Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department has a funding mechanism to pay for the education of a child in another EU country if an appropriate education is not available here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26128/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I would be most anxious that children with disabilities should have their educational needs addressed within the jurisdiction. Decisions to place children in facilities outside the State have only been taken in exceptional circumstances and have usually arisen because of the specialised educational or health care needs of the children involved. In this regard my Department provides funding in respect of the placement of a small number of children abroad. However, the majority of the cases relate to children on the autistic spectrum for whom placements abroad were arranged prior to the formal introduction of dedicated school-based services for children with autism at the end of 1998.

The Deputy is aware that the National Council for Special Education, NSCE, through its network of special educational needs organisers, SENOs, is responsible for the identification of appropriate educational settings for children with special needs. The SENOs are also responsible for liaising at local level with the health authorities to ensure that, in identifying appropriate educational settings for individual children, any care or health considerations are also taken into account.

I hope that in putting in place appropriate educational provision for a child with special needs, and where the care or health needs of the child are such that a residential placement is a necessity, it will be possible in all cases to ensure appropriate provision either exists or can be established in this country. However, if, for whatever reason, appropriate provision is not available in this country, then the issue of locating a suitable placement abroad will be considered.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 148: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to establish post-primary education facilities for children with autism; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26129/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department supports the education of individual students with autism in various second level schools throughout the country. Discussions are taking place with the management authorities of a small number of schools with a view to establishing second level provision for groups of children with autism who are now coming to a transition stage and are about to move from primary to second level. Organising such provision is a significant task of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE.

The NCSE was established as an independent statutory body with responsibilities as set out in the National Council for Special Education (Establishment) Order 2003. Since 1 January 2005, the NCSE through local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, is responsible for processing resource applications for children with special educational needs. Where a pupil with special educational needs enrols in a post-primary school, it is open to the school to apply to the local SENO for additional teaching support and-or special needs assistant support for the pupil.