Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 505: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the lack of special resource teachers in a school (details supplied) in County Donegal; the reason special resource teaching is being removed in June 2006 from a student who requires it; the action she proposes to take in this matter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13210/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, through the local special educational needs organiser, SENO, is responsible for processing applications from schools for special needs supports such as resource teaching hours and special needs assistant, SNA, support for children with low-incidence special educational needs such as specific speech and language disorder, on the basis of applications in respect of individual pupils. The teaching and SNA support allocated are intended to enable schools to meet the needs of pupils as outlined in psychological and other reports.

A general allocation system has been introduced under which all mainstream primary schools have been provided with learning support-resource teacher support, based on their enrolment figures, to cater for children with high-incidence special needs such as mild general learning disability and those with learning support needs.

I wish to advise the Deputy that there are two full-time learning support-resource teachers based in the school referred to by the Deputy. One of the posts is available to the school in question for 15 hours per week and the other post is available for nine hours. This level of support would be adequate to cater for a school of its size and for all pupils with low-incidence special educational needs enrolled there.

I am advised that the local SENO allocated transitional support in respect of a particular pupil who transferred from a special class last September until the end of the current year. I understand that the pupil had made sufficient progress in the special class to warrant only temporary resource teacher support in the mainstream class.