Alan Farrell (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 157: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an appeal for the loss of an EAL teaching post for a school (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15389/12]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 186: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria the appeals board will apply when dealing with appeals for staffing in primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15605/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 157 and 186 together.

Under the proposed reforms for the coming school year the combined resources available for GAM (General Allocation Model) and language support will be used to create a single simplified allocation process to cover both the GAM and language support at primary level. Schools will have autonomy on how to deploy the resource between language support and learning support depending on their specific needs.

The new arrangements also provide for additional permanent teaching posts to be given to schools with high concentration of pupils that require language support. Further additional temporary EAL support will also be provided, as necessary, to schools that will have high concentrations of pupils that require language support in the 2012/13 school. These allocations will be made on the basis of appeals by any of these schools to the Staffing Appeals Board.

The staffing schedule, Circular 0007/2012 includes an appeals mechanism for schools to submit an appeal under certain criteria to an independent Appeal Board. Details of the criteria for appeal are contained in the circular which is available on the Department website.

The closing date for submission of appeals for the April meeting of the Staffing Appeal Board is 23 March, 2012. It is intended that the Appeal Board meeting will take place on Wednesday 18 April, 2012 which will be prior to the release of the main redeployment panel and allow for any impact of the Board's decision on redeployment panels to be effected. The Appeal Board operates independently of the Department and it's decision is final.