Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Can the Minister give any indication as to what the planned model for the allocation of resources will be this coming September? There are only two or three months left before schools start applying for resource hours for next September and time is running short in terms of providing clarity. It is important that the Minister provide some indication this morning as to whether it is her plan that the new model will be adopted this coming September. The importance of assessment is not only with regard to diagnosis; it also guides schools in terms of the supports a child may need and ensures, where a diagnosis is made, that resources are put in place. There is real concern that in the absence of that, schools will not get a fair allocation based on the number of students they have with particular needs. Can the Minister comment, as I asked her to in my previous question, on how, under the new model that is being piloted, schools with students with particular needs can be assured that they will get proportionate teaching resources to support those children?

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