Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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349. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that, in some circumstances, home tuition is provided even where a school placement is available to a child; the criteria that apply in such cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38012/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that the purpose of the Home Tuition Scheme is to provide a compensatory educational service 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. Children who have school placements and meet the criteria for eligibility under the medical strand of the scheme may be approved for home tuition in circumstances where (a) they cannot attend school at all or (b) where they are absent for a significant proportion of the school year and where the degree of absence is such that without supplementary instruction they are unlikely to be able to perform academically at the level appropriate to his/her level of ability.

Children with a special educational need who are awaiting an educational placement may be approved for home tuition as an interim measure pending the identification of a school placement for them by the National Council for Special Education. If a placement becomes available for a child during the school year home tuition will be withdrawn. In certain circumstances the tuition allocation may be withdrawn on a phased basis to facilitate the transition of a child into school placement.