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Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 8 Nov 2006

Vol. 627 No. 1

Adjournment Debate.

Special Educational Needs.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this important matter.

I was originally contacted by Darryl Kenny's mother last February because she had been seeking occupational therapy for her son since August 2005. Darryl commenced primary school in September 2005. His mother had requested occupational therapy services, which was supported by Darryl's resource teacher. Darryl suffers from dyspraxia with sensory integration disorder. As a result he has difficulty gripping a pencil correctly and this has impeded his progress in writing. Unfortunately, as Darryl progressed through junior infants, it became apparent that without the necessary occupational therapy sessions, his writing would not have progressed enough to proceed to senior infants. In September 2006, more than a year since the original request for occupational therapy services had been made, Darryl commenced his second year in junior infants.

His parents were so frustrated by their inability to access this service for their son that they felt obliged to see a private consultant with a view to an assessment of Darryl's needs. This is evidence of yet another failure in our health care system where long delays force concerned, taxpaying families out of the public health service, which their taxes are funding. The consultant's report recommends two sessions per week with an occupational therapist for Darryl. His very concerned mother has been in almost weekly contact with the senior occupational therapist in the district since receiving the recommendation that Darryl should have two sessions per week. Unfortunately, she recently received an e-mail from the senior occupational therapist, which stated that in this, the last quarter of 2006, they are only working on the 2003-04 list. Let us assume they are working on the last quarter of 2003 or even the first quarter of 2004, they are approximately three years behind schedule, which is an incredibly long time for a child in junior infants to wait for occupational therapy services.

Anecdotally, I am led to believe from other sources that no occupational therapist is in place to cover that part of County Wexford. In 2006, it is unacceptable that so many children as well as other members of the community should not have access to occupational therapy services in a timely manner. Unfortunately, yet again, this is an example of how the most vulnerable in society — children and the elderly — are losing out through the lack of occupational therapy services. Does the Minister for Health and Children believe it is acceptable for a child in junior infants to have to wait three years for vital occupational therapy services? Does the Government understand the upset and frustration that a lack of services causes to children and their parents? Every parent wants to ensure his or her child receives all he or she needs to reach his or her full potential in life and every child needs to know from an early age that his or her needs are important, that they have the same potential as their classmates and that they will succeed.

The Minister has held this portfolio for more than two years. Is she aware of these extraordinarily lengthy waiting times? I hope she does not find them acceptable. What steps has the Minister taken to deal with the problem? By this, I mean practical initiatives and increased funding rather than reviews by the HSE. Has there been a targeted recruitment drive to employ more occupational therapists? From discussing the matter with colleagues, this is a serious issue across the country, not just in County Wexford. Is a specific plan to reduce waiting times in place? What is the target waiting time for occupational therapy in County Wexford and how soon is the achievement of that target anticipated? When can Darryl and his parents look forward to receiving the two occupational therapy sessions per week he desperately needs? He must avail of the service as soon as possible.

I will outline to the House the position regarding the provision of occupational therapy services and additional funding provided for services for children and adults with a disability in 2006. I thank Deputy Kehoe for raising this matter on the Adjournment and I am making the reply on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

The question of providing therapy services is a matter for the Health Service Executive in accordance with its functions under the Health Act 2004. The executive has advised the Minister that in regard to occupational therapy in the Wexford region, there are two approved posts for senior paediatric occupational therapists. One post has been filled and that therapist concentrates on early intervention services. In the past year, Wexford Community Services has experienced difficulties in appointing a second occupational therapist due to a shortage of skilled staff at national level. The Minister is pleased that she has been informed by the HSE in Wexford that it has secured the services of a suitably qualified therapist, who was appointed in mid-August. The appointment of a second therapist will, in time, alleviate the waiting list pressure that has built up for this service.

Three new occupational therapy courses commenced in the 2003-04 academic year in University College Cork, the National University of Ireland, Galway, and the University of Limerick. In total, these courses provide an additional 75 training places. This expansion in training numbers has been identified in the Peter Bacon and Associates report commissioned by the Department, entitled Current and Future Demand Conditions in the Labour Market for Certain Professional Therapists , as being sufficient to meet the long-term requirements for occupational therapists. Therapists currently qualifying from these courses will address staff shortages.

The Minister would like to take this opportunity to highlight the 2006-09 multi-annual investment programme for people with disabilities, which is part of the national disability strategy being implemented by the Government. Additional funding of €51.5 million has been provided by the Government in 2006 to develop services for persons with intellectual disabilities. Further substantial funding of €22.5 million is also being provided in 2006 to enhance the multi-disciplinary support services for children and adults with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities and those with autism. The funding will also help to address core underfunding and staffing issues in services for people with disabilities provided by the voluntary sector.

Capital funding amounting to €45 million has been provided also in 2006 to develop the buildings and facilities for the new services. The extent of this extra funding, a total of €119 million this year alone, is clearly a strong illustration of the Government's commitment to improve our disability services nationwide.

Ambulance Service.

I welcome the opportunity to raise the matter of a painful situation for a 63 year old man, Brendan, and his wife Karen. In January, Brendan was diagnosed with liver cancer and had two thirds of his liver removed. Prior to that, he and his wife worked stacking shelves in two supermarkets in Tralee. Their combined income put them above the qualifying amount for a medical card so they needed to take out medical insurance. In this instance, that was unfortunate for them.

Having two thirds of his liver removed necessitated ten weeks as a patient in St. Vincent's hospital in Dublin. His wife took leave and stayed with him in Dublin while he received chemotherapy. Until two months ago, he underwent 14 chemotherapy sessions during 28 weeks. Every two weeks, he and his wife travelled from Tralee to Dublin. Their financial situation was desperate and they got tremendous help from the area's community welfare officer, who provided Brendan with a medical card to help with some of the expenses. All their savings were exhausted a month ago and they have effectively been left destitute.

Brendan asked Kerry General Hospital whether it could possibly provide him and his family with a subsidy for their travel allowances. It would have amounted to approximately €62 and covered his wife's train fare and the cost of a taxi to St. Vincent's hospital. However, he was told that because he was a private patient, he did not qualify for the subsidy. Consequently, his last four trips to Dublin have involved his leaving Tralee on the early morning train, a four-hour journey to Heuston Station, taking a bus into part of the city, going the rest of the way in other forms of transport, getting his chemotherapy treatment and making the return journey.

The man is terminally ill. At best and if everything goes well, he has two or three years left; at worst, he has less than six months. He applied to Kerry General Hospital for assistance in travelling to St. Vincent's hospital once per fortnight, but the response, even on appeal, was that a public hospital cannot be seen to subsidise a private patient of St. Vincent's hospital. Brendan and Karen said that the hospital was wrong and that the intention when rolling out the travel assistance scheme was not to discriminate against public or private hospitals, but to provide assistance to those who need to travel to other hospitals for treatment. There was to be no distinction. Even more outrageous than a terminally ill man with little money being refused such basic assistance was the suggestion that he become a public patient as he had a medical card and the transport section would then help him.

In this situation, which I am sure is replicated in many instances elsewhere, someone who pays his taxes, works hard and gets VHI or other medical insurance is being penalised because he did not incur upon the State expenses when he could have done so. He could easily have got disability benefits and a medical card and gone public. It has been suggested that he go into a public hospital, take a bed, when there is a shortage of them, and incur an expense on the State, which he does not want to do because he has paid medical insurance. According to the Department of Social and Family Affairs and the HSE, it appears that he is to be penalised. He is caught in an awful dilemma.

The Deputy's time has concluded.

I hope the Minister of State examines this matter as a human rights issue, namely, a person is discriminated against because he is not prepared to incur expenses on the State.

I am taking the Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney.

Deputy Ferris appreciates that the issue he has raised relates to the exclusion of VHI patients from free travel for medical purposes. He has put on the record of the House certain matters as he is entitled to do, but the Minister is not in notice of those in respect of this matter.

I appreciate that Deputy Ferris has put a matter before the House wherein a patient was advised that, because he was a private patient with the VHI, he was in some sense disqualified from availing of the service. However, no distinction in law is made between persons with full eligibility or limited eligibility, or whether the patient is a public or private patient, that is, a patient with VHI cover. When a person makes use of an ambulance or other means of transport provided under this section, the HSE may impose a charge for the service. Again, I am not sure that is the point Deputy Ferris has raised this evening.

The primary focus of the ambulance service is on the provision of emergency transport for those patients with an acute medical need — the Deputy made the case that this person had an acute medical need. However, the HSE also arranges non-urgent patient transport services and examines requests for such services on a case by case basis, taking account of individual needs.

The HSE has advised that its national ambulance office, in conjunction with the primary, community and continuing care section and the National Hospitals Office, is arranging for a comprehensive review to be undertaken of the non-emergency transport needs of patients attending HSE facilities. That review will include an examination of the service delivered nationally and make recommendations that will inform its future development.

School Accommodation.

I appreciate the opportunity to raise this issue. It concerns the proposed Educate Together national school in Doughiska, Galway, which is one of the most rapidly expanding suburbs of Galway with perhaps the highest increase in new families.

A primary school had been proposed by Educate Together and 170 children had been signed up for pre-enrolment. The local committee has decided not to proceed in the absence of any indication of a permanent home for the school. A decision was taken centrally by Educate Together that, because most of its facilities are in temporary buildings, it will not proceed with applications unless there is some indication of a permanent site. The responsibility for a permanent site falls on the Department of Education and Science and Galway City Council.

Educate Together, in making its decision, pointed out that it had opened 23 schools since 2000, only one of which occupies permanent accommodation. Each year, Educate Together has added to the assembly line of schools in temporary accommodation with no progress in the number moving into permanent accommodation. Today, of the 41 Educate Together schools, 26 are in temporary accommodation, only one new school building is in construction and two are in architectural planning. Some 80% of these schools are in areas of rapidly expanding population.

The Minister of State will appreciate the anomaly that arises from the fact that Educate Together provides a choice of primary education, stressing as it does multi and non-denominational education, child-centred education and democratic management involving parents, but at present receives less than 1% of the total primary facilities in this country.

This week, we have heard references to the rights of the child. Ireland signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990 and ratified it in 1992 without reservation. The UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, of which this Minister of State, who led a delegation to Geneva, will be aware, has asked the Government to facilitate choice in primary education. Put bluntly, people should have the choice between faith-based education at primary level and a more intercultural, multi and non-denominational education with parents as patrons. Educate Together schools are not being treated fairly.

I raise the issue of one particular school this evening. It is little less than scandalous and an outrage that planning permission can be given to developers to build hundreds, and in some cases more than a thousand, houses without the necessary educational facilities. If one wants to provide a place for one's child, be part of a voluntary committee and drag oneself through the seven stages of application, all one needs do is contrast the speed of the permission granted to the developer with the long wait for schools. In this case, 170 children had been pre-enrolled but the committee has been wound up because it cannot continue in the absence of any indication of a permanent location. The school was scheduled for September 2006. The matter is extremely urgent and I ask the Minister of State to at least give an undertaking that the Department of Education and Science will enter into talks with Galway City Council about the provision of a site for this facility.

That is a specific point I wished to make about a school in the city in which I live. On the more general issue of providing permanent sites for the option that is Educate Together, I ask the Minister of State to raise with the Minister and with Cabinet the issues which have been brought forward and agreed not just with the UN Committee on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, but previously with the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, two prestigious UN committees whose opinions I know the Minister will accord the weight they deserve. They have reasonably suggested that such choice in primary education is important, as it is in terms of constitutional development, circumstances in which we find ourselves at present. It is also important in terms of making provision for our children.

I stress, on behalf of the parents and children, the urgency of the need for the Department to hold talks with the planning department of Galway City Council to resolve this issue.

I make this reply on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it affords the Minister the opportunity to outline the open and transparent process in place for the recognition of new primary schools and the position concerning the proposed Educate Together school in Doughiska.

The new schools advisory committee, NSAC, an independent body, assesses all applications for recognition against published criteria. It conducts an open and transparent public consultation process as part of this assessment. The committee's annual programme of work culminates in a report with recommendations on the granting of recognition to applicants. The Department of Education and Science is happy to support all new schools where it has been clearly demonstrated, in accordance with the criteria, that a demand exists.

This process has resulted in the establishment of a significant number of new multidenominational primary schools in recent years. Patrons wishing to establish new schools must identify the level of demand for the provision of education proposed and that potential enrolment will meet certain minimum targets. Under this process, all patron bodies are treated on an equal footing. Schools that meet the criteria are generally awarded provisional recognition at the outset. The question of permanent recognition is considered when the school's long-term viability has been demonstrated and the school is operating in accordance with the relevant provisions governing the operation of primary schools.

It is a condition of provisional recognition that the patron provides suitable accommodation in the stated area, which must be capable of meeting the needs of the school. When permanent recognition is granted to a school, the Department will then consider an application for permanent accommodation from the school authorities.

Turning to the specific matter in hand, following consideration by the new schools advisory committee, the Department granted recognition to a new national school in Galway city east under the patronage of Educate Together. While the application was for a September 2006 start-up, Educate Together advised the Department in April 2006 that it was unable to find suitable accommodation and wished to preserve this recognition to September 2007 and the Department agreed with this request.

The Deputy may wish to note that the Department of Education and Science has previously announced, as part of the Department's public private partnership programme 2005-09, the provision of accommodation for a primary and post-primary school in the Doughiska location by way of a shared campus. The project has already been assigned a band 1 priority rating under the published prioritisation criteria for largescale building projects. This is the highest banding possible and is a clear indication of the priority the Department attaches to the delivery of the project. I hope the discussion to which Deputy Michael Higgins referred as taking place between Galway City Council and the Department can be brought to a speedy conclusion. It is clear from the Minister's reply this evening that there is no resources issue on the part of the Department of Education and Science. The project has been assigned the highest possible priority in terms of allocation of resources within the Department. I hope that whatever outstanding issues exist between the Department and the city council can be resolved so that a rapid identification of a site, as distinct from a locale, can be made.

On the wider issues raised by the Deputy, I attended a hearing in Geneva in September on the Convention on the Rights of the Child and dealt there with the issues pertaining to our education system. The new schools advisory process is designed to ensure equality of access for all the different patrons recognised under the education legislation in the establishment of primary schools. It is important that the choice of parents in this matter, a constitutional right, is respected and facilitated by the State.

In addition, I accept that because Educate Together is a new patron, a substantial number of schools are still in temporary accommodation. The standard of temporary accommodation is higher than it was in the past, but every effort is being made in the Department to progress these schools into permanent accommodation on sites acquired for that purpose.

Schools Building Projects.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this important issue. In 2005, due to increased pupil numbers the Department of Education and Science appointed an extra teacher to Cloontuskert national school in County Roscommon and a temporary portakabin was erected until such time as the school could get the approval of the Department to build a permanent new building.

At that time the school had 82 pupils; it now has 90 pupils. In March 2005, the Department of Education and Science allocated €150,000 to cover the cost of building a new classroom. Following an appeal for additional funding in April 2006, the board of management was granted €161,000 to build a standard classroom and a standard resource room. The school initiated the building project, engaged an architect and builders and planning permission was granted. Building work was due to start in early summer 2006.

However, in May 2006, the overall cost was put at €183,396.98, with a shortfall of €22,396. 93 for the project fund. Therefore, the school made a further request for additional funds from the Department of Education and Science. To date, the school has received €171,000 from the Department, but it now faces a shortfall of €36,871.04 as the cost of building works completed, including fees payable, now stands at €212,424. 24.

On October 27, the Department wrote to the school authorities to inform them that it was satisfied that under the terms of the scheme, the school did not warrant additional funding. The Department now expects the parents to fundraise to make up the shortfall, but this is just not possible. In 1998 the parents had to come up with in excess of €70,000 at today's values to fund the construction of the new school that was built at that time, a project that had been outstanding for some considerable time.

Currently, many of the same parents are fundraising for the refurbishment works approved by the Department for the local post primary school, Lanesboro community college, which is in the adjoining community. It would be grossly unfair to ask these parents to fund the construction of

two schools at the same time. In this small community the school's board of management therefore cannot raise the shortfall, in spite of fundraising efforts by parents and the local community.

This is an unacceptable situation. It is the responsibility of the Department of Education and Science to provide suitable accommodation for teachers and pupils, based on school numbers. The school more than qualifies for this new building. I appeal to the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, particularly in view of the fact that his late father represented this constituency and that the community in Cloontuskert were loyal supporters, to intervene directly with the Department on this issue. He has a foothold in the Department and I know he has looked sympathetically at requests I put forward in the past. In light of the community's support of his late father, I appeal to the Minister of State's generosity and urge him to ask the Minister to reconsider this decision and provide the additional funding without further delay.

I have the honour of replying to Deputy Naughten on this matter, but I do so on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin. Were I to follow Deputy Naughten's advice, my foothold in the Department might become only a toehold.

The Minister wishes to outline to the House the current position regarding the allocation of funding under the permanent accommodation scheme. Cloontuskert national school is accommodated in a three-classroom school which was built in 1998 and there is a prefabricated unit adjacent to the main building. The school has an enrolment of 89 pupils and staffing of a principal teacher, three assistant teachers and a permanent learning support-resource teacher.

The Department of Education and Science has moved towards a model of devolved funding, responsibility and authority for building projects to school management authorities. Devolution of funding to school management authorities allows them to have control of their projects and assists in moving projects more quickly to tender and construction. It can also deliver better value for money.

The permanent accommodation scheme was originally introduced as an initiative on a pilot basis for 20 schools in the 2003 school building programme and due to the positive feedback from schools, it was extended in the school building programmes of 2004, 2005 and 2006.

While appropriate for many schools, the Department is aware that the devolved permanent accommodation scheme is not necessarily suitable for all national schools seeking to refurbish their school building or to build new accommodation. It is not the intention of the scheme to leave schools with massive fundraising requirements. However, in some cases, the school site or building can be problematic. In others, the extent of the required work is too extensive for the funding available under the scheme.

The scheme is not structured on the basis that the Department funding must be supplemented by local fundraising. It does, however, allow a school to supplement the funding from local resources if it so wishes. The critical element is that with devolved authority, the school must set the scope of works to match the funding allocated. A school can make choices within the budget allocated and setting the scope of works is the critical first step.

Clearly, where a school has a known level of resources apart from the Department funding or knows its capacity to raise additional resources, it is open to that school to extend the scope of works to include additional facilities. However, if the scope of works is not set appropriately from the outset based on the budget available, there is a risk that the school will be faced with a funding gap when the project is at construction.

The choices to be made within this devolved scheme rest with the school and that is the cornerstone of any policy of devolution. The school authority is aware of the budget and must decide what it is capable of building with that budget. The time to identify a problem is at the outset before entering any contract. Schools can raise with the Department any site specific problems or unusual planning stipulations that impose additional costs and these will be examined. Otherwise, schools must reduce the scope of intended works so as to remain within budget.

A school does not have to accept the invitation to participate in a devolved scheme and can instead be considered for inclusion in the mainstream school building programme in line with the project's priority band rating.

This school was offered a grant of €100,000 under the permanent accommodation scheme in 2005 to provide an additional permanent classroom. The grant was subsequently increased to €150,000 at the request of the school authority, to include the provision of a resource room as well as a permanent classroom. The board of management accepted the grant offered and proceeded with the architectural planning of the project.

The scope of the project decided by the board of management of the school was for an extension of approximately 150 sq m, considerably in excess of the Department norms of 76 sq m for a general classroom and 20 sq m for a resource room. Construction work commenced in June 2006 and was completed in September. In June 2006 and again in August 2006, additional funding of €21,000 was approved to cover unforeseen building costs. The board of management then submitted a further application for additional funding. This application was examined by the Department's review group which comprises senior officials from the planning and building sections. They concluded that under the terms of the scheme, the school does not warrant additional funding. The school authority has been notified of their decision.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.40 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 9 November 2006.
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