Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
371. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Education and Skills in the context of procuring ICT equipment for learning, particularly regarding special needs education in mainstream schooling, if there are any plans to transition from the current arrangement of providing monetary amounts to individual teachers or heads of department to a centralised system whereby value could be maximised by negotiating directly with the various ITC companies. [38087/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department's policy in relation to the provision of Assistive Technology support for pupils with Special Educational Needs is set out in DES Circular 0010/2013.
The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) recently published comprehensive policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, which is available on its website www.ncse.ie.
This advice recommended that the NCSE should establish a working group, with Assistive Technology expertise, to develop a national policy on standards for professional recommendations and to determine the supports required in an educational context and the best ongoing utilisation of these resources.
The future of the Assistive Technology scheme will therefore be considered in the context of the implementation of this recommendation.
In the interim, the NCSE has commissioned research on the usage of assistive technology/equipment in supporting the education of children with special needs in schools. The outcome of this research will support the considerations of the proposed working group, in relation to the future of the assistive technology scheme.
