Seanad Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 24 Feb 1999

Vol. 158 No. 7

Adjournment Matters. - Special Educational Needs.

Mr. Glynn

My matter relates to the need for the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Martin, to consider giving grant aid to Mullingar dyslexia association group to enable it to carry out the valuable service it is providing to children with learning difficulties. I appreciate the Minister's allocations pertaining to learning difficulties. However, the Mullingar group caters for a total of 42 children who are dyslexic. It runs a workshop in Mullingar community college, which is free, one evening a week for two hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. It uses a total of 14 rooms with three to four in each group and one teacher.

The group must pay a co-ordinator who acts as principal, works out individual programmes for each child and oversees the 14 sessions. The Minister of State will be aware that people with learning difficulties of this nature cannot be treated the same as an ordinary class. The co-ordinator and 14 teachers for each group which comprises two or three pupils must be remunerated. The parents pay a contribution towards the service and a voluntary committee, comprising approximately ten people, raises funds through flag days and tea mornings. In addition, local businesses are asked for sponsorship.

The committee's best efforts bear fruit in terms of the group's activities. On its behalf, I thank the people of Mullingar and the north-west Westmeath area. However, the funds raised fall short of what is required to pay for the service. The Minister of State is aware that education is most important. He will appreciate that the children concerned have special educational needs and the purpose of the classes is to meet these needs. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister to favourably consider making grant aid available to the group.

The difficulty is that the voluntary group must subsidise children from low income families. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the group to meet that need. This is why I tabled the matter and I trust the Minister of State will have as favourable a response as possible.

Mr. O'Dea

I thank Senator Glynn for raising this issue. My Department has allocated funding since 1997 to the Association for Children and Adults with Learning Difficulties, ACLD, to assist its administration service and to facilitate access to workshops and summer schools by children from disadvantaged areas. In 1997 a sum of £24,971 was allocated while £38,111 was allocated in 1998. I understand that the association currently operates four summer schools and 21 workshops nationwide, including one in Mullingar. In the current year an allocation of £50,000 is being made available to the ACLD.

Under current arrangements the educational needs of primary pupils with specific learning disability such as dyslexia should generally be capable of being met within the ordinary school system with the support, where appropriate, of the remedial teaching service. Fully qualified primary school teachers are trained to deal with a variety of reading problems, including those which are accompanied by perceptual difficulties. The level and quality of this training is one of the important issues to be addressed by the review group on primary teacher training.

In addition, the special training programme for remedial teachers includes a module on specific learning disability. At present, there are 1,302 remedial teacher posts in the primary system. The Minister recently announced his intention to extend the remedial teaching service to all first and second level schools with effect from September 1999.

Second level pupils with specific learning disability are usually integrated into classes where they may receive additional support through the remedial teacher, guidance counsellor and subject teachers. Where more serious cases of difficulty arise, provision is made in one of four special schools and seven special classes dedicated to such children. These special facilities operate at a reduced pupil-teacher ratio of 11:1.

The package for special needs children which the Minister announced recently is available to children with specific learning disability, including dyslexia. In addition, the Minister has asked his officials to review current supports, including in-service teacher training, for children with dyslexia. This review will be open to considering the full range of possible supports for the pupils involved.

Mr. Glynn

I thank the Minister of State for his response and I welcome the measures announced by the Minister.

The Seanad adjourned at 8.20 p.m. until 12.30 p.m. on Thursday, 25 February 1999.