Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the number of resource teaching hours held back by him for allocation during the new school year that have now been allocated; when he expects 100% of these resource hours to have been allocated to schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32861/11]

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.

I wish to advise the Deputy that approximately 9,950 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) learning support/resource teacher posts, including those provided under the General Allocation Model, are being provided in primary & post primary schools in the 2011/12 school year in order to provide additional teaching support to pupils with special educational needs. This represents an increase of approximately 350 whole time equivalent posts over last year's allocation. Of the 9,950 posts being provided for Learning Support/Resource Teaching, 9,430 WTE posts were sanctioned in schools (including 4450 posts provided for under the General Allocation Model or Learning Support Posts) in advance of the 2011/12 school year.

In relation to the allocation of individual Resource Teaching hours, the position is that for the 2011/12 school year an initial allocation of 90% of valid identified resource teaching allocations was made by the NCSE to schools. This allocation, in the first instance, provided schools with the majority of their allocation, yet preserved enough capacity to deal with late applications and ensure that my Department can remain within Employment Control Framework obligations. Schools had been requested to forward any outstanding applications, or additional outstanding materials to support incomplete applications to the NCSE for consideration before 16th September 2011. These applications have been considered and my Department has approved the allocation of further Resource Teaching supports in schools by the NCSE, as well as allowing for limited capacity for further allocations by the NCSE as and when valid applications arise throughout the remainder of the school year. The NCSE will be in contact with schools in the near future to inform them of their individual allocations.

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.