asked the Minister for the Health the number of severely retarded children there are in this State.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Severely Retarded Children.
60.
Mr. O'Malley
I assume that the Deputy is referring to severely mentally handicapped children.
The most reliable estimate available to me of the number of such children in the State is that which is contained in the report of the Commission of Inquiry on Mental Handicap which was published in April 1965. The Commission estimated that there were 1,450 severely mentally handicapped children under 16 years of age.