Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I met the principal of the school to which Deputy O'Sullivan referred and also the principals and boards of management representing schools in west Limerick. I was happy to receive submissions from various groups to revise our thinking on the matter. I always believe in listening to people. I have received recommendations from organisations such as the National Council for Special Education and partners in education.

We said that children will receive a service according to their needs. The needs of children change each year. Just because a child needed a particular resource in senior infants does not necessarily mean he or she will need it in second class. I hope these children will not continue to need these resources and that their educational development will be such that they will be able to address their problems and issues. The aim is to ensure that children who need a service will receive it. The problem is trying to find an allocation that can cater for all the needs of small and rural schools in particular which share teachers. We want to address the problem of people having to drive from one end of a county to another.

An issue that came to light in some schools was the differential in the allocation between boys and girls. There should be a greater allocation for boys because all the international literature and all the national and international surveys indicate that there are greater needs and difficulties among boys than among girls. We must address that kind of evidence and information.

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