Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 151: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a DEIS band 1 school (details supplied) in Dublin 24 is to lose up to eight staff members for the next school year; the reasons this school is to lose up to five special needs assistant posts; the reason two teaching posts to support Traveller children are to be lost at a time when the school is successfully accommodating almost 40 Traveller children; the alleviation measures the school can avail of to limit its loss of staffing; the steps he will take to have this school's needs investigated urgently with a view to preserving staff numbers at a time of growth in enrolment and acute need in the local community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6632/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government clearly states that education will be a priority for this Government and that we will endeavour to protect and enhance the educational experience of children, young people and students. To that end, we will endeavour to protect front-line services in education.

However, I do not intend to revisit the decision of the previous Government to withdraw resource teacher for traveller posts. The Deputy will understand that Ireland is effectively now in economic receivership because of the disastrous legacy of the last Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government. The requirements to make expenditure savings and to ensure that staffing numbers remain within the Public Service Employment Control Framework prevent me from re-visiting this decision.

The decision to withdraw resource teacher for traveller posts is broadly in keeping with the recommendation in the Report and Recommendations for a Traveller Education Strategy that an integrated, collaborative and in-class learning support system should be adopted for all children, including Travellers, with an identified educational need. The strategy aims to enhance access, attendance, participation and engagement for Travellers and is underpinned by the principles of inclusion and mainstreaming with an emphasis on equality and diversity. Traveller pupils who are eligible for learning support teaching will, from the next school year, receive this tuition through the existing learning support provision in schools. All schools should select students for learning support on the basis of priority of need.

I do recognise that withdrawing all RTT posts will place a strain on existing learning support services in schools. In recognition of this, limited alleviation measures are being provided to assist schools that have high concentrations of Traveller pupils and who were previously supported by Resource Teachers for Travellers.

In respect of DEIS (Developing Equality of Opportunity in Schools) Band 1 schools, Traveller enrolments have been included in the valid enrolment for the purpose of allocating additional staffing under DEIS from the 2011/12 school year. The schools involved have already received their staffing allocations for next year.

With regard to allocation of SNA support, the Deputy will be aware that 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 educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

It is important to understand in relation to the SNA allocation process that SNA allocations are not permanent. The level of SNA support allocated to a school is increased or decreased as pupils who qualify for SNA support enrol or leave a school. They are also decreased where a child's care needs may have diminished over time.

The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the SNA allocation process for the 2011/2012 school year. A key feature of the amended scheme will be to provide for an annual allocation of SNA support to eligible schools. The NCSE will consider applications for additional SNA support in the context of this process for the 2011/12 school year.

Schools will be engaging with the NCSE in this regard ahead of the next school year and the NCSE will review the SNA staffing requirements for schools, taking into account all of the students who will be attending school from September next and any new students that the school are intending to enrol. As such, the overall SNA allocation for the school referred to by the Deputy will be reviewed for the coming school year in this context.