Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 December 2022
287. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of personal assistants employed, both directly and indirectly, by each ETB in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61469/22]
View answerSOLAS allocates the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) to the Education and Training Boards (ETBs), who independently manage the funding allocations to providers for services and accommodations required to support PLC students with disabilities.
Some ETBs engage external service providers to provide personal assistant services while other ETBs directly employ personal assistants. As noted in the SOLAS Guidelines, where an ETB or Further Education College employs personnel to deliver supports to individual students, responsibility for the terms of employment rests with the individual ETB/ Further Education College.
My officials have compiled the following breakdown on the employment of personal assistants from information provided by the ETBs:
|
ETB |
Personal Assistants Employed Directly |
Personal Assistants via external providers |
|
Cavan and Monaghan ETB |
12 |
N/A |
|
City of Dublin ETB |
N/A |
60 |
|
Cork ETB |
27 |
N/A |
|
Donegal ETB |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Galway and Roscommon ETB |
N/A |
11 |
|
Kerry ETB |
8 |
No |
|
Kildare and Wicklow ETB |
N/A |
None currently |
|
Kilkenny and Carlow ETB |
3 |
No |
|
Laois and Offaly ETB |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Limerick and Clare ETB |
3 |
No |
|
Longford and Westmeath ETB |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Louth and Meath ETB |
15 |
No |
|
Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim ETB |
7 |
No |
|
Tipperary ETB |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Waterford and Wexford ETB |
2 |
No |
|
Total |
77 |
71 |
