Vol. 460 No. 3
336 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Education if approval has been granted for the application from St. Philip's senior national school, Mountview, Clonsilla, Dublin 15, for the provision of a resource counsellor, a second remedial teacher and a child care assistant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19379/96]
I am not in a position at present to make a teacher counsellor post, a remedial teacher post or a child care assistant post available to the school mentioned by the Deputy. The pilot scheme of teacher-counsellors is intended to offer support to selected disadvantaged schools which are encountering particular difficulty in coping with disruptive and disturbed pupils. A total of 27 teacher-counsellor posts were allocated in 1995 under this initiative. The pilot scheme has been introduced in the Tallaght/Clondalkin and north inner city areas of Dublin. The scheme will be closely monitored by my Department's primary inspectorate. The question of further development of the scheme will be considered in the light of the review of the pilot phase of the initiative and having regard to resource availability.
Fifty-five remedial teacher posts were allocated to national schools on the basis of priority of need with effect from September 1995; 100 child care assistant posts were allocated to special schools and classes in 1995 also on the basis of priority of need. Unfortunately, it was not possible to allocate posts to all the national schools which applied and St. Philip's senior national school was unsuccessful on this occasion. I am keeping the question of further appointments in these areas under regular review as resources become available. I assure the Deputy that the needs of the school in question will be taken fully into account as part of this process.
