Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 15 October 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion

11:00 am

Ms Toni O'Dwyer:

Absolutely. The structure is there but we need to look at how to make the structure work for this low incidence disability. At the moment the way it operates is last-minute. It is not planned for. The expertise needed for vision impairment is not readily available in terms of Braille or orientation and mobility. That sort of expertise is not readily available to recruit overnight. From January we need to highlight summer provision for all children who need it. If it is highlighted for January, we can start planning to bring in that expertise to support students on an individualised basis. That to me is the only way it will work. Trying to do that at the beginning of June when parents are not even aware of summer provision or what benefit it can be is too little, too late.

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