Hildegarde Naughton (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I also welcome the proposed new model for the allocation of resources. I understand the new model would be cost neutral as it would be based on current numbers and would not result in the creation of new posts. Is that the case?

On the rationale for not relying solely on the medical model, is it the case that some students who may not have a medical need will require assistance? If the waiting times for obtaining a medical assessment were significantly reduced, would that have an impact on the proposal? I am aware that concerns have been raised about social profiling, specifically on the possibility of making allocations on socio-economic grounds.

Would you have any suggestions as to how schools could go about that? I know Mr. Goff raised concerns about how that would be estimated and how it would be done. There are pupils with a medical diagnosis of a condition who may also have a high or above-average STen score and that often would have an impact on the number of resource teaching hours they may be allocated. Also, is there any research or data that indicates that this particular method would have more positive outcomes?