Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 3 May 1995

Vol. 452 No. 3

Written Answers. - County Donegal Handicapped Services.

James McDaid

Ceist:

30 Dr. McDaid asked the Minister for Education if a special class for severely handicapped children (details supplied) will be set up in the Inishowen area of County Donegal in view of the fact that her Department refuses to grant funds for these children to travel to Foyle View in Derry. [6926/95]

Minister for Education (Ms Bhreathnach)

It is proposed to establish a special class for children with severe or profound mental handicap in the Inishowen area. It is also intended that suitable transport arrangements will be made to enable children, including the child mentioned by the Deputy, to attend this class.

The Deputy will appreciate that the establishment of such a facility requires not only the provision of suitable accommodation but also the putting in place of a range of specialised support services. The services in question would relate to the children's special educational and health care needs. My Department is currently pursuing these issues with a view to having the special class in operation as speedily as possible.

Since my appointment as Minister for Education, I have attached particular priority to developing services for children with special educational needs. In the case of children with severe or profound mental handicap, a particularly important development has been the reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio for such children from 12:1 to 6:1.

In the past 12 months, my Department has established 37 new special classes to meet the needs of such children. This brings to 55 the number of such classes now in place. As part of this development also, arrangements have been made to provide the services of a child care assistant to each special class. It is intended that the special facility to be established in the Inishowen area will enjoy a similar level of resourcing.

I should also advise the Deputy that my Department does provide grant support to assist parents in arranging transport for their children to the school in Derry. Such grant support was offered in the case of the child mentioned by the Deputy. However, this offer was not availed of. At present, one family is in receipt of grant support for this purpose. It is intended that grant support will continue to be made available for those children attending Foyle View who wish to remain at that school after the special class is established in Donegal.