Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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203. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has carried out an assessment (details supplied) of children requiring specialist autism services at second level in the coming years in County Donegal; if steps have been taken to ensure there will be sufficient places to have classes in place to facilitate them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5390/17]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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204. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a second autism unit for a school (details supplied) in County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5391/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 203 and 204 together.

The National Council for Special Education is responsible for organising and planning provision for children with Special Educational Needs, including establishing special classes in mainstream primary and post primary schools.

The NCSE has advised that there are almost 18,000 students with ASD attending schools nationally. Of these 3,484 are attending primary ASD classes and 1,118 are attending post primary ASD classes.

In 2011 there were 548 special classes, of which 224 were primary ASD classes, 72 were post primary ASD classes and 34 were early intervention classes. The remaining 218 were special classes service children with mild to moderate/severe general learning difficulties and specific learning difficulties including speech and language difficulties.

There are currently 1,153 special classes, which is an increase of over 100% on the number available in 2011.  Of these, 127 are ASD early intervention classes, 525 are primary ASD classes and 237 are post-primary ASD classes. The remainder are non ASD special classes.

With regard to County Donegal, there are currently 36 ASD special classes, of these, 21 are in primary schools and 15 are post-primary ASD classes, including 3 new post-primary classes which opened in September 2016.

The NCSE, in consultation with the relevant education partners, must take into account the present and future potential need, location and sustainability in looking to establish special classes in certain areas.  In this regard the NCSE has advised that they are continuing to engage with schools, and in particular the school referred to by the Deputy, in opening special classes where there is an identified need for special class provision.

The continued growth in post primary special class numbers is a natural consequence of the earlier growth in primary special class numbers. However, it should not be assumed that the same levels of growth in post primary class numbers should apply. This is because, for children with Autism, transferring from a special class in a primary school to a special class in a post primary school may not always be the optimal choice. Many children can progress to mainstream post primary with support of S and Resource Teaching hours, while more may transfer from primary to a special school depending on their presentation and needs.

It should also be noted that there is a proportionally larger enrolment at Primary level due to the higher number of standard years. Of the total enrolment in schools currently 68% of students are enrolled at Primary Level (which includes all Special Schools) and 32% are enrolled at Post Primary level.

With regards to the area referred to by the Deputy, the NCSE advises that there are places available currently in ASD classes at post-primary level and in general, they are satisfied that there are sufficient ASD special class placements to meet existing demand at post primary level.

Details of all special classes for children with special educational needs, including those in County Donegal, are available on www.ncse.ie in county order.

The NCSE recently launched guidelines for Boards of Management and Principals of Primary and Post Primary schools which provide information on setting up and organising special classes.  These guidelines are available to download from www.ncse.ie.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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209. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of providing funding for Irish sign language interpretation for deaf parents of hearing children for parent-teacher meetings; and if he will consider providing funding for this purpose. [5442/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that responsibility for facilitating a school’s communication with a parent lies with the School’s Board of Management.  Schools' running costs are met by my Department's scheme of capitation grants which affords schools considerable flexibility in the use of these resources to cater for the needs of their pupils.  These grants are intended to contribute towards the general operating costs of schools including, where necessary, the use of interpreters when dealing with parents.

Sign Language Interpreting Service (SLIS) was established in 2007 through the Citizens Information Board as a national Sign Language Interpreting Service.  SLIS provides a range of services which includes a referral service to assist clients to find the right interpreter for their needs and the Irish Remote Interpreting Service (IRIS).  IRIS is a simple user friendly service which provides a live video-link service to an Irish Sign Language interpreter, using a variety of programmes such as Skype, ooVoo or WebEx.  The IRIS interpreter is based in the SLIS offices whilst the clients can be located anywhere in Ireland.  I understand that some deaf parents of hearing children use IRIS, which is a free service, for meetings with schools. 

Also DeafHear and/or the Cork Deaf Association, charities which are part funded by the HSE, will also offer support and advice around the availability and cost of an interpreter for parent teacher meetings.

As some deaf parents who require Irish Sign Language interpretation for parent teacher meetings may receive such available supports, while other may be assisted by an ISL proficient teacher or other staff member within the school, the estimated cost of providing additional funding for Irish Sign Language interpretation is not known. However, provision for such additional expense is made through school capitation.

My Department provides for an extensive range of supports to assist pupils who are Deaf or hard of hearing.  In line with my Department's policy that children with special educational needs access appropriate education intervention in mainstream settings where possible, many Deaf or hard of hearing pupils are integrated into mainstream classes at primary and post-primary level with additional supports such as additional resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (S) support provided.  Other children who are Deaf or hard of hearing may attend special schools or classes, which have lower pupil teacher ratios.

Funding is provided by my Department for a weekly home tuition service whereby tutors visit the homes of Deaf and hard of hearing pre-school children and school-going pupils to provide training in Irish Sign Language (ISL) for these children, their siblings and parents.

The Visiting Teacher Service for Children and Young People with a Hearing Impairment is provided from the time of referral through to third level education. The Visiting Teacher service provides advice and support to ensure that the needs of children and young people with hearing impairment are met.  This service is available at pre-school, primary and post-primary levels.

Additional supports provided by my Department include funding to schools for assistive technology such as radio aids and Soundfield systems, special transport arrangements for pupils and enhanced levels of capitation in Special schools and Special Classes.

Funding is also made available through the Special Education Support Service (SESS) to enable individual teachers and whole school staff to undertake courses in ISL which are available throughout the country through a variety of providers. The SESS expanded its team with specialist expertise in deaf education in January 2013. 

My Department, through the Higher Education Authority (HEA), has also established and funds a Centre for Deaf Studies in Trinity College which provides courses for ISL/English interpreters, deaf tutors and in deaf studies.