Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 March 2004
244 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science the money allocated by his Department in 2003 and 2004 to directly fund services for persons with disabilities and the money allocated to enabling persons with disabilities to more easily access services of his Department. [8642/04]
View answerAny application for special educational needs, SEN, supports received in my Department will be considered in the context of the criteria outlined in the relevant Department circulars and the existing level of SEN resources already available in the school.
My Department's commitment to supporting children with special educational needs within the primary school system is reflected in the significant growth in investment in special needs provision in recent years. This is illustrated by the following details. The number of learning support teachers in the primary school system has increased from 1,302 in 1998 to 1,531 at present. The annual salary cost of these teachers is approximately €54 million. The number of resource teachers has increased from 104 in 1998 to more than 2,500 currently. The annual salary cost of these teachers is estimated at over €75 million. The number of special needs assistants within the primary system has grown from 300 in 1998 to 4,319 full-time and a further 1,353 part-time posts. The salary cost of this service in 2003 was €103.56 million and is estimated at €120 million for 2004. The allocation for part-time tuition services for children with special educational needs has been increased from €24.27 million in 2003 to €31.7 million in 2004. Funding towards special equipment within the primary school system has increased from €2.12 million in 2003 to €3 million in 2004.
The resources that have been and that continue to be allocated by my Department represent real and substantial improvements in special education services. They provide concrete evidence of the Government's commitment to build on the unprecedented development of special education services.
