November 26 2009

Parliamentary Questions

• Subsidies to assist accessible taxi licence holders in upgrading their vehicles
• Medical criteria required for automatic entitlement to domiciliary care allowance
• Funding released for Housing Adaptation Grant for 2010
• Inclusion policy of  Department of Education for children with cerebral palsy
• Supports for part-time students with a disability at third level
• Conductive education

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

• Subsidies to assist accessible taxi licence holders in upgrading their vehicles

Deputy David Stanton (FG): asked the Minister for Transport his plans for the provision of subsidies to assist accessible taxi licence holders in upgrading their vehicles to comply with new standards which will apply from 2010; if the figure of 6% is correct for the number of taxis in the taxi fleet which are accessible for people with disabilities; the action he will take in order that 100% of taxis in cities will be wheelchair accessible by 2012 as per the commitment in the Programme for Government in 2007;

Minister for Transport (Deputy Noel Dempsey): The regulation of the taxi industry, including measures to improve taxi services for people with disabilities, is, in accordance with the Taxi Regulation Act 2003, a matter for the Commission on Taxi Regulation. I understand from the Commission that the total number of wheelchair accessible cabs has increased from 840 in 2000 to 1,600 at the end of 2008 (or 6% of the total fleet). In the context of the package of reform measures for the taxi industry which it recently announced, the Commission, as part of the measures to improve taxi services for people with disabilities, submitted proposals to my Department to incentivise the upgrading of the wheelchair accessible fleet. These are currently under consideration.

• Medical criteria required for automatic entitlement to domiciliary care allowance

Deputy John Deasy (FG): asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the medical criteria required for automatic entitlement to domiciliary care allowance; if this includes autistic spectrum disorder; if not, her views on the fact that this diagnosis should be included;

Minister for Social and Family Affairs (Deputy Mary Hanafin): In order to qualify for Domiciliary Care Allowance a child must have a disability so severe that it requires the child needing care and attention and/or supervision substantially in excess of another child of the same age. This care and attention must be given by another person, effectively full-time so that the child can deal with the activities of daily living. The child must be likely to require this level of care and attention for at least 12 months. Eligibility for the allowance is not based primarily on the medical or psychological condition, but on the resulting lack of function of body or mind necessitating the degree of extra care and attention required. Applications — including those for autistic spectrum disorder — are assessed on an individual basis taking account of the evidence submitted. As such it is not possible to say if a child with autism or any other intellectual disability will qualify for a payment under the scheme.

• Funding released for Housing Adaptation Grant for 2010

Deputy Tom Hayes (FG): asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if funding has been released to local authorities to pay for disabled persons grants in 2010; the amount of funding; if this will be sufficient to cover the backlog of these approved cases.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Deputy Michael Finneran): Allocations totalling €79.562 million for 2009 were notified to localauthorities under the Housing Adaptation Grant Scheme for Older People and People with aDisability, the Mobility Aids Grant Scheme and the older Disabled Persons and EssentialRepairs Grant Schemes on 7 May 2009. Having regard to the continued priority which theGovernment attaches to these schemes and following an evaluation of the ongoing level ofdemand for grants, the level of expenditure to date and the capacity of local authorities toprocess and approve additional applications in the current year, I approved a supplementaryallocation of approximately €12.5 million to some 26 local authorities on 12 October, 2009.Next year’s allocations to local authorities will be determined in the context of, inter alia, theoverall level of demand under the suite of Grants for Older People and People with a Disabilityand estimates provision for these grants in 2010.

• Inclusion policy of  Department of Education for children with cerebral palsy

Deputy Ruairí Quinn (L): asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the efficacy of the inclusion policy operated by his Department for children with cerebral palsy and who have learning, physical and sensory needs;

Minister for Education and Science (Deputy Batt O’Keeffe): As the Deputy will be aware, the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 provides that a child (defined as a person who is not more than 18 years) with special educational needs shall be educated in an inclusive environment unless such an arrangement is inconsistent with the best interests of the child as determined by an assessment carried out under the EPSEN Act or with the effective provision of education for those children with whom the child is to be educated. The policy of my Department is to secure the maximum possible level of inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream primary and post-primary schools in their locality. In supporting and promoting an inclusive education policy, supports are provided to schools through the National Council for Special Education so that children with special educational needs may attend their local mainstream school where possible. These supports may be in the form of resource teaching, special needs assistants and technological support. In addition, my Department funds over 100 special schools, including a number which cater for children with a physical disability. It is the policy of my Department that these special schools draw on a range of teaching and other interventions. My Department has no plans to develop initiatives based exclusively on the principles of conductive education.

• Supports for part-time students with a disability at third level

Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science the supports that are available for part time students with a disability attending third level institutions;

Minister for Education and Science (Deputy Batt O’Keeffe): The Fund for Students with Disabilities, which provides supports to students with disabilities attending full-time courses at third level, currently operates in line with regulations concerning the Maintenance Grant. Therefore the provision of support does not extend to those attending part-time courses. The Higher Education Authority also provides institutions with recurrent funding to develop the necessary infrastructure and programmes of action which support wider access for people with a disability, mature students and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Tax relief is available on third level tuition fees in respect of approved part-time courses in approved colleges. Further information in this regard is available from the local Tax Offices. The National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2008-2013, acknowledging the issue of supports for part-time students with a disability, states that the Higher Education Authority will work with my Department “to ensure that learners with disabilities who return to or continue with education through the part-time course route have access to supports”.

• Conductive education

Deputy Ruairí Quinn (L): asked the Minister for Education and Science if he recognises conductive education as a form of education provision which the State is prepared to support; if he is satisfied that the physical developmental needs of children with cerebral palsy are being met within the State education system;

Minister for Education and Science (Deputy Batt O’Keeffe): As the Deputy will be aware, the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 provides that a child (defined as a person who is not more than 18 years) with special educational needs shall be educated in an inclusive environment unless such an arrangement is inconsistent with the best interests of the child as determined by an assessment carried out under the EPSEN Act or with the effective provision of education for those children with whom the child is to be educated. The policy of my Department is to secure the maximum possible level of inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream primary and post-primary schools in their locality. In supporting and promoting an inclusive education policy, supports are provided to schools through the National Council for Special Education so that children with special educational needs may attend their local mainstream school where possible. These supports may be in the form of resource teaching, special needs assistants and technological support. In addition, my Department funds over 100 special schools, including a number which cater for children with a physical disability. It is the policy of my Department that these special schools draw on a range of teaching and other interventions. My Department has no plans to develop initiatives based exclusively on the principles of conductive education.

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