Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The National Council for Special Education was established in December 2003 as an independent statutory body with responsibilities as set out in the National Council for Special Education (Establishment) Order 2003. The council has 12 members, all with a special interest in or knowledge of the area of education of children with disabilities. There have been 71 special educational needs organisers employed by the council since September 2004. They are deployed on a nationwide basis, with at least one special educational needs organiser deployed in each county.

Each special educational needs organiser is responsible for the primary and second level schools in their area and have made contact with each of their schools and informed them of their role. A recruitment process for a further nine special educational needs organisers has been commenced by the council to bring its total up to 80 persons nationwide. In addition to the organisers, there are 17 staff employed at the head offices of the council in Trim, County Meath.

With effect from 1 January 2005, the National Council for Special Education has taken over responsibility for processing resource applications for children with disabilities who have special educational needs. Under the new arrangements, the council, through the local special educational needs organiser, will process the relevant application for resources and inform the school of the outcome.

The establishment of the council will greatly enhance the provision of services for children with special educational needs, resulting in a timely response to schools which have made application for special educational needs supports. The local service delivery aspect of the council's operation, through the special educational needs organisers, will provide a focal point of contact for parents, guardians and schools and will result in a much improved service for all.

My Department is reviewing the proposed new system of teacher allocation to primary schools to cater for pupils with high incidence special educational needs. In carrying out the review, my Department is consulting representative interests. A letter was recently issued to the council inviting it to submit its views on the general allocation model.

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