John O'Mahony
Ceist:
371
Deputy John O’Mahony
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the legal fees paid by her Department in relation to defending cases for parents trying to secure education for their children for the years 2002 to 2007 and to date in 2008; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
[8073/08]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Legal costs incurred by the State, in defending those cases which are brought to court, are not met directly by my Department. In accordance with financial procedures in cases involving damages or compensation against the State, costs are generally charged to the Chief State Solicitor's Office Vote as sanctioned by the Attorney General. With reference to the costs incurred by my Department since 2002 which are payment of legal costs of solicitors acting on behalf of children with special educational needs, are as follows:
|
Year
|
€
|
|
2002
|
2,314,550.27
|
|
2003
|
3,766,279.53
|
|
2004
|
5,160,555.16
|
|
2005
|
1,211,529.68
|
|
2006
|
620,880.43
|
|
2007
|
421,176.97
|
|
2008
|
Nil
|
The Deputy will be aware of my position on the issues of litigation in special educational needs and assuming that this is the category referred to, the Deputy can be assured that neither I nor my Department take lightly any decision to defend cases concerning children with special educational needs. I should emphasise that my Department does not initiate any such proceedings and cases are generally only litigated where no potential settlement is acceptable to both sides and the Government's authority to decide issues of policy is in question. The State has an obligation under the Constitution to provide for primary education. In the context of children with special educational needs, that education must be appropriate to their requirements. The State decides on an appropriate form of provision, having regard to the advice available to it from relevant experts in the National Educational Psychological Service, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the Inspectorate and independent experts. The Department is not complacent in dealing with these cases and attempts, wherever possible, to reduce the potential for litigation and the levels of legal costs where they arise.
I wish to advise the Deputy that the level of resources being made available by my Department to support students with special educational needs in mainstream education nationally has grown significantly in recent years.
There are now over 8,800 teachers at primary and post-primary schools working directly with children with special educational needs, including those requiring learning support, compared with fewer than 1,700 in 1998. In addition, significant progress has been made in relation to increasing the number of special needs assistants (SNAs) in our schools who specifically cater for children with care needs. There are currently in excess of 9,800 SNAs in primary, post-primary and special schools supporting pupils with special care needs compared with approximately 300 in 1998.
