Vol. 424 No. 2
19 Mr. McGinley asked the Minister for education if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a handicapped person (details supplied) in County Donegal has not attended school for more than a year because of the inadequate level of school transport services; and if he will have immediate arrangements made to provide a proper and adequate standard of transport.
I am aware of the difficulties associated with the provision of transport for the child in question.
The child in question resides 8.9 miles from an ordinary national school which has a special class attached. From my Department's records the child attended that school up to the end of the 1990-91 school year. Up to that time, I understand that transport had been provided by a local voluntary organisation and my Department paid a grant to the parents in respect of the private transport arrangement.
At the end of the 1990-91 school year, the voluntary organisation was no longer in a position to continue the transport service. An extension of an existing service to Killymard national school was sanctioned by my Department to facilitate the child. However, this gave rise to the serious disruption in the standard of service to 80 other pupils using the service and the full extension could not be implemented.
As an alternative, my Department have offered the child's parents an annual grant of £260 in respect of private transport arrangements between her home and a pick-up point 2.7 miles away. This is the maximum grant permissible in the circumstances and I would recommend that the parents should further consider this offer.
This is a most disturbing case. This 13 year old moderately handicapped Down's Syndrome child is about to start a second year without any formal education. This girl lives approximately three miles from the nearest pick-up point. Does he consider it reasonable to offer her parents £260 to walk 12 miles a day to deliver her to the pick-up point in the morning and collect her in the evening? Can the Minister not come up with any more constructive proposal? As I said, this moderately handicapped child has had no schooling for more than a year. She lives in the Blue Stack Mountains, one of the remotest parts of County Donegal.
I certainly want to be as sensitive as possible in dealing with this difficult case — there is hardship involved. I will re-examine the matter to see if I can be more helpful. As I said, an annual grant of £260 is the maximum permissible in the circumstances. I will look again at the matter.
