asked the Minister for Education if his Department are taking steps to see that a school for the totally deaf will be established in Cork; and when they expect this school to be opened.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Cork School for Deaf.
50.
The Committee on the Education of the Deaf which were set up by a predecessor of mine furnished an interim report in which it was unanimously agreed that the provision of an additional school in this country for profoundly deaf pupils at primary and post-primary levels would not be warranted. I do not propose to depart from this recommendation and consequently there can be no question of an all-age school for totally deaf children being established in Cork.
However, as a result of another recommendation by this committee, a nursery unit was established in Cork in September 1968 and are since then operating in a very satisfactory manner. Furthermore, proposals were formulated recently for the amalgamation of the existing nursery unit and special classes for the severely hard-of-hearing as a basis for the provision of improved facilities in Cork for the education of children handicapped by severe hearing disabilities.