may be concern, taking the last speaker first.

Senator Mullen referred to the national guidelines and how they fit in with the local question of protecting the individuality and authenticity of particular schools. The consultation process with education stakeholders will be very important in that regard. It will include boards of management. A number of Members contributed on boards of management which are the single largest voluntary grouping in the State after the GAA. The GAA is to be found in every parish and there are many primary schools at parish level. I take the point that we must ensure boards of management which are already under many obligations on a voluntary basis will not have anything added to their workload. Senator Gallagher referred to initiative fatigue and the amount of paperwork teachers and school leaders had to do. We do not want to get into that space. Schools already prepare school plans which will fit into the new national guidelines set out in the Bill.

Issues were raised, including by Senators Ó Ríordáin and Ó Donghaille, about voluntary contributions. What we will see under this legislation is a more transparent approach to how schools raise funds.There will be more transparency within this charter, with information on fundraising and where the money is spent.

There is the difficult and real world where many schools find themselves in at this present point in time, whether it is a school tour at the back end of the year or swimming classes with bus and associated costs. We, as a Government, try to make decisions to take the pressure off the day-to-day running of schools. That is why we increased the capitation last year by 5%, which effectively means €4 million is available this term, and €6 million for the next term, bringing it to €10 million in total. I am aware that we still have a place to go with capitation funding because when one talks to schools, boards of management, school principals and parents' associations, they feel that they are stretched as to the overall running costs of the schools. This is something of which I am deeply conscious.

Senator Ruane raised a number of issues regarding the Ombudsman for Children provisions. Before speaking on head 7, which she referenced here, during the formal drafting process certain concerns arose about how some of the general scheme's provisions relating to the Ombudsman for Children would have had the effect of fundamentally changing how the Ombudsman for Children operates, by compelling school boards to consider any suggestions, guidance or recommendations, rather than working to encourage schools to take actions to solve the matter.

Head 7 proposed the removal of the provision of the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 which prevents the Ombudsman for Children's Office, OCO, from investigating a complaint until the local school compliance processes have been exhausted. It was proposed to delete this provision in the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002, to prevent schools from frustrating or stalling an investigation of a complaint by the ombudsman in that regard. This provision needs further consideration by the Department of Education and Skills in conjunction with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Ombudsman for Children's Office and the Office of the Attorney General before a decision is made on introducing this provision as an amendment to the Bill on Committee Stage. I appreciate the Senator raising this point and hear what she is saying. We will continue to work on that.

I want to re-emphasise the importance of consultation. Sometimes when we introduce guidelines, there is a fear that it is top-down. It is not a top-down, and as everybody has emphasised during their contributions, a lot of schools are already doing this, whether it is in an informal or ad hocway. There are very strong relationships between parents and students and many of these issues, as Senator Gallagher pointed out, are resolved on the ground at a local level. We want that to continue and to ensure that, as practicable as is possible, these issues can be sorted at a local level before entering a whole formal way, which is the best approach.

I want to acknowledge my own colleague, Senator Byrne, who keeps me right on these matters on the education committee as well. I also want to reaffirm my desire, as this Bill channels through both Houses, that we work with each other. If there are areas or issues that Members feel we can work more closely on, I will be happy to do so.

I apologise, a Chathaoirligh, for rushing as I believe I was due in the Dáil three minutes ago.