John Lahart
Question:233. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education if there is funding available for resourcing a sensory room in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20868/24]
View answerWednesday, 8 May 2024
Questions (233)
Written answers
I can confirm to the Deputy, that funding of €7,000 is made available by my Department's Loose Furniture & Equipment (F&E) Section for the provision of the start-up of a sensory room within a school. In order to be eligible for the grant, the school must demonstrate it has a National Council for Special Education (NCSE) approved ASD class and that there is a suitable room to house the sensory room (i.e. drawings of school layout with the sensory room and ASD class clearly marked). The sensory room must be a separate room from that of the ASD class and must have its own separate entry/exit. Only one Sensory room grant is funded by my Department per school.
However, I can confirm that there is no NCSE approved ASD class in the school in question and as such funding for a sensory room could not be considered while this continues to be the case.