I understand that the Deputy is referring to the visiting teacher service which was expanded in 1992 to cover additional categories of special needs children attending ordinary primary schools. Under this expansion arrangement, an additional eight visiting teachers were allocated to the service, bringing the total number of teachers in the service to 38.
Two of these additional teachers were allocated to the Dublin area, one to the north side of the city and one to the south side. Both of these teachers were charged with adopting a particular focus on the needs of Down's syndrome children attending school on an integrated basis in their areas.
I understand that the teacher appointed to the south side of the city supports 13 special needs children and that the contact time for each child is between one and two hours per week. Corresponding details relating to the teacher on the north side of the city are not readily available. However, I will arrange to forward this information to the Deputy as soon as possible. It will of course be appreciated that contact times can vary depending on the case-load of individual teachers and the evolving needs of particular children. Teachers in the visiting teacher service are employed by my Department on a permanent basis.