Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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458. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure that a school (details supplied) in County Cork does not have its resource hours reduced any further; if she will increase its allocation of resource hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6998/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that last week I announced that I am not proposing to change the way teachers are allocated to schools for children with Special Educational Needs for the coming school year.

Resource Teachers' hours will continue to be allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), in accordance with my Departments existing criteria for the coming school year.

The extent of resource allocations which will be made to individual schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy, will be dependent on the number of valid applications received by the NCSE from schools in respect of pupils with special educational needs attending such schools.

It should be noted, however, that it is not intended to reduce the overall number of resource teachers which will be allocated to schools.

480 new resource teaching posts have been provided to support children with special educational needs in schools in 2015, bringing the total number of resource teaching posts to 6,705. Over 11,000 resource and learning support teaching posts are now available for allocation to schools.

This is the highest level of resource teaching allocations that we have ever had, and will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.

This Government has been resolutely committed to protecting, and where possible, increasing, the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a requirement to make expenditure reductions across a range of areas. It is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending.