Vol. 478 No. 1
155 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Education the inaccessible post-primary schools on a county basis; the efforts, if any, to date made by her Department to make these schools accessible; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[10546/97]
Statistics are not available at second-level on the degree of accessibility of post-primary schools for students with disabilities.
All new schools grant-aided by the Department of Education are provided with access facilities and special toilets to cater for disabled students. In the architectural design of emergency evacuation routes, account is also taken of the requirements of students with disabilities. New schools with two stories or more are provided with lifts.
Existing schools which make application for grant-aid towards the provision of access facilities for students with disabilities are given consideration in the light of the available capital funds.
156 Miss M. Wallace asked the Minister for Education the inaccessible primary schools on a county basis; the efforts, if any, to date made by her Department to make these schools accessible; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10547/97]
I take it that the Deputy's question relates to primary schools which do not have access facilities for the disabled.
Details regarding the accessibility of all 3,300 primary schools are not readily available and I could not justify assigning scarce staff resources to their compilation. All new primary schools built since 1992 have full access and facilities for disabled pupils in accordance with the building regulations. The provision of facilities for disabled pupils in existing school buildings is grant-aided by my Department as the need arises. When a school enrols a disabled pupils and they do not have the required access, it is open to them to approach my Department for grant-aid towards the provision of such access. If the Deputy has a query about a particular school, I will be happy to provide as much information as I can.
