Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
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157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider increasing the resource hours for children with Down's syndrome and a mild intellectual disability from 2.5 hours per week to five hours per week. [32965/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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In March 2015, the then Minister for Education and Skills announced the introduction of an interim measure to give some certainty for children with Down syndrome in relation to their teaching allocations, until a new model for the allocation of resource teachers in mainstream schools is in place.

Provision was made for the NCSE to make additional allocations of 2.5 Resource Teaching hours per week to schools, in respect of any child with Down syndrome, currently not eligible for Low Incidence resource teaching hours.

The allocation of 2.5 hours per child reflects the allocation rates for children in the mild general learning difficulty range, including those with Down syndrome, prior to the introduction of generalised allocations for schools.

This measure was provided in recognition of the fact that children with Down syndrome experience a cluster of difficulties relating to this syndrome, in addition to general learning difficulties, including speech and language developmental delays.

It was intended that this would address a central concern parents had, that children with Down syndrome with a Mild General Learning Difficulty did not have, adequate support, or certainty of the support they would receive, under the General Allocation schemes, as schools have many competing demands in this area. It was advised at the time that such provision would continue to remain in place until a new model for allocating resource teaching support was introduced for schools.

The Deputy will be aware that the NCSE recommended the introduction of a new resource allocation model, which it had contended would overcome difficulties potentially affecting all children with mild general learning disabilities, including children with Down syndrome, and which will allow schools to allocate resources to pupils taking account of their individual learning needs, as opposed to being based primarily on a diagnosis of a particular disability.