Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Why is the funding not mentioned in the budget? Too many children in the State need a report with recommendations to get accommodation in exams, and teachers need the reports to plan. I welcome the idea of the resource teaching model, and we will see how it will work, but the fact it will be nine months before it comes into effect is not good enough. Children are waiting. As it is, it is dire, and the fact they must wait another nine months for a service which may not work, and I have my doubts, is not good enough.

The new resource allocation model should not be used to paper over the cracks caused by the chronic lack of investment in our education system. Educational assessments and other services provided by NEPS will still be critical to provide proper supports for vulnerable children and children with special needs. The programme for Government states a clear commitment to increase funding for the NEPS service, but it is not mentioned in the budget. I do not buy this and I do not accept it as an excuse. Sinn Féin proposed an investment of €3.5 million in our budget. Will the Minister commit to providing additional resources to NEPS, particularly for assessments? I know about this as a teacher, and many teachers have told me they do not buy into the airy fairy notion of other resources being put in place which may not work.

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