Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 83: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the allocation of an special needs assistant in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork. [20194/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy 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. This now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts.

The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the allocation process for the 2011/2012 school year. A key feature of the amended scheme will be to provide for an annual allocation of Special Needs Assistant support to eligible schools. The NCSE asked schools to submit all applications for SNA support to them by 18th March, 2011 and are currently in the process of informing schools of their annual SNA allocation for the coming school year.

The NCSE will advise schools early in the new school year of a review process to review allocation decisions to ensure that correct procedures were followed and that they comply with my Department's policy. The merits of individual allocation decisions will not be open to appeal under this mechanism. It will be expected that schools, before requesting a review, will be in a position to demonstrate that they have made every effort to manage their allocation of SNA posts to best effect.

Paul Connaughton (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 84: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a special needs assistant (details supplied) will be given preference for full-time work if such work becomes available. [20204/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Firstly, I wish to clarify for the Deputy that Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations are not permanent, as the level of SNA support allocated to a school may be 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. A Special Needs Assistant whose post is surplus to the approved allocation to the school may be entitled to a redundancy payment under the terms of circular 58/2006 - titled Redundancy Arrangements for Special Need Assistants. Support to SNAs who may have been made redundant is provided for within the terms of this scheme.

The recruitment and deployment of SNAs within schools are matters for the individual Principal/Board of Management. The Board is the SNA's employer and the terms of employment are subject to the conditions of the contract of employment. 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 SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support, which now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts.

The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the allocation process for SNA support 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 asked schools to submit all applications for SNA support to them by 18th March, 2011 and are currently in the process of informing schools of their annual SNA allocation for the coming school year.

Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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Question 85: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will restore the mild general learning disabilities class at a school (details supplied). [20206/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports. This includes the allocation of resource teaching hours to schools as well as the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required and the discontinuation of such classes where the need no longer exists. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such supports.

In respect of special classes, schools are required to observe Department policy in enrolling children to these classes. This includes having a professional assessment confirming that the child's attainment levels meet the Department's criteria and a recommendation for special class placement. Schools are eligible for resources for special classes when the pupils enrolled meet the Department's criteria and where there are enough eligible pupils to retain a class.

In respect of pupils with mild general learning disability enrolled in the class being suppressed due to reduced pupil numbers, these pupils will have access to additional teaching support through the teaching resources allocated to the school under the General Allocation Model (GAM). Schools in the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme with Band 1 status, including the school in question, receive beneficial GAM allocations in addition to enhanced pupil-teacher ratios. There may be instances where children who are enrolled in a MGLD class fall within the low incidence disability category. These children may qualify for individual resource teaching support through the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and it is open to schools to liaise with the local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) in this regard.