Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 46: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when he will release funding to the National Council for Special Education for a grant of resource hours in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow who has changed primary schools and has applied for their resource hours to transfer with them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31792/11]

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.

Firstly, I wish to explain to the Deputy that there is no automatic system of transfer of resources from one school to another. In considering applications for teaching and SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources. 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 2011/12 school year an allocation of 90% of valid identified resource teaching allocations has been made by the NCSE to schools, 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.

The NCSE has recently published statistical information in relation to the allocation of SNA posts and resource teaching hours to Primary, Special and Post Primary Schools. The information is provided on a county by county and school by school basis on its website at www.ncse.ie. The school referred to by the Deputy has an allocation of 4.83 SNA posts and 41 Resource Teaching Hours. Schools have been asked to forward any outstanding applications, or additional outstanding materials to support incomplete applications, to the NCSE for consideration. The NCSE will notify schools of the outcome of outstanding applications shortly.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 47: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when he will release funding for and approve a grant of resource hours in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow, who has changed primary schools and has applied for their resource hours to transfer with them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31793/11]

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. Firstly, I wish to explain to the Deputy that there is no automatic system of transfer of resources from one school to another. In considering applications for teaching and SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources.

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 2011/12 school year an allocation of 90% of valid identified resource teaching allocations has been made by the NCSE to schools, 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.

The NCSE has recently published statistical information in relation to the allocation of SNA posts and resource teaching hours to Primary, Special and Post Primary Schools. The information is provided on a county by county and school by school basis on its website at www.ncse.ie. The school referred to by the Deputy has an allocation of 4.83 SNA posts and 41 Resource Teaching Hours.

Schools have been asked to forward any outstanding applications, or additional outstanding materials to support incomplete applications, to the NCSE for consideration. The NCSE will notify schools of the outcome of outstanding applications shortly.