Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Deenihan for raising this matter and apologise on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who could not be present. I am pleased to have been given the opportunity by the Deputy to clarify the position with regard to the matter raised by him.

The Department of Education and Science funds post-school provision for young adults, including those with a disability, generally through multiple providers, which include universities, post-leaving certificate courses, vocational training centres and national learning networks. In addition, vocational educational committees provide grant assistance to some service-providers within the health service towards an education component of its provision through the co-operation hours scheme.

There are currently 23 vocational training centres and approximately 34 national learning network centres throughout the country. They provide a service to approximately 1,300 young adults with a disability. Two of these facilities are located in County Kerry. Young adults attending the vocational training centres typically have a diagnosis of mild or moderate general learning disability and are unsuited to open training centres. Participants must be under 25 and they attend for a maximum three years' duration. Department officials have contacted the Health Service Executive in the context of the Deputy's inquiry with regard to its responsibility for young adults with special educational needs who are over 18 years. The HSE has advised that approximately 30 school leavers have been identified by the Kerry occupational guidance service of the HSE for training and day-care places. The HSE is currently working with service-providers to ensure that the individuals in question have access to services in September 2009 in the context of the available funding. The HSE intends communicating with the individuals or their parents or guardians, as appropriate, within the next ten to 14 days, to confirm the arrangements for each individual for September.

People with disabilities may also avail of adult literacy courses provided by the VECs around the country. The Deputy may also be familiar with the back to education initiative which provides part-time further education programmes for adults to give them an opportunity to combine a return to learning with family, work and other responsibilities. People with disabilities are one of the target groups of the programme. The BTEI programme is a part-time initiative for learners who wish to pursue part-time or modular programmes. Under the BTEI, a programme may be offered for as little as one hour per week or as much as 17 hours per week, depending on the needs and demands of the prospective learners. It is recommended that programme duration for individual learners, class contact hours, not exceed 400 hours per annum, over a twelve-month period.

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position with regard to the matter raised by him. I hope the issues are resolved shortly in the interests of those young people and their families.

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