Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 5 Oct 1999

Vol. 508 No. 3

Written Answers - Community Employment Schemes.

363.

Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of children for whom FÁS provided a child care assistant in the last school year; if his attention has been drawn to cases for whom his allocations of seven and a half hours of child care assistance has resulted in the withdrawal of the FÁS provision which provided 20 hours; and if he will make arrangements to ensure that no child becomes worse off in respect of care assistance support as a result of his decision. [18787/99]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. Martin):

My Department does not have details of the number of children for whom FÁS provided child care assistants support in the last school year. I understand that such support was provided under community employment schemes which are the responsibility of my colleague the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

My Department's involvement in the provision of child care assistant support is confined to the delivery of such support to children with special needs. The level of child care support provided in any individual case reflects the assessed special needs of the child in question.

To date in 1999 a total of 386 child care assistants have been allocated to support special needs children in the primary system. The process of allocating such support is continuing on an ongoing basis as children are assessed and their needs identified.