Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 419: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when she will be in a position to put in place an appeal mechanism whereby parents who feel that a child with special needs has not received the level of support needed would have the allocation reviewed by an independent board or ombudsman; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29435/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Special Education Appeals Board (SEAB) was established under section 36 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to hear and determine appeals pursuant to a number of sections of the Act. Members of the inaugural appeals board have been appointed and are currently working on the development of processes and procedures which need to be in place before the relevant sections of the Act, which underpin the appellant process, are commenced. In the interim, the National Council for Special Education (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.