Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 April 2004
233 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding an application for resource teaching for a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10583/04]
View answerMy Department has received an application from the school to which the Deputy referred on behalf of the pupil in question for special educational resources. The school has the services of a full-time resource teacher and a shared learning support teacher. SER applications received between 15 February and 31 August 2003, including the one made by this school, are being considered. More than 5,000 such applications were received. Priority was given to cases involving children starting school last September and all these cases were responded to at or before the commencement of the current school year. A dedicated team comprising members of my Department's inspectorate and the national educational psychological service has reviewed the balance of more than 4,000 applications. These applications are being further considered in the context of the outcome of surveys of SER provision conducted over the past year or so.
Account is also being taken of the data submitted by schools as part of the recent nationwide census of SER provision. The processing of the applications is a complex and time-consuming operation. However, my Department is endeavouring to have this completed as quickly as possible and my officials will then respond to all applicant schools. Pending a response, schools are advised to refer to circular 24-03, issued in September 2003, which contains practical advice on how to achieve the most effective deployment of resources already allocated for special educational needs within the school.
