Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 219: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the provision made to ensure that a teacher or a number of teachers within a school setting have proper certification in providing first aid; if his attention has been drawn to this matter or if there are dedicated teachers with this responsibility within a school; if he has considered making defibrillators available to schools; his proposals to address this issue in the context of the 2009 Estimates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20097/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Board of Management / Manager of a school, following consultation between the principal and the staff, determines the duties which need to be performed by the holders of Posts of Responsibility for the effective internal management of the school and the distribution of these duties between the posts having regard to the school's own priorities. Among the duties which have been identified as appropriate for assignment to holders of Posts of Responsibility in schools is that of First Aid and Safety Officer. My Department's Teacher Education Section has, through the Education Centre Network, approved and funded a number of First Aid Courses for teachers in the context of its Summer Course Programme in 2007. That Section also provides funding to Education Centres for the provision of courses to meet locally identified priority needs, which include First Aid courses for teachers.

In recognition of the responsibility which the Education Act has imposed on Boards of Management and the increasingly complex environment in which they must operate, the Teacher Education Section (TES) of my Department has developed a scheme for the provision of support to school management bodies for the purpose of training and development of boards of management in the discharge of their duties and consistent with national and DES priorities. Among the essential core areas covered in the training is Health & Safety. The issue of making defibrillators available to schools is a decision for each individual Board of Management to make in relation to their own school.