Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 27 Feb 1997

Vol. 150 No. 6

Adjournment Matters. - Children with Special Needs.

Mr. Mooney

I wish to declare an interest in that one of my daughters, Siobhán, who is now seven, is a child with special needs and attends a special class in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim. The class was set up on the personal intervention of the Minister for Education and I acknowledge that. I also acknowledge her continuing interest in and commitment to developing the necessary support services to assist children such as Siobhán.

Over the past 12 months, it has become apparent to me, as a parent as much as a public reapresentative, that there is a severe lack of necessary support services for children such as Siobhán and for classes such as the one she attends, specifically in the areas of language therapy and psychological support. Further investigation on my part revealed that the services, such as they are, are provided by the health board and the Department of Education only has a peripheral role. There is a small, limited number of psychologists in the primary school system.

I wrote to the Minister for Education last autumn asking if her Department intended addressing the problem of poor resources and lack of personnel in this area. Her reply indicated she was aware of the problem and that she was setting up an interdepartmental committee to investigate this aspect of support services for children with special needs and other related matters.

It is now some four or five months since that correspondence. As there is still a deficit in this area, I am anxious the matter should be kept in the public domain. I raised the matter on the Adjournment to show that it will not go away, that there is a problem in this area and that the best efforts of the health board are not sufficient to provide these children with the support services necessary to help them develop as full individuals. I would be grateful for any further information the Minister of State may have. I hope it can go some way towards providing the necessary resources in the area of language therapy and child psychologists.

Minister of State at the Department of Health (Mr. Currie)

The interdepartmental co-ordinating committee on services for young people with special education needs was established following a recommendation from the special education review committee. The review committee envisaged that the interdepartmental committee would play a co-ordinating role. It would endeavour to ensure a high degree of co-operation between the Departments of Education and Health in policy making and planning and an equitable and comprehensive delivery of services throughout the country.

The interdepartmental committee was established in December 1995 and its terms of reference are to identify existing and anticipated areas of service delivery where improved or modified approaches or structures are required; in respect of each area identified, to bring forward recommendations for future approaches, specifying in each case the respective roles and responsibilities of the Departments of Education and Health and their agents; to make such further recommendations as are considered necessary or desirable for the achievement of a more effective and efficient delivery of services to children with special needs and to co-ordinate policy and monitor service delivery on an ongoing basis.

The committee is comprised of a core membership of administrative and professional staff from the Departments of Education and Health. However, the membership of the committee can be supplemented where necessary to address particular issues. The committee has already held a number of meetings and has developed a comprehensive agenda of items which will feature in its deliberations.

At present, the committee is adopting a particular focus on services for children with severe or profound mental handicap. The objective is to ensure that the multi-disciplinary response required by such children, which involves educational and health care inputs, is delivered in a co-ordinated fashion which maximises the benefit to the children concerned. The committee is also involved in a review of likely future service requirements in the special needs area, in the light of information emerging from the database on mental handicap developed by the health services.

It is not envisaged that the interdepartmental committee will engage in the preparation of regular formal reports on its activities. Rather, it will pursue its objective of achieving maximum co-ordination of service delivery through a process of consultation and agreement with relevant parties.

The committee will keep the Minister for Education and the Minister for Health informed of the general progress of its work and will consult where necessary on particular issues.

Mr. Mooney

I am grateful to the Minister for his reply. Will there be an accelerated response of the interdepartmental committee's work so that there will be better co-ordination between the Departments of Health and Education in an area which seems to be split between the two?