Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
447. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the amount allocated for service provisions in St. Christophers, Longford, per heading for 2023, 2022, and 2021, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12242/24]
View answerVocational Training Centres (VTCs) are centres for adults with disabilities and are generally operated by service providers from the voluntary sector. The bulk of their funding comes from the Department of Health and Children through the HSE. VTC Services form part of the network of services for adults with disabilities/Special Educational Needs in most areas. In some instances, these are delivered on the same campus or in the same building.
The Department of Education allocates funding for tuition hours in VTCs for delivery of tuition in literacy and numeracy, usually in the context of the development of life and communication skills. The VTCs cater for school leavers who have moderate General Learning Disability and young people who have Mild General Learning Disability for which open training centres do not suit their needs. St. Christophers in Longford is one such VTC.
There are 15 VTCs nationwide accommodating approximately 300 adults who are within the mild and moderate range of general learning disability.
Participants must be under 25 years and can attend for a maximum of three years. The emphasis in the centres is on training of a vocational nature.
Following receipt and examination of applications from each VTC participating in the scheme, the Special Education Section sanctions the grant to be paid to each centre.
Depending on the number of applications received each year from a given VTC and which meet the qualifying criteria, the number of participants and the cost of operating the scheme varies each year. A breakdown per academic year is as follows:
|
Academic year |
No. of qualifying participants |
No. of tuition hours per week granted |
Value of grant sanctioned |
|
2020/2021 |
4 |
17 hours per week for 46 weeks |
€27,400 |
|
2021/2022 |
3 |
13 hours per week for 46 weeks |
€21,100 |
|
2022/2023 |
3 |
13 hours per week for 46 weeks |
€21,500 |
|
2023/2024 |
2 |
8 hours per week for 46 weeks |
€14,000 |
In 2021, St. Christophers received payment of €26,917.24 for tuition hours.
In January 2022, St. Christophers received payment of €6,031.61 for tuition hours.
No claim for payment of tuition hours has been received from St. Christophers since January 2022.
