Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 252: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount of money he has saved by deferring the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004; the amount he envisaged would have had to be spent in the next two years if full implementation were to be achieved by October 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36608/08]

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress made to date in the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004; the sections of the Act adopted to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36625/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 252 and 265 together.

As the Deputies will be aware, a significant number of sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, 2004 have been commenced, principally those establishing the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those promoting an inclusive approach to the education of children with special needs. Specifically, the following sections have been commenced- 1, 2, 14(1)(a), 14(1)(c), 14(2) to 14(4), 19 to 37, 40 to 53.

The National Council for Special Education was required under the Act to make a report on the implementation of the Act. This report is essentially advice to the Minister for Education and Science on the measures the Council considered necessary to implement EPSEN. The NCSE report identified a requirement for incremental additional investment over a period of 4 years of up to €235 million per annum across the education and health sectors.

My Department, having completed its examination of the NCSE report and engaged in consultations with the Education Partners, identified a range of options for the implementation of EPSEN. Among the key areas identified for attention were assessment of need, preparation of Individual Education Plans (IEPs), training, and psychological and therapy services; areas also highlighted in the NCSE report. It is not possible to give exact figures regarding cost as the specific amount of money required to support the implementation of EPSEN would depend on the options chosen and the timeframe for implementation of these options. However, my Department's opinion is that the level of investment required would be greater than that envisaged in the NCSE report.

In light of the scale of these costs it is necessary to defer the implementation of the Act beyond the date originally envisaged. Services for children with special educational needs will continue to be made available on a non-statutory basis, and resource teachers and special needs assistants will continue to be deployed. Furthermore, an additional €20 million in funding has been provided in 2009 to strengthen the services available to children with special educational needs/disabilities. Of this €10m has been provided to the Department of Education and Science part of which will enable the extension of the National Educational Psychological Service to all schools in the country. The balance of €10m has been allocated to the health sector with a particular focus on enhancing availability of therapies for children.