Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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690.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that the SENO for Cork north Lee is not currently in post and that the post has not been filled temporarily.[35767/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Following the allocation of an additional €13 million for the expansion of services within the NCSE, the NCSE has examined the various roles and responsibilities within the organisation. This has culminated in a workforce & organisational plan underpinning the recruitment extra staff and guiding the transformational change in the NCSE structure, to provide more direct and responsive focus within the community.

At local level, the NCSE is increasing the number of support teams available to parents and schools, throughout the country, from a 10 team structure to a 20 team structure. All SENO grades are now assigned on a county basis and will undertake caseloads associated with that county only, and on a reduced caseload basis. This will allow for an integrated community based service which is conducive to the development of key relationships between NCSE staff, parents and schools in the provision of services to students.

For direct engagement positions, there are now 113 Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) in place, which is more than ever before, with a further 7 commencing in September, and an additional 4 being recruited, bringing the total to 124. To support these staff, there will be more administrative staff to allow SENOs concentrate on working directly with schools and families.

In Cork, there are 18 SENO assigned to the city and county, 16 of these are in place, with 1 commencing in September and 1 under recruitment. The additional administrative support and revise caseload allocations in addition to the extra SENOs will provide comprehensive cover for the city and county. Contact details for all SENOs, together with the area of Cork which they cover, are available on the NCSE website.