Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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167. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the practice of reduced timetables affecting some Traveller students; and the actions he plans to eliminate this problem. [15060/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the position of my Department is that all pupils who are enrolled in a school should attend school for the full day, unless exempted from doing so for exceptional circumstances, such as medical reasons.

Reduced timetables should not be used as a behavioural management technique, or as a de facto suspension or expulsion.

Where schools apply a shorter school day in relation to a child, such arrangements should only be put in place in exceptional circumstances in order to assist a pupil to return to a school, where a pupil has been experiencing an absence due to a medical or behavioural related condition.

Any such arrangement should be a transitionary arrangement, which is designed to assist the reintegration of a pupil to a school environment.

In making any such arrangements, school authorities should be mindful of the best interests of the child and of the child's right to a full day in school. Schools should seek the advice of the National Educational Psychology Service before implementing such arrangements.

Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department is engaging with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and TUSLA Educational Welfare Service on the matter of reduced timetables, with a view to examining options which can be taken to address the issues raised.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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168. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reverse the 2011 cuts to Traveller education supports. [15072/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department recognises the importance of inclusive education and is supportive of actions that will ensure that the school setting is a more welcoming environment for all, including Travellers. In keeping with this principle, additional resources provided in the education system are allocated on the basis of identified individual educational need.   

A key objective of Traveller education policy in recent years has been the phasing out of segregated Traveller provision and the inclusion of Traveller children and young people in mainstream education.  Funding for segregated Traveller provision has been incorporated into overall school and other funding streams in order to provide supports for Traveller pupils in mainstream schools. Such supports include:

- Investment of some €125 million in my Department's DEIS Plan for educational inclusion. The DEIS programme provides for smaller class sizes and other supports including additional teaching posts, Home School Community Liaison Coordinators, DEIS grants, enhanced book grants, curriculum supports, priority access to Continuing Professional Development and the School Excellence Fund for DEIS. Up until 2011 Traveller pupils attending a DEIS school, but who were supported by an Resource Teacher for Travellers (RTT), were not counted as part of the valid enrolment for the implementation of the enhanced pupil teacher ratios. When the Traveller pupils were no longer supported by RTTs, the compensatory measure proposed for DEIS schools was to apply the DEIS Band 1 pupil teacher ratios to include Traveller pupils, for the purposes of determining the level of mainstream teaching staff in the relevant DEIS schools. There were 81 alleviation posts as a result.

- New Model for allocating special education teaching resources to schools which includes a baseline component provided to every mainstream school to support inclusion, prevention of learning difficulties and early intervention.

- Since the end of 2018 there were 15,000 Special Needs Assistants directly supporting 34,670 children and Budget 2019 made provision for an additional 950 SNA posts, which will bring the total allowable Whole Time Equivalent SNA posts at 31 December 2019 to 15,950.

- National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) who work with both primary

- and post-primary schools and are concerned with learning, behaviour, social and

- emotional development. Since 2011, sanctioned NEPS psychologist numbers have grown from 173 Whole time equivalents (WTE) to 194 WTEs with a further 10 psychologist posts provided for under Budget 2019 for the 2019/20 school year. Currently NEPS psychologist numbers stand at 183 Whole Time Equivalent staff.

In addition all children including traveller children are supported by the integrated Educational Welfare Service of Tusla. The Department of Education and Skills works closely with TUSLA Educational and Welfare service in relation to attendance in schools.

Over and above the supports outlined above provided within the mainstream system, a number of Traveller-specific supports remain in place within the education system:-

- In  addition to the 81 posts allocated to DEIS schools following the inclusion of Traveller pupils as outlined above, 60 posts were allocated as alleviation posts to other schools with a large number of Traveller pupils supported by what were previously Resource Teachers for Travellers.

- Enhanced primary level pupil capitation for Traveller pupils at a rate of €70 per pupil at a cost of €547,960 in 2018.

- Enhanced post-primary level pupil capitation for Traveller pupils at a rate of €201 per pupil at a cost of €585,714 in 2018.

- My Department is also one of the key partners in a cross-departmental Pilot initiative being developed under the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy, to support Traveller and Roma attendance, participation and retention. Additional supports have been provided to support this pilot project in the form of Home School Community Liaison Officers funded by my Department, in addition to Traveller Education Workers funded by the Department of Justice and Equality and Educational Welfare Officers employed by TUSLA.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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169. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the participation and retention rates of Travellers in the education system have worsened compared to members of the settled community. [15073/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Census 2016 revealed there is a significant gap between educational attainment of Travellers and that of the general population.  However, it is encouraging to note that in 2016, 167 Travellers held a third-level qualification, almost double the 2011 figure of 89. 

In 2015 when the National Access Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education was published 35 Traveller students were participating in Higher Level. The March 2019 figure for current Traveller participation in Higher Level is 61, representing very significant progress in this area.

We need to continue to build on the progress achieved thus far until the educational attainment of Traveller students has reached parity with the general population.

This Government is committed to implementing initiatives to improve Traveller attendance, retention, participation and attainment in the education system.

This is reflected in a number of key policies and initiatives, including:-

- The National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy (NTRIS),

- DEIS Plan 2017, the national plan for educational inclusion

- The National Access Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education (NAP), to ensure that the student body entering, participating in and completing higher education at all levels reflects the diversity and social mix of Ireland’s population.

- Literacy and Numeracy and Learning for Life, the national strategy to improve literacy and numeracy standards in children and young people in the education system.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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170. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if data is available on the level of participation of members of the Travelling community in primary education; and the rate of participation in this regard. [15074/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Information on ethnic or cultural background, including Traveller ethnicity, is collected on the Primary Online Database (POD). As ethnicity is considered special category data under GDPR, it is collected on a consent-based basis.

In the 2016 Census of Ireland there were 8,142 members of the Traveller community recorded as being of potential primary school age (between 4 and 13)

In the 2015/2016 academic year, the year best suited for comparison, there were 8,207 members of the Traveller community enrolled in mainstream primary schools in September 2015.

This suggests near-universal participation by members of the Traveller community in primary education, although an exact rate of participation cannot be established due to the school enrolment figures being collected in September 2015 and the census being taken in April 2016.