Debate resumed on amendment No. 1:To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:"notes:-- the absolute commitment of this Government, and the Minister for Education and Skills, to protecting Government spending on supporting children with special educational needs - an area which has been prioritised above all other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending; -- that this Government has maintained the €1.3 billion annual funding for additional teaching resources and special needs assistants, SNAs, to support children with special educational needs, at a time when there is a requirement to make expenditure savings across a range of areas; -- that provision for SNA support for the coming school year will remain at 10,575 posts, which is unchanged since the introduction of a cap on the number of SNA posts by Fianna Fáil in 2010; -- that all children who qualify for SNA support will receive access to such support and all children who qualify for resource teaching will receive support at current levels; -- that the demand for resource teaching hours has risen by an unprecedented 12 per cent over the last year, while student numbers have grown by only 1.3%; -- that our response to this demand cannot simply be to continue increasing spending in an unsustainable manner - an approach previously adopted by Fianna Fáil led governments; -- that it is has become apparent that significant inequity exists within the current system of resource teacher allocations, and that the model for allocating these resources is deeply flawed; -- that some children, particularly those in disadvantaged communities, are being further disadvantaged by the flaws in the current model; -- that the Government welcomes the publication of the recent policy advice provided by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools; -- that the Minister for Education and Skills has, as suggested by that advice, requested the NCSE to establish a working group to develop a proposal, for consideration, for a "tailored" allocation model, which would underpin a new allocation system for teaching supports for children with special educational needs based on the profiled educational needs of children in schools; -- that Mr. Eamon Stack, Chairman of the NCSE and former Chief Inspector in the Department of Education and Skills, has been appointed chairperson of that group, with a mandate to report to the Minister for Education and Skills, by the end of September, with preliminary views on how the allocation system may be reformed; -- that, pending the receipt of that report, the Minister for Education and Skills has decided that the 500 posts which have been held in reserve for late applications will be used immediately to ensure that individual allocations will be preserved at 2012/13 levels while the transition to a new model of allocating resources is underway; and -- that this Government is resolute in its determination to resolve the economic woes created by successive Fianna Fáil led Governments and will continue to invest in building fairness and quality into our education system."-(Minister for Educations and Skills)

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