Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me the opportunity to raise the matter of St. Joseph's centre for the visually impaired, Gracepark Road, Drumcondra, Dublin 9 and its efforts to build a new centre of excellence to provide visually impaired people with appropriate accommodation in respect of the current and future delivery of services. I call on the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, to support this project and to use the recession as a reason to build the centre and provide jobs and investment on the north side of Dublin, particularly in the constituency of Dublin North-Central. This project is worth €40 million and represents a glorious opportunity. Damian O'Farrell, who is standing as an Independent candidate in the local elections, also wants these services for the visually impaired to be provided in our area and is fighting to ensure that this proves to be the case.

St. Joseph's currently provides education and health care services to all children in the State who are blind and partially sighted. Increasingly, it is working with children who also have multiple disabilities in addition to their visual impairments. In recent years, St. Joseph's has moved to provide, in addition to schooling, early intervention, assessments, preschool, vision-clinic services, primary and secondary education, recreation and sports activities and vocational training. This is supported by a residential provision, both on and off campus, which encourages children who attend St. Joseph's to be more independent. In addition, it operates a large print and Braille production centre, which provides classroom textbooks for all children in mainstream schools. Further, it continually trains and works with professionals and parents who are in direct contact with children with a visual impairment throughout Ireland.

This is a radical and exciting new project and has huge potential. I am aware that the Department of Education and Science is interested in it. I urge the Minister of State, who has a strong interest in and supports people with disabilities, to take the lead in respect of this matter. It is time to support St. Joseph's.

When one considers the services currently on offer, one is very impressed. For example, the assessment service offers a multidisciplinary process through which the needs and abilities of a child or young person with a significant sight loss can be identified. This service is the starting point for making recommendations with regard to which interventions best enable each child to reach his or her individual potential. The preschool and early intervention service provides specialised support and skills to children, from birth to six years, in partnership with their families. It also offers a holistic approach to the education of young children, as well as support, information and guidance to families and agencies.

St. Joseph's also provides primary and secondary education. The primary school is inclusive in nature, with pupils following a broad and balanced curriculum and where all children are given opportunities to participate in a wide range of learning activities. The secondary school is situated adjacent to the St. Joseph's campus and students who are visually impaired and sighted are educated together there. The school offers a wide range of academic and practical subjects. The staff includes six dedicated teachers for the visually impaired. These people work and provide a service in the public sector. It may not be trendy or fashionable to praise public sector workers at present but I take this opportunity to do so once again.

St. Joseph's also provides vocational training. Its vocational training programme is designed to meet the particular needs of young adults of 16 years and older who have a visual impairment. These individuals are likely to have recently completed the special education cycle in secondary school and have an additional disability or special needs arising from a developmental delay and also needs relating to their independence, social and personal skills.

The family resource centre, FRC, at St. Joseph's offers an extensive outreach programme to young people with a visual impairment and their families. The service is accessed through a yearly calendar of events and is open to all visually impaired children, from birth to early adulthood, throughout Ireland. The FRC caters not only for children with a visual impairment but also for those with additional disabilities. It hosts a variety of events — training days, seminars, exhibitions and information, advice and discussion groups — for the families of these children in these groups.

I urge the Minister for Education and Science to meet the project team from St. Joseph's and to strongly support the new centre of excellence for the visually impaired, which is essential for many people. I urge that there be movement, that action be taken and, above all, that a common-sense approach be adopted. I support St. Joseph's.

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