David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 550: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the appeals mechanism in place in order to appeal certain decisions or recommendations made by special educational needs organisers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4085/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy may be aware that the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004 was enacted in July 2004. The Special Education Appeals Board (SEAB) was established under section 36 of the Act to hear and determine appeals pursuant to a number of sections of the Act. The SEAB will become operational as soon as the relevant sections of the Act have come into effect. The relevant sections of the Act could not come into effect without the NCSE having an opportunity to present an implementation report to me, which it did recently and I am currently considering its contents.

In the interim, the NCSE will undertake to review a decision taken by a special educational needs organiser (SENO) on foot of a request from a school or parents/guardians, when accompanied by relevant additional information, which may not have been to hand at the time of the decision. The NCSE has outlined this process in its Circular 01/05.