Vol. 397 No. 3
177 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Education the number of boarding schools available in the country for handicapped children between 12 and 18 years old with an IQ of nine years old; the number of children in such schools; the number of applicants for places in these schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
The number of special schools for mentally handicapped pupils in the country, which are attended by a total of approximately 6,000 pupils, is as follows: schools for mildly mentally handicapped — 32; schools for moderately mentally handicapped — 33.
The provision of residential facilities is a matter for the Department of Health.
It is not possible to supply the information in the form requested by the Deputy as (a) aggregate statistics on IQ levels by age group for the pupils involved are not available and (b) enrolment of pupils is a matter for individual boards of management.
My Department are not aware of any instance of where a mentally handicapped pupil is unable to obtain a place in a special school.
