Vol. 467 No. 1
64 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Education if she will restore the part-time remedial teacher that was recently removed from a school with disadvantaged status (details supplied) in Waterford in view of the significant loss to pupils who had been receiving remedial help and the fact that a further 21 students are awaiting assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12578/96]
I have no plans at present to restore the part-time remedial teacher service to the school referred to by the Deputy. Remedial teacher posts are allocated on the basis of priority of need and are subject to ongoing review by my Department's inspectorate. Following such a review, it was decided to reorganise the service in question to meet the remedial needs of pupils attending another school in the area. However, I would remind the Deputy that the school to which he refers continues to have the services of a full-time remedial teacher.
I am not in a position at present to make additional remedial teacher posts available to primary schools. I will continue to review needs in this area and consider how best these needs can be addressed within available resources.
Since my appointment as Minister for Education, I have allocated an additional 241 remedial teachers to the primary sector. A total of 1,188 remedial teachers are now in place and the percentage of pupils who have access to a remedial service has increased from 77 per cent to 87 per cent. I consider that the substantial improvements which I have already achieved in this area provide practical confirmation of my commitment to the needs of the children in question.
