Since the Government decision in October 1998 that all children with special needs in the primary system should receive an automatic response to their needs, there has been significant expansion in provision for children with special needs in integrated settings in ordinary national schools. The significance of this expansion can be gauged from the increase in the number of resource teachers which, between 1998 and now, rose from about 100 to more than 2,300. Similarly, in the case of special needs assistants, numbers have risen from about 300 to almost 5,000. In recent years and in line with these developments, the Department has also increased provision for in-career training in the area of special needs.