Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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298. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a modular unit will be provided at a school (details supplied), given that it has been sanctioned for a third ASD class and will require this additional space in order to accommodate these students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21639/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department has recently received an application for the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question to facilitate the opening of a Special Class.

My officials are currently liaising with the school authorities regarding accommodation required at the school.

The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or a new special class has been sanctioned by the NCSE, and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.