Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Those numbers are being protected. The issue is that the number of children presenting in schools for special educational needs resources is increasing. That is why the Minister for Education and Skills has asked the National Council for Special Education to examine the way in which this resource is allocated so that it is used to best effect. For 20 years nobody looked at the allocation. That is why he asked that it be looked at to ensure that the considerable amount of money being dedicated to special educational needs, and the considerable number of personnel in the education system dedicated to special educational needs, are going to where they are most needed and that they are used in the best possible way within the schools. I believe that is reasonable. It is reasonable that after 20 years, during which time this was not looked at, the Minister would get the National Council for Special Education to examine the way this resource is used within our schools and to develop a way in which the dedicated money and personnel for special educational needs, which is considerable, are used to the best advantage of the children who need them.

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