Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Question 511: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the reason a child (details supplied) in County Meath has not been allocated a full-time shared special needs assistant despite the recommendations from physiotherapist, occupational therapist and child psychologist; the justification used for this decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23201/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, 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 to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

The Deputy will be aware that the responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational resources to be allocated to pupils with special educational needs resides with the NCSE through the SENO. I wish to assure the Deputy that consideration of professional reports is an integral part of determining the extent of supports to be provided for pupils with special educational needs. The NCSE has outlined the processes involved in the consideration of applications for special needs supports in its Circular 01/05 which is available on www.ncse.ie.

I have arranged for the details supplied to be forwarded to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.

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.