Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

Will the Minister agree that while the new system is administratively easy, it is unfair, as proved in a series of reports? These reports include the study carried out by the national educational psychological service in the Dundalk and Leitrim areas that showed the wide divergence of needs varying from a school that might not need resource teachers to one that might need over 50%. However, all schools will operate under a quota system. Will the Minister do a much more thorough review of rural and small schools? Disadvantaged schools will particularly suffer under the new system.

In a reply to a parliamentary question on 26 January 2005, the Minister stated that students would continue to receive the level of service appropriate to their needs. Will they continue to receive a service equivalent to a 11:1 pupil-teacher ratio in a special school, which is 2.5 hours individual resource teaching in a mainstream school? Is the Minister aware that over 1,000 schools will lose resources which, by way of psychological assessments of pupils, it has been proven they need, while other schools will gain?

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