Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason resource hour applications for children with special educational needs that were received after 5 October 2012 will not be sanctioned until the 2013/2014 school year; the way schools are expected to provide for the needs of these children from within their existing resources; if such a delay is now to be viewed as the norm; the rationale behind same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14961/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports, including Resource Teaching support for children with more complex special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such supports.

In order to ensure that my Departments Employment Control Framework obligations can be maintained while also ensuring that all schools are treated equally, an annual allocation process is in place for the allocation of NCSE resource teaching allocations.

The NCSE allocated the majority of its Resource Teaching supports to schools for the 2012/13 school year, prior to the beginning of the school year.

The NCSE subsequently provided a second round of Resource Teaching allocations to qualifying schools in November 2012. Details of all of the resource teaching allocations which have been made by the NCSE are available on their website at www.ncse.ie.

The NCSE has now asked all schools to forward applications for Resource teaching Support for the 2013/14 school year to the NCSE by 15th March, 2013.

In the interim, schools, other than schools which have no resource teaching allocations, have been asked to provide for qualifying children from within their existing allocations and schools will be advised of their revised allocations in advance of the new school year.