Vol. 551 No. 3
241 Mr. Dennehy asked the Minister for Education and Science if there are proposals in place to provide a second school for profoundly deaf children possibly to be based in the Munster region to assist children who must currently travel to Cabra, Dublin 7, for the service available there, but in so doing suffer further trauma being so far from home. [10383/02]
There are no proposals at present to establish a school for profoundly deaf children in the Munster area. At present, there are three special schools catering for deaf pupils, two in Cabra, Dublin and one in Limerick. There are 11 special classes attached to ordinary primary schools, located in Ballymahon (1), Cootehill (1), Cork (3), Ennis (2), Galway (1), Geashill (1) and Tralee (2). In addition, there are four post primary schools located in Castleblaney, Dublin, Ennis and Tralee with special units catering for deaf pupils. Further provision for children with hearing impairment will continue to be made available by my Department in response to identified need.
I recently established an Advisory Committee on the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The committee will review the adequacy of the current range of educational support services available to students with hearing impairment; identify and prioritise areas of services provision which require development or adjustment; and bring forward such proposals as are considered appropriate in order to ensure the development and delivery of an appropriate and effective education support service for students with hearing impairment. The work of the committee will make an important contribution to the future development of services for children with hearing impairment throughout the country, including the Munster area.
