Written answers
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
Department of Education and Skills
Defibrillators in Schools Provision
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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222. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a defibrillator in each primary, secondary and higher education institution in the country. [49190/17]
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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224. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of installing a defibrillator in every primary, secondary and higher education institution in the country. [49192/17]
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take questions Nos. 222 and 224 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the decision to install a defibrillator is made at local level and is a matter for the governing authority of each individual school and higher education institution.
My Department does not have information relating to the estimated cost of installing a defibrillator which, I expect, would depend on the variety of defibrillator model installed, together with custom-built storage and associated training requirements. The question of the need for defibrillators to be made available in places, such as schools and higher education institutions, and any training needs arising is primarily a public health matter and would therefore be a matter for the Department of Health.
Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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223. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if all teachers in primary, secondary and higher education institutions are mandated to be trained in the use of a defibrillator. [49191/17]
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of the Education Act 1998, the board of management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school. Schools are required to take all reasonable precautions to provide training for teachers to ensure the safety and welfare of their pupils.
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, my Department funds a scheme for the provision of training and development for boards of management to assist them in the discharge of their duties. The training is delivered by the school management bodies.
The issue of training in the use of a defibrillator is a decision for each Board of Management to make in relation to their own school.
The position with regard to the higher education sector is that higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and are responsible for the day-to-day management and operational affairs of the institution. Accordingly my Department has no role in relation to such matters.
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