Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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375. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a post primary school requires a minimum number of leaving certificate applied pupils to secure funding from his Department or if the delivery of the programme is purely at the discretion of the school; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the leaving certificate applied programme is not being taught in County Leitrim for the 2016/2017 academic year; the reason students are being denied the course; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41353/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) programme is one of a number of options made available by my Department for Senior Cycle students which schools can choose from, based on the education needs and interests of their student.  Other options include Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Established and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme.  

The LCA is a two-year programme designed for those students who do not wish to proceed directly to higher education or for those whose needs, aptitudes and learning styles are not fully catered for by the other two Leaving Certificate programmes.

It is the responsibility and choice of each individual school to decide to put in place the LCA programme, including the admittance of a student to the programme, in their school. Schools that choose to organise the LCA programme are entitled to an additional fixed allocation of 0.5 of a teaching post, over the standard allocation. Some 287 post-primary schools are availing of this additional 0.5 of a post in the 2016/2017 school year. There is no minimum number of LCA pupils required for schools to secure the additional teaching allocation from my Department. 

The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) will shortly commence a review of Senior Cycle programmes and vocational pathways in senior cycle, with a view to recommending areas for development. This review will include the LCA where it is expected that issues regarding take-up of the programme by schools will be considered.