Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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8. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure that adequate resource support hours are provided for children with Down's syndrome; and if she will make a statement on the matter.## [15461/15]

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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This question is to ask the Minister to ensure adequate support hours are provided for children with Down's syndrome. I ask her to comment on the interim measure which she announced on 24 March and to say when will the new resource allocation model be introduced.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I have recently held a number of meetings with Down Syndrome Ireland and with parents of children with Down's syndrome. Following these discussions, I agreed to review the educational provision for children with Down's syndrome.

I have now provided for NCSE to make additional allocations of 2.5 resource teaching hours per week to schools in respect of any child with Down's syndrome currently not eligible for low incidence resource teaching hours. I will ensure that adequate teaching resources are made available to implement this decision. This will address a central concern for parents that children with Down's syndrome with a mild general learning difficulty did not have adequate support or certainty of the support they would receive under the general allocation schemes.

This measure has been introduced pending the introduction of the new special needs teacher allocation model recommended by NCSE. On the question of timing, I am not sure as yet because there is some work to be done, in particular, with regard to complex needs and the HSE is currently carrying out this work. We await the outcome of that work in order to have the full information for implementing the new model.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for her response. I welcome the allocation of 2.5 resource teaching hours per week for children with Down's syndrome. Those children face extreme difficulties with regard to learning and speech and language. Any help is very much appreciated. Education is crucial for all children and they must be given an equal opportunity to contribute and to achieve the best they can achieve. I note that the 2.5 hours per week is an interim measure. Families and Down Syndrome Ireland have campaigned on this issue for many years.

Can the Minister indicate a timeframe for the introduction of the new resource allocation model so that families can know that the needs of their children will be fully considered?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I do not have a definite time frame nor do I know if it will be in time for the next school year 2016. Apparently the work is ongoing. I probably will not be the Minister for Education and Skills at the time but I do not believe that it should be introduced until the identification process is completed by the HSE and it should be based on the needs of children in the early years. The HSE is working on that process but I believe there is quite a bit of work to be done.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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Is any other group of children with mild learning disabilities being considered, apart from those with Down's syndrome?

Perhaps the Minister would give a little more information about the process, the new model and what is involved.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The new model will deal with all children with disabilities. It is a model for the general allocation for children with disabilities. The draft proposals have been published by the National Council for Special Education but, because we do not have enough data, it is not ready to be introduced. Down Syndrome Ireland believed that the new model would be more positive for children with Down's syndrome, but we are not yet ready to introduce it.