Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 509: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the special units constructed at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare will commence receiving pupils for the September 2007 term; the impediments that remain to be resolved prior to the school commencing the acceptance of pupils; the recent progress made on these outstanding issues; the number of children who are on home tuition payments and are also applicants for places in this special unit; the amount that has been paid in home tuition for these children since the school was completed in 2003; the number of teachers that will be assigned to these units; the number of additional support staff that will be employed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5162/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 572: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when the up-to-date report requested by her Department from the NCSE is expected to be received regarding a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; the expected timeframe involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5291/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 509 and 572 together.

I can assure the Deputies that I am most anxious that the autism unit at the school in question becomes operational without further delay. It is difficult, however, to progress matters without the full co-operation of the school authorities.

These classes are typically established with an initial staff of one teacher and two special needs assistants for every six pupils. Additional SNA support may be provided on the basis of the assessed needs of individual pupils. One of the issues delaying opening these classes is that the school is seeking a level of staffing in excess of that normally sanctioned.

I have requested that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) formally submit to my Department an up to date report on the situation concerning the school in question with recommendations on how to proceed. It is expected that this report will be received in my Department shortly.

The Deputy will be aware of my commitment to ensuring that all children, including those with autism receive an education appropriate to their needs, preferably through the primary and post primary school network. In this regard my Department has established:

181 special classes for children with autism, attached to special and mainstream schools, 17 of which are in the Kildare area.

5 special classes for children with Asperger's Syndrome.

16 pre-school classes to facilitate the demand for early intervention provision for children on the autistic spectrum.

14 Stand Alone facilities providing an Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) specific methodology on a pilot basis, 1 of these facilities is based in the Kildare area; 2 of these facilities have yet to be established.

As the Deputies are aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is now operational. A specific function of the NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organisers (SENOs), is to identify appropriate educational placement for all children with special educational needs. The SENO is a focal point of contact for parents and schools. It is open to the parent to contact the SENO directly regarding the child's needs. Alternatively, these details may be accessed on the NCSE website at www.ncse.ie.

With regard to the request for information in respect of the number of children who are awaiting placement in the unit, I can confirm that this is a matter for the schools authorities and my Department does not retain waiting lists of children to be enrolled. Consequently, the information sought regarding the number of children in receipt of home tuition on an interim basis while awaiting placement in the unit and the cost of same is not readily available in my Department.