Vol. 450 No. 6
110 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Education the educational supports that are available for primary pupils who have a reading disability; if she will indicate the number of primary and post-primary pupils in the present academic year that have a reading disability; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5402/95]
The educational needs of primary pupils with a reading disability are generally capable of being met within the ordinary school system, with the assistance, where appropriate, of a remedial teacher. Fully qualified primary school teachers are trained to deal with a variety of reading problems, including those which are accompanied by perceptual difficulties. In addition the special training programme for remedial teachers includes a module on specific learning disability. Where more serious cases of difficulty arise, provision is made in one of the four special schools dedicated to this area. Three of these schools are located in Dublin and one in Cork.
Over the past two years I have implemented a range of measures to further improve educational provision for children with special needs. I have allocated an additional 186 remedial teachers to ordinary primary schools. This brought the number of such teachers in place at primary level to 1,133. I have also sanctioned the appointment of an additional ten psychologists to the primary school psychological service. I propose to maintain this momentum in the current year with the appointment of 55 additional remedial teachers and ten psychologists to the primary sector.
Figures are not available on the number of pupils in the current academic year who have a reading disability. However, a survey aimed at identifying the extent of disability in ordinary national schools, including difficulties associated with reading, was undertaken by the Special Education Review Committee in 1992. This survey indicated that an estimated 1,744 children with specific learning disability, including reading disability, were attending ordinary national schools.
