Vol. 468 No. 4
504 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education if she will urgently reconsider and review the needs of Down's Syndrome and other children in the east Clare area who have become integrated in local national schools but who clearly need a specialist teacher to allow them to further the integration process and to allow for the further potential of personal, social and academic needs of these children to be realised. [15588/96]
508 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Education if she will have arrangements made to approve a resource class for a school (details supplied) in County Cork. [15665/96]
509 Mr. J. Walsh asked the Minister for Education if she will approve a resource teacher to be shared amongst three schools (details supplied) in County Cork. [15666/96]
517 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Education the number of the 300 primary teachers available for redeployment due to falling pupil enrolments that will be appointed as resource teachers to rural schools. [15750/96]
518 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Education the number of the 300 primary teachers available for redeployment due to falling pupil enrolments that will be appointed to schools in County Clare. [15751/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 504, 508, 509, 517 and 518 together.
I am not in a position to make additional resource teacher posts available to the schools referred to by the Deputies or to any primary schools.
Since my appointment as Minister for Education, I have allocated an additional 241 remedial teachers and 29 resource teachers to the primary sector. A total of 1,188 remedial teachers and 36 resource teachers are now in place.
I consider that substantial improvements which I have already achieved in this area provide practical confirmation of my commitment to the needs of the children in question.
However, as Minister for Education I have to consider how best to deploy available resources across a wider range of special needs. I have to determine priorities and try to allocate resources to best effect.
During the period 1995-1996, in addition to allocating an extra 155 remedial teachers and 23 resource teachers, I adopted a particular focus on the needs of children attending special schools and classes. In addition to reducing the pupil teacher ratios in all such facilities, I provided a very substantial increase in the special capitation rates applicable in such cases.
In the current school year, I have adopted a particular focus on children who suffer from educational disadvantage and have sought to target resources into this area in an effort to break the cycle of disadvantage. As part of this approach, I recently launched a major new initiative aimed at bringing special targeted assistance to children in selected urban and rural areas who suffer serious educational disadvantage.
