Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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363. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills whether orientation and mobility services for the visually impaired and blind fall within the remit of her Department or the Department of Health; if orientation and mobility can be included as part of the expanded core curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29231/26]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Orientation and mobility services for the blind and visually impaired is the responsibility of Department of Children, Disability and Equality and is delivered through the Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) nationally.

My Department has partnered with the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind (IGDB) since 1999 to provide the Child Mobility Programme to blind and visually impaired children in primary and post primary schools in the Munster region. This programme is funded via a grant for the services of a Mobility Officer employed by the IGDB who provides mobility training to visually impaired children. The Mobility officer is a qualified rehabilitation worker/Mobility Instructor who has considerable experience in both Ireland and the United Kingdom and has been working on the Child Mobility Programme since its inception.

My Department recognises the importance of this training in supporting people with vision impairment. However, while there are currently no plans to expand the programme further, Department officials have been engaging with their counterparts in the Department of Children, Equality, and Disability, (DCDE) with a view to delivering an integrated model of services which will support students not only in education settings but in all settings i.e. home, local community etc.