Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 522: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason special needs assistants are not provided for children with dyslexia; her views on whether children with dyslexia are being penalised by not having the services of special needs assistants in primary school, when intervention could make a real difference; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18485/06]

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 523: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide funding for special needs assistants for children in rural schools who are dyslexic. [18486/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 522 and 523 together.

Special needs assistants (SNAs) are sanctioned specifically to a special school or a mainstream national school to assist school authorities in making suitable provision for a pupil or pupils with special care needs arising from a disability. Such needs could range from needing an assistant for a short period each week, for example, to help feed or change the pupils or bring them to the toilet to requiring a fulltime assistant where their behaviour is such that they are a danger to themselves or to other pupils.

A pupil with dyslexia alone would not typically have a special care need. If, however, a pupil with dyslexia who also has care needs arising from a disability is enrolled in a school, the school authority may apply to the special educational needs organiser, an official of the National Council for Special Education assigned to the school, for the services of an SNA to assist in catering for the pupil's care needs. Such an application must be based on:

∙A recommendation from the professional who assessed the child and who diagnosed the child's special care needs;

∙Evidence that describes the child's special care needs, the reasons why the support of an SNA is necessary and the benefits he/she would derive from such care support in a school setting;

∙The signed certification of the professional who diagnosed the child's special care need.