Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 484: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if consideration will be given to sanctioning a special needs assistant for a person (details supplied) in County Clare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30258/04]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that my Department has considered an application for a special needs assistant, SNA, for the pupil in question. The process included a visit to the school by my Department's inspectorate. The staffing level at the school consists of ten teaching posts and 16 SNAs and the current enrolment is 53. My Department's advice is that the school should deploy its existing SNA support in a flexible manner to meet the needs of all the pupils with special care needs in the school, including the pupil in question. My Department conveyed this advice to the school in a letter on 10 November 2004.