Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 223: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide details of the number of teachers, including principals, currently suspended on full pay across the primary and secondary school system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41416/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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There are approximately 50,000 teachers employed in primary, voluntary, secondary, community and comprehensive schools who are paid on my Department's payroll. This figure does not include teachers in the vocational education sector. Where issues such as child protection arise, a teacher may be placed on administrative leave whilst the matter is being investigated. Currently 22 teachers on my Department's payroll are on administrative leave.

Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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Question 224: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will secure a decision that is currently pending for the appointment of a special needs assistant for four primary school students (details supplied) with learning and emotional difficulties. [41425/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts.

The NCSE has now advised all mainstream schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, of their SNA allocation for the current school year, taking into account the care needs of qualifying pupils attending the school. The NCSE recently published statistical information on SNA allocations on a county by county and school by school basis on its website www.ncse.ie.

I have arranged for Deputy's question regarding an individual application for SNA support to be forwarded to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 225: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for a reader and scribe on behalf of a student (details supplied) in County Cork. [41431/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The State Examinations Commission has statutory responsibility for operational matters relating to the certificate examinations including organising the holding of examinations and determining procedures in places where examinations are conducted including the supervision of examinations.

In view of the above I have forwarded your query to the State Examinations Commission for direct reply to you.

Questions Nos. 226 and 227 answered with Question No. 153.