Mr. Jim Mulkerrins:

In respect of where 900 teachers will come from, we are not aware of a shortfall in willing candidates to take up these position. In fact, we have substantially increased teacher numbers on the special needs side over recent years. There has not been a difficulty in terms of recruitment. Many of these teachers will be newly trained teachers and they may not necessarily be the teachers who end up in this particular role. Schools will be encouraged to ensure that the roles are filled by people with the most experience. Indeed, the NCSE has included the recommendation in its autism policy advice. As we talk to schools we will further encourage them to ensure that the teachers who are assigned to work with children with special educational needs have the highest levels of training. We recognise that under the current model there has been a deficit in this area. We will try to remedy the situation in the context of the new model.