Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 101: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a special needs assessment carried out in one county is not acceptable in a school in another county; and the reason for change was moving residence. [40424/11]

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 primary and post primary schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

The NCSE has responsibility for deciding on the quantum of resource teaching and/or care supports to be allocated to individual schools to enable them to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs. Assessment reports carried out by relevant professionals are provided by schools to the SENOs as part of the application process for support.

There is no automatic system of transfer of resources from one school to another. In considering applications for supports for individual pupils, the SENO takes professional reports into account along with other relevant factors such as 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.

The NCSE has outlined the processes involved in the consideration of applications for special needs supports in its Circular 01/05 which is available on www.ncse.ie.