David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 178: To ask the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 380 of 7 June 2006 the person who has been appointed as chief executive officer for a centre (details supplied) in County Armagh; the amount of money that has been expended by her Department to date on this project; when she expects the centre to be fully operational; if the centre will be accountable, in any way, to the Houses of the Oireachtas or to her; if so, the way this accountability will operate in practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19411/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department and the Department of Education in Northern Ireland are jointly engaged in the development of the Middletown Centre for Autism in Co. Armagh. Both Departments have jointly funded the purchase of the former St. Joseph's Adolescent Centre, Middletown and plan to refurbish the property to meet the needs of a Centre of Excellence for children and young people with autism throughout the island of Ireland. The Centre will be dedicated to improving and enriching the educational opportunities of children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. It will be multi-disciplinary and operate in support of local services across Ireland North and South.

Four key services will be provided by the Centre:

a learning support service (on a residential basis),

an educational assessment service,

a training and advisory service, and

an autism research and information service.

Both Departments have set up an Operating Company (Middletown Centre for Autism Limited MCAL) which is governed by a Memorandum and Articles of Association. A Board of Directors has been appointed to manage the Centre.

Mr Gary Cooper has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and is responsible for the overall day-to-day management of the Centre. The CEO of the Centre is the Accounting Officer responsible for the efficient and effective administration of the centre. To date my Department has spent in the region of €2,754,352 on the project which is inclusive of the purchase price.

The departmental Accounting Officer in the Department of Education Northern Ireland and the Secretary General of my Department are accountable to their respective Assembly/ Oireachtas for the issue of any grant-in-aid/grant to the Centre. A Director of the Company or a member of its staff will if so requested, appear before, or otherwise co-operate with a Northern Ireland Assembly Committee or sub-Committee of either House or both Houses of the Oireachtas, in accordance with normal practice and relevant legislation within each jurisdiction.

It is expected that the Centre will commence limited services in 2007 with the first intake of children not expected until the building work is completed in 2008.