David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 188: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of tutors who have been deemed not to be eligible to deliver homebased tuition from September 2009 due to the fact that under the terms of the July provision scheme a qualified teacher must be sourced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26962/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that 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 and also to provide early educational intervention for pre-school children with autism.

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 qualified to give education to the children concerned. It is reasonable to expect that a person, providing an education to a child in the child's home outside of the normal school structure, is fully qualified.

Some parents had advised of difficulties in sourcing fully qualified teachers. My Department therefore has allowed for other qualifications. However, the guidelines to the home tuition scheme have in recent years advised of my Department's preference for a fully qualified teacher.

I wish to assure the Deputy that my Department has continued to sanction alternative tuition providers where parents have shown that they were unable to source a fully qualified teacher.