Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 81: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of speech therapists who graduated here in 2005; her views on whether the number of places are adequate to the need for the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25928/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The details of the number of Speech and Language Therapists who graduated in 2005 is not fully available. However, in 2004 the number who graduated from the Speech and Language Therapy programme was 21.

As the Deputy may be aware, in May 2002 my Department approved the provision of 175 additional therapy training places to tackle shortages of physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech and language therapists as identified in the report "Current and Future Supply and Demand Conditions in the Labour Market for Certain Professional Therapists", which was undertaken by Dr. Peter Bacon and Associates in 2001.

Within this provision there was an increase of 75 additional places on Speech and Language courses. These additional courses comprise a B.Sc in Speech and Language Therapy in NUI, Galway and UCC and a M.Sc. in Speech and Language in the University of Limerick. These increased intakes will result in a significant increase in the number of Speech and Language Therapists graduating from the third level sector.