Michael Ring
Question:213 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education whether extra hours during the forthcoming junior certificate examination will be available to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo who suffers from Spina Bifida. [12711/97]
Written Answers. - Special Education Needs.
An application for special examination arrangements was received by my Department on behalf of the candidate referred to by the Deputy. This application was made by the candidate's school and requested extra time for the junior certificate examination, which he is due to take this year.
Extra time is allowed only in the case of visually impaired candidates, those who need the help of a scribe and those who would be unable to make adequate use of mechanical aids for recording their answers.
Because the candidate was unable to make adequate use of mechanical aids, ten minutes extra time per scheduled hour of each question paper was approved.
This decision was notified to the school on 22 April 1997.
Mary Harney
Question:214 Miss Harney asked the Minister for Education if she will ensure a boy (details supplied) with special needs is able to remain at his local national school by allowing the school to retain its current quota of teachers; if this school will be allocated a resource teacher; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12738/97]
The staffing of a national school for a particular year is determined by the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous year.
The enrolment of the school referred to by the Deputy was 85 pupils on 30 September 1996. This enrolment warrants a staffing of a principal and two assistant teachers for the 1997-8 school year.
I am currently considering the possibility of making additional resource teacher posts available to primary schools for the forthcoming school year. I can assure the Deputy that the needs of the school in question will be taken into account as part of this process.