Vol. 489 No. 6
753 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will give details of the measures, if any, he will take to improve access to education for adult members of the deaf community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9167/98]
Adult education is mainly provided by vocational education committees with grants from my Department. Within broad requirements, the nature of the adult education programmes provided and the question of making specialist provision for any group is a matter for each VEC rather than for the Department. An arrangement has been sanctioned by the Department whereby an expert teacher in lip reading has been seconded to the National Association for the Deaf to teach lip reading to adults who then, through the medium of VEC courses, teach deaf people to lip read.
In the university sector, the position is that, since 1996, the Higher Education Authority has made special provision under its targeted funding for special initiatives for students with disabilities and mature students. Support services for students with a hearing impairment can be addressed under these initiatives. Each university offers a number of services to assist students with a hearing difficulty to attend lectures and to take examinations as well as offering counselling support. The authority is also consulting with Trinity College Dublin on the question of the establishment of a centre for deaf studies in the college. My Department also provides direct funding for students with disabilities and students with a hearing impairment can be considered for assistance in this context.
