John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 546: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the policies, procedures or directives her Department has in place regarding the teaching and caring for children who are learning Irish in the Gaeltacht during the summer; if her Department has a safety statement regarding these children's health and safety; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4959/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Irish summer colleges provide courses in the Irish language for children during the summer months. These colleges are privately run institutions. My Department, however, does provide grant aid on a capitation basis to these colleges to help reduce tuition costs. My Department has in place a set of rules for the payment of grants to Irish summer colleges. The rules state that the steering committee of each summer college must "ensure that special care is taken as regards the safety of the students during the whole of the course in particular on roads, during organised events on playing areas and during swimming events in the sea and in swimming pools. A written policy must be formulated and implemented to prevent child abuse, bullying and anti-social behaviour. A copy of such policy must be available to Inspectors and other representatives of the Department". In addition, my Department has forwarded copies of the Department's guidelines on bullying and child protection guidelines and procedures to all recognised Irish summer colleges which are required to comply with the guidelines and procedures.