Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under my Department’s Assistive Technology Scheme, funding is provided to primary and post-primary schools (including special schools) towards the cost of computers and specialist equipment which are required for educational purposes.

The Assistive Technology Scheme is provided to supplement the overall approach to providing funding to schools for digital technology and equipment to support children for education purposes. All equipment provided under this scheme supports children with more complex disabilities who require essential specialist equipment to access the school curriculum.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications for special educational needs supports. SENOs also make recommendations to the Department where assistive technology/specialised equipment is required.

To qualify for equipment under the Assistive Technology Scheme, a student must have been diagnosed with a physical or communicative disability and must also have a recommendation in a professional assessment that the equipment is essential to allow the student to access the curriculum.

SENOs will review the application, and the professional reports provided in support of same, to establish whether the criteria of the scheme have been met. They will then make a recommendation to the Department as to whether the assistive technology is required or not; and based on this recommendation, the Department will decide on the level of grant, if any, to be provided.

In relation to State Examinations, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) facilitates access to the certificate examinations by candidates who would have difficulty in accessing the examination or communicating what they know to an examiner because of a physical disability, including visual and hearing impairments, a medical or other condition, including sensory and mental health conditions, or a learning difficulty. The access scheme is referred to as the scheme of Reasonable Accommodations at the Certificate Examinations or RACE Scheme.

Within the RACE Scheme, the main assistive technology options available are the use of a word processor; use of a recording device; and the use of exam reading pens. To qualify for the use of assistive technology in the certificate examinations candidates must, in the first instance, be eligible for the accommodation as evidenced by the qualifying criteria.

The candidate must also be using the assistive technology for day-to-day schooling and in-house examinations. Schools do not have delegated authority to recommend any accommodations not listed among the range of available accommodations. Under the RACE scheme, the SEC will also consider applications for use of other forms of assistive technology (other than those named in the scheme) in the examinations as set out in the Instructions for Schools.