Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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241. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of home tuition applications submitted in each of the years 2016 to 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47848/19]

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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242. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of home tuition applications for post-primary pupils approved or refused since 2016; the reason for refusal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47849/19]

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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243. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the minimum and maximum number of hours of home tuition that can be granted to a post-primary pupil; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47850/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 241 to 243, inclusive, together.

The purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide funding towards the provision of a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of specific reasons, are unable to attend school.

Home tuition is not an alternative to a school placement and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention.

The scheme provides a compensatory educational service for

- Children with special educational needs seeking an educational placement in a recognised school

- Students, enrolled in schools, with significant medical conditions which has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, major disruption to their attendance at school

- The scheme also provides Home Tuition for pre-school/early educational intervention for children with autism who meet the schemes eligibility criteria.

Each of the strands of the scheme prescribe the hours available for allocation. For children with Autism aged from 2.5 years to 3 years the number of tuition hours available is 10. From 3 years, for children with Autism for whom school placements are not available, the number of available tuition hours is 20 per week.

For children with special educational needs over 4 years for whom school placements are not available, the number of available tuition hours is 20 per week.

For children with medical conditions the hours granted are reflective of the time the child has been absent from school and these are listed in my Department's Home Tuition circular.

I have attached in the following link my Department's Circular 0043/2019, which sets out the number of hours applicable under each strand of the scheme.

Home Tuition statistics as requested by the Deputy, are not readily available. My officials are currently compiling this information and it will be forwarded to the Deputy in due course.