Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of the review is to assess the extent to which the needs are being met. The reply I gave outlined the provision in place and, to be fair, there has been a significant increase in resource teaching, special needs assistants and the number of special classes. The number of pupils served has considerably increased, so far more children with special needs are being supported in our schools. Clearly, this is an area where the need is always growing and there are undetected needs that we are only identifying. This is an area in which we can never say we have met all of the needs. The establishment of the national council has helped to develop policy and improve the capacity of schools to support children, particularly in the mainstream. I hope the evolution of a new model for allocating support to schools will see a step forward. It is being piloted in 47 schools and if this proves a success I hope the lessons learned can be moved to other schools to enhance the service.

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