Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 543: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will make a decision in the near future on an application for increased cooperation hours for practical subjects for a special school (details supplied) in County Louth, where the students are getting less practical teaching hours than their counterparts in mainstream schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4033/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department allocates additional teaching hours to Vocational Education Committees to support the delivery of education programmes in a range of facilities including special schools under the heading Co-Operation Hours with Other Institutions. These allocations are made in response to specific applications which are submitted by the relevant VEC's in advance of the commencement of the school year to which they relate.

St Brigid's Special School is currently in receipt of 1,350 Co-Operation Hours. Co. Louth VEC has sought an increase of 418 hours in their allocation for the 2006/2007 school year.

My Department is currently arranging a review of allocations to VEC's under Co-Operation Hours with Other Institutions and the needs of St. Brigid's will be considered in the context of this review.