Vol. 557 No. 4
262 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science the policy in respect of providing personal care assistants and classroom assistants to persons with disabilities who are students in further education colleges in order to enable them to fully participate in education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22628/02]
Students attending courses in third level colleges and post-leaving certificate centres may apply for assistance from the special fund for students with disabilities, which is administered by my Department. The fund assists students who have special needs, including deaf and hard of hearing students, in attending third level institutions and further education colleges. The purpose of the fund is to provide grant assistance to students towards the cost of special equipment, including computers, special materials and technological aids, targeted transport services, personal assistants and sign language interpreters. Applications for assistance under the fund may be forwarded to my Department by the college authorities at the beginning of the academic year. The terms and conditions of the scheme are issued to all vocational education committees on an annual basis.
