Vol. 552 No. 3
213 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Science the progress which has been made in providing more qualified teachers to cater for children suffering from dyslexia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12518/02]
Existing pre-service teacher training programmes provided by the colleges of education include specific elements aimed at equipping all primary teachers to recognise and cater for children with specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia.
In addition, the learning support teacher service has a role to play in addressing the special educational needs of such children. This service, which was extended in 1999 to cover all primary schools with a pupil teacher ratio of 10:1 or above, is targeted specifically at the children in question. At present, there are 1,485 learning support teachers in primary schools.
My Department is engaged in an ongoing programme of specialist training for learning support teachers. Such training will enhance their capacity to address the needs of children with literacy and numeracy difficulties. A significant proportion of learning support teachers have already participated in this programme.
The issue raised by the Deputy is among the matters addressed in the report of the task force on dyslexia. The task force report, which is currently being considered by my Department, will make an important contribution to the future development of services in this area.
