Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I have two questions, which are along the lines of Deputy Jonathan O'Brien's point regarding funding models and what works best. Professor Buckley mentioned classroom assistants and attention in the classroom and, in this context, I have a background in education and am doing some work at present. I refer to the interaction of the classroom or special needs assistant with the child and the potential dependency in that regard. Professor Buckley should expand on this because I have dealt with situations in which a child has been allocated a special needs assistant, SNA, it has been a wonderful experience and the child has really benefited from it. However, I have experienced other situations in which the child actually has regressed and become more dependent and it has not been a success. Does Professor Buckley have a template on what is best practice in this regard? Second, Professor Buckley may be unable to answer this general question but perhaps someone else can. What is the status of the witnesses' interaction with the Minister on this broader question?