Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 214: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of support teachers and special needs assistants for children in September 2005; the number in September 2006; and the number of additional teachers for year ending 2006. [38410/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In the 2005/06 school year there were 562 Language Support Teachers allocated to primary schools and 263 wholetime equivalents allocated to post-primary schools. The corresponding figures for the 2006/07 school year are 802 posts and 359 wholetime equivalents respectively.

In addition, grant aid towards the cost of employing language support teachers was provided in the 2005/06 school year and in the current school year to 490 and 466 primary schools respectively that did not have a sufficient number of eligible pupils to qualify for the allocation of full posts.

Under "Towards 2016", the Ten Year Framework Social Partnership Agreement, enhanced support for the effective integration of international children at both primary and second level will be provided through the provision of an extra 550 language support teachers by 2009. Details as to the precise number of posts to be allocated at both levels in the current school have yet to be finalised.

With regard to Special Needs Assistants, in the 2005/06 school year there were 5,933 wholetime equivalents allocated to primary schools and 1,102 wholetime equivalents allocated to post-primary schools. The corresponding figures for the 2006/07 school year are 6,775 and 1,365 wholetime equivalents respectively.