Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 Apr 1995

Vol. 143 No. 1

Adjournment Matter. - Huntstown (Dublin) School.

Mrs. McGennis

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am aware that the Department of Education has been contacted by Scoil an Chroí Ró Naofa Íosa in Huntstown regarding its request for an additional remedial teacher. It is a 820 pupil school and the principal said that 61 children require remedial help in English reading and 77 children require additional help in mathematics; 18 children — non-nationals, returned emigrants and children who enrolled mid-year — who received remedial support in previous schools cannot avail of remedial teaching here and at least 50 children whose learning is affected due to dysfunctional family situations are also in need of remedial help.

The parish consists of a mixture of local authority and private housing and part of the parish catchment area for the school is designated as a disadvantaged area. In addition, many of the families availed of the £5,000 grant to buy their own homes in the parts of the catchment area consisting of private housing and are under pressure financially, which puts additional burdens on the families concerned.

In its submission to the Department of Education the school indicated that it has quite a large number of traveller children and it believes that there is an urgent need for integration of these children in the school. The second remedial teacher would allow for the integration of traveller children in the school and would, in the words of the principal—

... address the morally indefensible situation of unsupported integration in the cases of three children with special needs. A child with a hearing impairment, a child with severe physical handicap and particularly a child with Downes Syndrome are not receiving any additional support.

This school is one of a number in the Blanchardstown area which has gone out of its way to assist in this area and to take on any burdens placed upon them. The Minister will probably be aware that there is a large population of traveller children in the greater Blanchardstown area and that this is one of the schools which opened its doors immediately and welcomed those children.

The parish has its own problems. The school principal and the teachers to whom I have spoken feel that all their efforts will be in vain unless the appointment of an additional remedial teacher is made or they get some support from the Department in terms of concrete recognition of their work and assistance with what they are trying to do for these children who need their help. Hopefully the Minister will respond favourably to the request from Huntstown primary school for an additional remedial teacher.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment (Ms McManus)

As has been indicated to the House in the past, remedial education at primary level is a matter in the first instance for the ordinary class teachers. The majority of pupils with remedial needs would, therefore, be helped within the scope of the normal teaching service. However, it is acknowledged that remedial teachers constitute the main additional resource for addressing the problem of under-achievement in primary schools.

Substantial additional resources have been allocated to this area in recent years. In 1994, an additional 100 remedial teachers were appointed to primary schools and 350 schools with approximately 34,000 pupils benefited from this allocation. This brought the total number of remedial teachers in place to 1,133. Of the 3,209 ordinary national schools throughout the country, approximately 2,061 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full-time or on a shared basis.

My colleague, the Minister for Education, recently announced her intention to appoint an additional 55 remedial teachers in the current year. Decisions regarding the allocation of these posts will be made shortly following the collection and analysis of information from schools by the Department's primary inspectorate. The posts will then be allocated on the basis of priority of need, as indicated by the information collected.

Of the 407 ordinary national schools in County Dublin, 308 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full time or shared basis. This includes 20 schools allocated a remedial service in the current year as part of the recent distribution of posts. This means that 97 per cent of pupils attending ordinary national schools in County Dublin currently enjoy a remedial service. I can assure the Senator that the needs of Scoil an Chroí Ró Naofa Íosa in Huntstown will be considered in the context of the allocation of remedial posts in 1995.

Mrs. McGennis

I thank the Minister and hope that the matter will be given favourable consideration.

The Seanad adjourned at 7.45 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 27 April 1995.