David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 227: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if resource hours are to be allocated to a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24196/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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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.

Circular 37/2011 provides information to schools regarding the arrangements which are being put in place for the 2011/12 school year for the allocation of Resource Teaching hours for children with assessed special educational needs.

In relation to the allocation of individual Resource Teaching hours, the position is that for the coming 2011/12 school year, an allocation of 90% of valid identified resource teaching allocations has been made by the NCSE to schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy in Midleton, in the first instance, to provide schools with the majority of their allocation, while also preserving enough capacity to deal with late applications and ensure that the Department of Education and Skills can remain within Employment Control Framework obligations.

Schools have now been asked to forward as soon as possible any outstanding applications, or additional outstanding materials to support incomplete applications, to the NCSE for consideration, but in any event by no later than 16th September 2011.

Following the receipt of all such applications, consideration will be given as to whether there is potential to revise the 90% allocation previously given to schools, and also the extent to which new Resource Teaching allocations can be made, taking into account the number of valid new applications received and in the context of my Departments Employment Control Framework obligations.