Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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225. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the deadline for applications for resource hours; if a special educational needs organiser has been in contact with the child development team for the diagnosis for a child (details supplied) in County Cavan in view of the fact that the deadline for application for resource hours is pending; the action that can be taken to ensure the diagnosis report is with the relevant Department in time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39169/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.

All schools were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15 March, 2013.

The NCSE has published details of all of their allocations for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/2014 school year. These details are now available on the NCSE website, www.ncse.ie, and detail the allocations made for each school on a per county basis.

In order to meet any late demand for resource teaching support which may have arisen between 15 March, 2013 and the start of the school year, the NCSE requested all schools to submit outstanding applications for resource teaching support to the NCSE by 20 September, 2013. Applications for resource teaching support received to this point will be considered by the NCSE.

All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

As the Deputies question relates to a specific case and with regard to the local interactions which have taken place between a SENO and the relevant local child development team, I have referred the Deputy's question to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply to the Deputy.