Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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8. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of the multiple extra costs placed on the parents of children with dyslexia in seeking to ensure their children have access to the same standard of education as other children; that, notwithstanding the State supports in place, additional costs include a diagnosis every two to three years, membership of the Dyslexia Association and room hire and teacher remuneration to provide extra out-of-hours instruction; if she will propose new measures to address these issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43872/15]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I understand there is some funding under the general allocation model to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, which provides workshops and special classes for children that are privately funded. It costs about €750 per year per child for those classes, and the bulk of that is the cost of renting classrooms from schools that are publicly funded.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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All mainstream schools have been allocated additional teaching resources to cater for children with specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia, either under the general allocation model at primary school level or though high incidence and learning support allocations for post-primary schools. Schools have access to psychological assessments through the National Educational Psychological Service or through the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments.

Funding is provided to schools for the purchase of specialised equipment and an information pack on dyslexia is available to schools. Provision for continuing professional development for teachers with additional training needs in the area of dyslexia is made through the Special Education Support Service. Funding is provided to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland which supports its information service and workshops and programmes for some children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Membership fees are a matter between the organisation and its membership.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I know all that. Let me describe one situation. In north Kildare for the past 15 years an excellent workshop has been run by the Dyslexia Association of Ireland. The principal in the school was very supportive and the classroom was rented at a nominal rate because the heating and security was provided for other things that were happening. A new principal came in and, instead of it being €500 a year, it became €5,000 a year to rent the classroom. This is a publicly funded school that increased the cost for children with dyslexia.

It is not just a question of support regarding dyslexia, where there is a benefit to the children, but also a question of self-esteem and all that goes with that. Parents already have expenses such as, for example, often having to get a diagnosis themselves. This is not a dancing class we are talking about or some sort of added extra. It is an educational support in a publicly funded school and the issue needs to be addressed. The schools themselves need to see some sort of value in this and not have a situation where almost a commercial rate is sought when an educational support is being provided. That is the point I am trying to make.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Deputy is talking about a situation she is very well aware of in a particular school. In general, schools should, where they can, provide facilities at a cost that is not too prohibitive and they should certainly consider the kind of organisation to which they are providing the use of the school. However, I do not know the individual circumstances of the particular school.

The Dyslexia Association of Ireland does excellent work in general, although I am not aware of its specific work in County Kildare. Our role in the Department of Education and Skills is to ensure children with dyslexia have the supports they need in the school system but we also support the Dyslexia Association of Ireland to some extent in terms of the very good work it does as a voluntary organisation. I will try to get more information with regard to the individual case the Deputy raises. In general, our job is to ensure children with special learning needs, such as dyslexia or otherwise, are appropriately supported in the school setting.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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I am sure there is a more general point to this. When the Dyslexia Association of Ireland sought to replace that classroom, it had a job doing it but, in the end, it got somewhere for €2,500 a year. If the Minister is talking to the Dyslexia Association of Ireland about this, I ask her to get some sort of understanding about such situations in general and not specifically in regard to this school, which I am just using as an example. I am appalled that there would not be an instinctive response from educators that this is an educational plus and is not some sort of an added extra. There should be some sort of tiered arrangement. I would have thought the Department would have a role in terms of giving some sort of guidance to schools about that type of approach. This is an educational advantage in regard to dyslexia but also in terms of the children's self-esteem.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I would be happy to meet the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, although, to the best of my knowledge, I have not had a request for a meeting. I am not clear from what the Deputy has said whether the classroom is used during or after school hours.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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After.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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In general, we would encourage schools to ensure school premises are used for different kinds of appropriate uses, and I certainly think this is appropriate. I would be happy to find out more about exactly what the issue is and to see if we can help to resolve it.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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I completely concur with Deputy Murphy on this issue. In Cork city, the annual fee for the workshops is €800 and, as it is €750 in north Kildare, I imagine that is an average price throughout the State. One of the reasons the price is so high is that schools are charging astronomical fees to cater for children with dyslexia, many of whom would be pupils of those very schools. This is something the Minister should take up with the Dyslexia Association of Ireland in order to see exactly what the position is State-wide.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The primary focus from the Department's perspective is to ensure we provide in-school supports for children with learning needs, and that would be my main driving force in terms of working on the new model. In addition, the issue of diagnosis should not be an obstacle to getting the supports children need. I would be happy to look at this issue. The Deputies have pointed to two different parts of the country and I would not like to think there is a prohibitive cost to what parents perceive to be supports they need.