Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 387: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason the resource teaching hours and special needs assistance support to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo was reduced; if this support will be restored to 22 hours a week; and the reason the parents were not notified of the proposed cut in their son's teaching support hours by her Department. [21410/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special needs. My officials have been in contact with the NCSE in relation to this case and I understand that 3.5 resource teaching hours were granted to the school for the pupil in question in February 2007. These hours remain in place. The NCSE has advised that the pupil did not meet the criteria for full time SNA support and this was reduced in September 2007. The SENO discussed the decision with the school at the time. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.