Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 478: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason her Department has narrowed the qualifying standards for tutors providing tuition to pupils for which parents are availing of home tuition grants provided by her Department; if her attention has been drawn to the adverse effects this is having on tutors who do not meet these specific qualifications and on the pupils who can no longer avail of their services as a consequence; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25172/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement. The Deputy will appreciate, that as home tuition takes place outside of the normal school framework, there is need to ensure that tuition providers are appropriately qualified to give education to the children concerned. The usual requirement is a fully qualified teacher. However, other qualifications are acceptable depending on the individual needs of the child. A list of relevant qualifications may be sourced on my Department's website on www.education.ie. It is in the interests of children to expect that home tutors funded under this scheme are appropriately qualified tuition providers. The revised standards were introduced following a review in 2006. However my Department built flexibility into the implementation of the revised arrangement to accommodate parents/guardians who were experiencing difficulties in changing to a qualified tuition provider by extending the sanction with the current tuition provider until the end of the school year 2006/07 to facilitate the recruitment process. Parents who are still experiencing difficulties in this regard should bring them to the immediate attention of the officials concerned.

The Deputy will be aware that the current Programme for Government includes a commitment to the provision of a central database of suitably trained personnel seeking employment as home tutors.