Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this important issue. The Dyslexia Association of Ireland made a presentation to the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service at the end of July explaining the difficulties it faced, in addition to the problems encountered by the parents of dyslexic children. It was an informative presentation. Sad to say, no action has been taken by the Government since the presentation was made.

The Dyslexic Association of Ireland has received a paltry €63,500 in grant aid from the Department of Education and Science each year for the past ten years. The Department only agreed to fund the association yesterday for 2008 in spite of the fact that a submission for funding was submitted well over a year ago. That shows a complete disrespect for the staff of the Dyslexia Association and for children with dyslexia who have been treated with contempt. That is a crazy situation and it makes it almost impossible for the association to plan ahead for the next year, never mind for the next three or five years. It is almost as if the funding being provided is an afterthought. The association cannot grow or expand its service or meet the service needs of its members. It is shameful as well that the funding has never been increased over the past ten years, even though the country was awash with money during the Celtic tiger years. This is a disgrace, given the level of inflation over the past ten years. The Fianna Fáil-led Government has never carried out a study to find out how may children suffer from dyslexia. The funding received by the Dyslexia Association of Ireland is being used very wisely for assessments and funding for disadvantaged children, so clearly value for money is being achieved. It is a voluntary association, with 31 branches throughout the country. I want to take this opportunity to thank the staff for the great work they do in helping children who suffer from dyslexia. It provides specialist out of school workshops, which cater for 1,000 children who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. Sadly, the association has had to discontinue its very successful summer school this year because parents cannot afford the fees. Clearly children are suffering because of the lack of support from the Government for dyslexia victims.

The Government must set its priorities and adequately fund the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, not just pay lip service to it. This Government has squandered and wasted hundreds of millions over the past ten years. That is one of the reasons we find ourselves where we are, in the current economic difficulties. We have electronic voting machines just collecting dust. They cost hundreds of thousands in storage fees each year. Why can the Government not take a decision to scrap these machines and set this money aside to help and support the Dyslexia Association of Ireland and other organisations that find themselves in the same situation?

The Dyslexia Association of Ireland gives hope and help to those children who struggle with English and basic learning. The Government has prided itself on the standard of education in the country, but clearly all children are not being treated equally or given the same help and opportunities.

Every euro spent in early intervention education yields a return of €7 in later years. I support the association's campaign for having tax legislation amended so that tuition fees for children attending association workshops, which cost between €800 and €900, should become tax deductible. Perhaps the Minister of State might consider supporting such a tax concession for tuition fees, and raising this with the Minister for Finance. It is estimated that the cost of allowing this tax relief would be €200,000, while at the same time the Dyslexia Association of Ireland pays the Revenue that amount in taxes. This means it would be revenue neutral for the Exchequer.

I ask the Minister of State and the Department of Education and Science to get real on this issue and adequately fund the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. Can he please give certainty to this association by starting to fund it properly, and not make it wait to the last days of the year for confirmation as regards funding, which is totally unsatisfactory at the moment?

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the Department of Education and Science has provided annual funding of €63,500 to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. This funding helps the organisation to operate an information service for members and the public. In addition, part of the funding assists in meeting the costs associated with the attendance of some children from disadvantaged backgrounds at workshops and programmes organised by the association.

Furthermore, a grant is awarded annually to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland towards the cost of its adult education activities. The activities funded by the grant include literacy training, pre-course assessment, teaching materials and educational and administrative support. A key focus and priority of the Department is to provide for resources in schools to support pupils with special educational needs, including those with dyslexia. For mainstream primary schools, this is done through the general allocation model. This model was introduced in September 2005 and ensures that mainstream primary schools have the additional teaching resources already in place to enable them to cater for children with high-incidence special educational needs, including dyslexia. There is no need for schools to make separate applications for such supports.

It is a matter for the individual school to use its professional judgment to identify pupils that will receive this support and to use the resources available to intervene at the appropriate level with such pupils. The Department issued a comprehensive circular, SP ED 02/05, to schools to provide guidelines and advice on the manner in which they should use the resources that have been allocated to them to best effect. In addition, the Department provides funding for a number of special schools and special classes attached to mainstream primary schools which have been sanctioned to meet the needs of children with dyslexia. All special schools and special classes for such children operate at a reduced pupil-teacher ratio and pupils attending such facilities attract a special increased rate of capitation.

Second level pupils with dyslexia are normally included in mainstream classes. Additional teacher supports are allocated to second level schools and vocational education committees to cater for pupils with special educational needs, including, where appropriate, pupils with dyslexia. To qualify for additional teaching support, under this category, pupils must be assessed by a psychologist as being of average intelligence or higher and having a degree of learning disability specific to basic skills in reading, writing or mathematics, which places them at or below the second percentile on suitable, standardised, norm referenced tests.

In accordance with the terms of circular letter M10/94 and depending on an educational assessment, pupils with dyslexia may meet the criteria for exemption from the learning of the Irish language on the grounds of having a learning disability. They may also be eligible for special arrangements in State certificate examinations. The Department provides funding to schools for the purchase of specialised equipment such as computers to assist children with special educational needs, including children with dyslexia, with their education once relevant professionals recommend the equipment. Schools can apply to the local special educational needs organiser directly for this support.

The Department supports teachers with additional training needs in the area of dyslexia. The Deputy will be aware of the special education support service, SESS, which manages, co-ordinates and develops a range of supports in response to identified teacher training needs. The SESS provides fees subsidies for the on-line training course, "Dyslexia: Identification and Early Interventions". Fee subsidies are also provided for teachers to enable them to avail of the Dyslexia Association of Ireland courses.

The Dyslexia Association of Ireland has over the years proved itself to be a genuine organisation that provides a range of supports for children with dyslexia and their parents. The association has co-operated with various initiatives taken by my Department, including the task force on dyslexia. I am pleased that the Department has been able to provide funding to the association. The Department has developed an information resource pack on dyslexia in CD-Rom, DVD and video format, in association with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. This product has been made available to all primary and post-primary schools. The DVD and video provides support for parents of pupils with dyslexia while the CD-Rom assists teachers who are teaching children with dyslexia in the mainstream classroom. The Dyslexia Association of Ireland supported and assisted in this initiative.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position on this matter.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. I should be grateful if the issue of the funding could be raised with the Minister for Finance, in terms of whether it might be allocated at a much later date, as well as tax relief for tuition fees.