Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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202. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the fact that due to an extensive waiting list, the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind is no longer accepting applications for assistance dogs for children with autism; if her Department will provide funding to the association, as it has in the past, to enable them to re-open this vital service. [43651/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department provides annual funding to the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) for the provision of its Child Mobility Programme. This grant provides for the services of a Mobility Officer employed by the IGDB who provides mobility training to visually impaired children. My Department also provided once-off grant-aid to the IGDB for the operation of its Assistance Dogs Programme for Families of Children with Autism in the past. While the beneficial nature of the programme is acknowledged, this is considered to be primarily a home-based family support programme, as opposed to a specific educational intervention. As my Department's obligation is to prioritise all aspects of educational funding within the context of current financial constraints, it is not possible to provide funding for this programme at this time.

I understand that the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind also receives significant funding from the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive, who are the main State funding bodies for the services provided by this group.