Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 1531: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department has recently received correspondence from a special pre-school service (details supplied) seeking re-consideration of an earlier decision by her Department not to fund the service; if she will reconsider the possibility of providing funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1459/07]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 1675: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department has made a decision in relation to the funding of an ABA pre-school (details supplied) in County Dublin, following receipt of extra information from the applicant, as requested by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2292/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1531 and 1675 together.

I can confirm that my Department has received the correspondence referred to by the Deputy. The correspondence will be considered by my Department and a response will issue to the applicant in due course.

The Deputy will be aware of my commitment to ensuring that all children with special educational needs receive an education appropriate to their needs, preferably through the primary and post primary school network.

The current position is that my Department has sanctioned 16 pre-school classes for children with autism. In addition, 12 autism facilities, some of which are providing an applied behavioural analysis model of response to children with autism, are currently operating. These facilities can cater for children with autism of pre-school age.

The Deputy is aware that a specific function of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is to identify appropriate educational placements for all children with special educational needs. The NCSE, through the SENOs, will continue to develop and co-ordinate additional provision, where necessary.