asked the Minister for Health the total amount contributed by the EEC towards the needs of the handicapped in Ireland, and the purposes to which these funds were allocated.
Written Answers. - Needs of Handicapped.
154.
A total of £16.6 million has been allocated in grants from the European Social Fund for the years 1973-79 for vocational training services for handicapped persons by health boards, the National Rehabilitation Board and various voluntary organisations.
The grants covered the development of rehabilitation services for persons suffering from handicaps of all kinds. Those services included the training of specialised staff, the provision of new or improved facilities for work training in institutions catering for mental handicap and psychiatric cases, and the development of community workshops for the disabled in general.