Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:389 Ms F. Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Education the criteria for the appointment of remedial teachers and resource teachers.
Written Answers. - Appointment of Remedial Teachers.
Paul Connaughton
Ceist:440 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education the criteria used by her Department to provide remedial teachers in primary schools; and if her attention has been drawn to the anger and frustration felt by many schools who were deemed ineligible for this vital service recently.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 389 and 440 together.
The approval of remedial and resource teacher posts in a particular year is governed by the teaching resources available in that year. Where such posts are available, they are allocated on the basis of priority of need, following the collection of data from schools by my Department's Primary Inspectorate.
Remedial posts are allocated to cater for the remedial needs of pupils attending ordinary national schools. Resource teachers are allocated as a special support for handicapped pupils attending primary classes.
In the current year, I have announced the appointment of an additional 86 remedial teachers, bringing the total number now in place to 1,032. As a result of this development, a remedial service is now available to 77 per cent of primary pupils nationwide.
I will be keeping the question of further need in this area under review as part of a broader commitment to appoint a substantial number of additional teachers in the coming years. The needs of all schools, including those whose applications were unsuccessful on this occasion, will be considered in this context.