Mr. Brendan Doody:

Therefore, special schools do not have an allocation of post-primary provision. We are giving each of these 40 schools additional "transition support hours" - that is what we are calling them. The function of the teachers who will work with the students in the programme will be to try to make sure the young people at the top end of the special schools are supported to make really good transitions into whatever option is best for them and it is done in conjunction with parents, local employers and so on. We have had very positive feedback about the impact of certain employers and we have used the offices of Business in the Community. It is embedded in this. It is new for Business in the Community. It had not previously worked in the area of special education and has certainly risen to the task.

We also have a second programme funded through the Dormant Accounts Fund. The programme is quite different in some respects but ultimately has the same purpose, which is to provide young people with the best possible pathway from the school setting into whatever awaits them. It is a partnership programme with the NGO, Walkinstown Association for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, WALK. It is different from the comprehensive employment strategy transitions programme in that it is not led by teachers. There are employment facilitators employed by WALK and who work with special schools to provide agency to the young person. Both programmes will be formally evaluated. We have a lot of anecdotal feedback from schools who have found it to be absolutely superb in terms of the support given to the young people. There has been some really positive feedback from employers, in particular, who may not previously had young people with disabilities in their employment. One employer I am aware of who previously never had employed a person with a disability wanted to know how much they should pay the person. There is a level of awareness building in respect of people's rights and so on. Young people leaving special schools have absolutely the same rights as everybody else in terms of employment and so on. The programmes are making very good progress.