Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

The effect of the amendments would be to delete section 5(b) and maintain the current position which is no longer appropriate. Section 2 of the Education Act 1998 has been amended to clarify the position that the delivery of health and personal services, including speech therapy, to students of school-going age, is not a support service to be provided by the Minister for Education and Skills. Subsections (5) and (6) of section 7 of the Education Act which provided for the Minister for Education and Skills to request the assistance of health boards to make provision for such services, therefore, no longer apply. The legislative framework will be regularised in accordance with the de facto position that the provision of speech therapy services is a matter for the Health Service Executive. The proposed provisions do not impact on the availability, through the HSE, of speech therapy services for children with special educational needs. The Department will continue to support the co-ordinated delivery of services to families of children with special educational needs and work with service providers in the health and disability sectors through the interdepartmental cross-sectoral team.

On amendment No. 4, I introduced an amendment on Committee Stage which changed part of section 7(4) of the Education Act 1998. The effect of the amendment is to require the Minister, in carrying out his or her functions under the Act, to have regard to best practice in teaching methods, value for money and quality outcomes for students. These functions include determining procedures.

On the issue of appointments, suspension and dismissal procedures, the Minister is required to consult the education partners, as provided for under section 24(11) which is contained in section 6 of the Bill. This is a technical provision which states the considerations to which the Minister must have regard in making these and other procedures. The amendment was made on Committee Stage on the recommendation of the Office of the Attorney General to ensure clarity in respect of considerations required of the Minister when determining procedures. The effect of Deputy Seán Crowe's amendment would be to undo the change made on Committee Stage and, accordingly, I do not propose to accept it.

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