Parliamentary Question addressed to the Minister for Health

To ask the Minister for Health if he will clarify the level of provision allocated by the Health Service Executive to cater for the on-going education, training and activation of children with special needs, who leave school in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter?

Reply

Training and activation for school leavers with disabilities may be addressed in a variety of ways. The HSE, through its Occupational Guidance Service, works with schools, service providers, service users and families to identify the needs of, and finalise plans for young people with disabilities who are approaching completion of their second level education. The needs of these individuals are managed through one or more of the following services:

– Health funded rehabilitative training
– Health funded day services
– FAS funded vocational training
– Approval to extend education placement for a specified period of time.

The plan for each individual is dependent on:
– Final decisions by service users where more than one service model may be considered.
– Approval, if requested, to extend current educational placements.
– Capacity of providers to make best use of available resources.

The level of provision allocated to Rehabilitative Training is 2,627 places at an annual cost of €14,393 per place. Other health funded day services are provided from the range of general day services provision for adults with disability and provision is dependent on the availability and location of suitable places coupled with the needs of the individual school-leaver.

Meeting the needs of all school leavers with disabilities will be challenging in the absence of significant funding for new developments. However both the voluntary sector and the HSE are committed to the best use of available resources in a creative and flexible manner to be as responsive as possible to the needs that present.