Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 18 May 1999

Vol. 504 No. 7

Written Answers. - Special Educational Needs.

Jim Higgins

Question:

84 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will introduce a legal entitlement for any child with special needs to an assessment of need; and if he will make a statement on educational supports necessary to meet the needs and a commitment by the State to all reasonable efforts to provide the supports specified. [12807/99]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. Martin)

Over the last year and a half a series of moves have been taken by this Government which have reversed years of neglect in the area of special needs provision. We have introduced support schemes based on needs rather than resource constraints and a system of practically enabling assessments is well under way. The statutory entitlement to an assessment is an idea that I am not opposed to but we need to avoid putting the cart before the horse. The crucial thing is to be in a position to provide the assessments and to provide the ensuing supports.

Where the educational needs of a person with a disability are concerned, assessments can play an important role in identifying needs and contributing to the development of an appropriate response. It is for this reason that the Government has decided to establish the national psychological service agency. Funding for this new service will be provided through the social inclusion package announced by the Minister for Finance in his Budget Statement 1998.

The Education Act, 1998, provides the statutory basis for this agency. The agency will have delegated authority to develop and provide an educational psychological service to all students who need such a service in the primary or post primary system and in certain other centres supported by the Department. As part of this development, the recruitment of an additional 25 psychologists is currently under way and it is intended to recruit a further 25 psychologists to the service in the year 2000. The agency will eventually employ up to 200 psychologists as well as the necessary administrative and support staff. It has been agreed to set a target for the provision of a comprehensive service over a five-year development period. The pace of development will be determined by available resources and in particular the availability of suitably qualified psychologists to undertake the work in question.

I recently announced a major new development in special education services under which all children with special educational needs within the primary system are now entitled to an automatic response to those needs. The response may take the form of extra teacher or child care support, or both, depending on the needs of the individual child. Already, as a result of this development, my Department has allocated an additional 46 full-time and 26 part-time resource teachers and an additional 247 special needs assistants to children with special needs.

I am also pleased to inform the Deputy that I have decided to reduce the pupil-teacher ratios in all special schools and special classes catering for children with mild learning disability, children with moderate learning disability, children with emotional disturbance, and children with physical disability. These reductions will bring the pupil-teacher ratios in all special schools and special classes down to the level recommended by the special education review committee.

Combined, these measures are delivering long-awaited improvements. They are a practical demonstration of our commitment to provide both assessment and support for children with special needs and they represent a dramatic move away from an approach which was willing to spend large sums on legal costs rather than take action.