Written answers
Thursday, 2 February 2017
Department of Education and Skills
Commencement of Legislation
Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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140. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the Acts or sections or other provisions of Acts, coming wholly or partly under the auspices of his Department, or for the commencement of which his Department is wholly or partly responsible, which are not in force and which require the future making of a commencement order; if, in each case, it is intended to make such an order; if so, when; the reason for the failure to make such an order to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5267/17]
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The information that the Deputy has requested is set out in tabular as follows.
| Act | Sections yet to be commenced | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching Council Act 2001 | Sections 39 | This section relates to the continuing education, training and professional development of teachers. In relation to commencement, regard will be had to the development by the Teaching Council of Cosán, the national framework for teachers’ learning. |
| Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2007 | Sections 1, 2, 4, 6-8. | Section 1 relates to definitions. Section 2 relates to a textual amendment of a definition contained in the Education Act 1998. Section 8 relates to the sanction of expenses incurred in the administration of this Act. Sections 4 and 6 of this Act which relate to the Section 29 Appeal process have not been commenced. After this Act was published, there were also a number of important High Court judgements made in relation to Judicial Review cases which impacted on the work of Section 29 Appeal Committees. It is intended to re-examine these provisions of the Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2007 as part of proposed changes to Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998. Section 7 of the Act refers to an order to be made with regard to the transfer of the Crawford Art Gallery from Cork City VEC (now Cork Education and Training Board) to the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland. Matters relating to the transfer are the subject of ongoing discussions between this Department and the Department of Arts Heritage Regional Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs. |
| Student Support Act 2011 | Sections 1, 8(3) & 16(5) | The Student Support Act 2011 provides a single statutory basis for all student grants to replace four different schemes that were operated by local authorities and VECs. The Act provides the power to prescribe courses that do not require attendance by a student on a full-time basis to be an approved course. This power enables the Minister, if there are compelling reasons and adequate resources to do so, to consider extending the circumstances where a student may be eligible for a grant where attending an approved course on a part-time basis. The potential costs of any such policy change will be a decisive factor and the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform will be required for any proposed change. |
| Residential Institutions Statutory Fund Act 2012 | Section 43 | Section 43 relates to the setting up of a special account for moneys received under Section 42 of the Act in relation to relevant costs. To date the provision has not been required and there are no immediate plans to commence the provision. |
| Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 | Sections 3-13, 14(1)(b), 14(1)(d), 14(1)(e), 14(1)(f), 15-18, 38 and 39 | The sections of the EPSEN Act that have not yet been commenced are those mainly concerned with the assessment of need, the preparation and review of individual education plans and the associated appeals provisions in relation to these areas. A small number of sections refer to interaction between the NCSE and the health services. The NCSE published a Plan for the Implementation of the EPSEN Act in 2006. This report concluded that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement the EPSEN Act. Due to the very significant costs involved, the full implementation of the Act was deferred. While awaiting the full implementation of the EPSEN Act, the NCSE has published a number of policy advice papers including ‘Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools’ (2013) and the Report of the NCSE Working Group: ‘Proposed New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for Students with Special Educational Needs’ (2014). It is intended to bring into effect many of the good ideas contained in the EPSEN Act, on a non-statutory basis initially, through policy developments, including the introduction of the New Resource Teacher Allocation Model. |
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