Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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319. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider providing funding for the WALK Peer Project in County Louth (details supplied). [13229/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The project to which the Deputy refers is currently funded by Ulster Bank under a Skills and Opportunity Fund which aims to build entrepreneurial and employability skills amongst young people with special needs, aged 16 to 19 years, who are senior students in two special schools in County Louth.

My Department's policy in relation to the provision of supports to students with special educational needs is to provide a range of supports in mainstream schools, special classes attached to mainstream schools and to special schools.

Students with special educational needs have a range of options available to them in the higher and further education sectors. Some students choose to participate in educational programmes through further adult educational programmes or in adult settings.

While the Department of Health and Children/Health Service Executive assumes direct responsibility for young adults with special educational needs who are over 18 years, my Department may allocate funding towards an educational component of such provision so that students can continue to participate in educational programmes through further adult educational programmes or in adult settings.

Vocational training is provided through a network of ETB funded Specialist Training Providers (STPs), specifically for learners who have physical, intellectual, mental health or sensory disabilities. Learners on these programmes have the opportunity to participate in training ranging from level 3 to 5 on the NFQ.

Funding is also provided through the co-operation hours scheme operated by Education and Training Boards (ETBs) where the local service provider makes application to the relevant ETB for tuition hours. Funding is also provided to the National Learning Network and to Vocational Training Centres for this purpose.

Young adults with disabilities are eligible to access SOLAS mainstream services. SOLAS also contracts Specialist Training Providers, in locations country-wide, to deliver training courses to people with disabilities who require more intensive support than would be available in non-specialist training provision. Specialist training offers additional supports to learners which include individualised training and progression plans, literacy and numeracy support, longer training duration, adapted equipment, transport arrangements, enhanced programme content and enhanced trainer/learner ratio.

Work is nearing completion on the development by SOLAS and the ETBs, on a major Further Education and Training (FET) data infrastructure – the programme learner support service (PLSS), which is currently being piloted and will be fully operational in 2017. It will include a national FET programme calendar and make it easier for all individuals, including teachers, parents and guidance practitioners, to access information on all FET provision nationally and to plan accordingly. The website www.fetchcourses.ie which is now live, is already populated with all ETB (education and training boards) provision and is available for all to access. Other resources that support planning and provide information relevant to education and employment planning include the DES funded Qualifax.ie and CareersPortal.ie.

The development of the INTREO and JobPath services have also led to improvements in the provision of assistance and advice on employment, training and personal development opportunities for those who are unemployed. Strengthening career guidance with the aid of employer engagement is a key focus in the National Skills Strategy 2025 which provides for a review of guidance services and careers information for schools students and for adults that will recommend changes to improve the services available. In this regard, work is currently underway to develop and deliver a new integrated FET Guidance Strategy in 2016.

FET programmes are available to all learners including persons with a disability who meet the eligibility criteria and guidelines provided for each programme.

Young people with a verifiable disability are also entitled to apply to eighteen higher education institutions via the Disability Access Route to Education scheme, which offers higher education places on reduced points to students with disabilities.

Once in college, support is available through the Fund for Students with Disabilities, managed by the HEA on behalf of my Department.

I can also advise that the National Council for Special Education recently published guidelines on Planning for Life After School that includes a section on options for progression to further, vocational and higher education.