Vol. 424 No. 2
18 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education if he has satisfied himself that the visiting teacher scheme for children with a disability who have been integrated into national schools is operating effectively, particularly in the case of Down's Syndrome children who had their own specialised visiting teachers until recently.
Since its establishment, the visiting teacher service has provided valuable support to children with visual and hearing impairment who are attending their local schools.
In the current year, six additional posts were made available to the service under the terms of the Programme for Economic and Social Progress and a further two appointments for the Dublin area will be made in the near future.
This allocation of additional resources forms part of a proposal whereby the existing visiting teacher service is being expanded to enable it to address a wider range of disabilities. As an initial step in this process, the expanded service will provide support for children with Downs Syndrome.
I intend to review the operation of the service as it develops and, in this regard, I will be taking into account the recommendations of the Special Education Review Committee, which will, I understand report to me in the near future.
May I ask the Minister if he has received many submissions from teachers who up to now operated in specialist areas, for example, visual disabilities, audio disabilities, etc., on the new proposal to provide multi-purpose specialist teachers? They believe that each area of disability is a speciality which should be addressed by teachers who are trained in the relevant areas.
Ideally it is better to have specialist teachers to deal with particular disabilities. That is why I recently approved the appointment of two further teachers for the Dublin area specifically to deal with children with Downs Syndrome.
(Carlow-Kilkenny): I wish to return to the point I made in relation to the previous question. Primary teachers in rural schools are glad to have these children in their schools despite the fact that they need extra attention. However, there is a fear that because of the long distances involved, the Department of Education will not appoint special advisers to schools in rural areas, that they will appoint them to city schools only.
Obviously that is a temptation as more children can be accommodated in larger urban areas.
(Carlow-Kilkenny): The point I am making——
I take the Deputy's point. More children can be accommodated in urban areas and this is probably why such schemes are initiated in these areas. I acknowledge that a large number of rural schools are at a certain disadvantage in terms of the scheme. I will re-examine the scheme to see if that imbalance can be redressed.
May I ask the Minister the reason for the delay in appointing those two additional teachers, whose appointments, I understand, were agreed some time ago in consultation with the association which represents children with Down's Syndrome? May I ask him also why the language and learning unit in St. Angela's in Baggot Street run by Sister Patricia, an expert in language and learning disorders, was closed? The closure of this unit has meant the loss of Sister Patricia's skills to society.
The Deputy has raised a particular matter worthy of a separate question.
I have no information with me on St. Angela's——
I am sure the Minister has heard enough about it.
I will examine the matter and communicate with the Deputy. I read all the Deputy's letters.
Deputy McGinley's questions, please.
May I——
Sorry, Deputy, I want to ensure that Deputy McGinley's question is responded to. He has been waiting a long time to hear a reply.
The two teachers will be appointed as soon as possible. The delay related to interviews which are taking place and the necessary advertising. They will be appointed as soon as possible, and certainly within a few weeks.
I hope those were the only reasons for the delay.
