Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies Joan Collins and Richard Boyd Barrett for raising this issue. I assure them the Government is committed to the provision and development of services for children with special needs and improving their access to therapy services. In recent years significant resources have been invested by the health sector in services for children with disabilities.

The Health Service Executive has recognised that early intervention services and services for school-aged children with disabilities need to be standardised. To this end, a major reconfiguration of therapy resources for children with disabilities aged up to 18 years is under way. The HSE's national programme for progressing disability services for children and young people aged up to 18 years aims to bring about equity of access to disability services and consistency of service delivery, with a clear pathway for children with disabilities and their families to services, regardless of where they live, what school the child attends or the nature of the individual child's difficulties. There is also a greater emphasis on the health and education sectors working more closely together in supporting children with special needs to achieve their potential.

Since 2014, the roll-out of the progressing disability services for children and young people programme has entailed targeted investment of €14 million and the provision of 275 additional therapy staff to increase services for children with all disabilities. Reconfiguration of disability services in line with the programme is under way in the HSE Dún Laoghaire area where St. Augustine's special school is located. This area has received a total of 13 new therapy posts to assist in implementing the new model.

St. Augustine's special school in Blackrock, County Dublin was established by the St. John of God Order in the 1930s as a traditional boarding school for boys with a mild learning disability. Students from all over Ireland boarded at the school which provided a range of educational and residential services unavailable at the time in the child's community. In recent times services have been developed which ensure children can access special education while remaining in their family home. More and more families are choosing to have their child attend a mainstream school. As a result, demand for residential services has dropped significantly in the past ten years, from 36 to two pupils recently.

The Department of Education and Skills provides the funding for St. Augustine's special school. I understand the National Council for Special Education will allocate 22 teachers for the 2016-17 school year. The number of special needs assistants, SNAs, allocated to the school for the coming school year will be 28, which means that there has been no reduction in the number of SNA posts or special school teachers. St. Augustine's special school will continue to provide education and services for its pupils. However, I understand there will be changes in the services currently funded by St. John of God community services. For historical reasons, St. John of God community services fund some additional programmes in St. Augustine's special school, including the residential service and a vocational development programme. As stated previously, demand for residential services has declined during the years and in the years before special needs assistants were available through the Department of Education and Skills. While the vocational development programme provided vital support for pupils in the school, there are now 28 special needs assistants for 162 students in the school. In addition, there are ever-increasing and competing demands on resources, including compliance with national regulations.

Against this backdrop, I am informed that the board of directors of St. John of God community services has taken the decision to reallocate resources from St. Augustine's special school to other parts of its service. This will involve phasing out funding for residential, vocational and extended day services in the next three years. I understand this type of change can be difficult for the children and families concerned. As Deputy Joan Collins stated, I recently met a group of parents who voiced their strong concerns on several matters and I raised these concerns with the HSE and my Cabinet colleagues on their behalf.

See this speech in context