Micheál Martin
Ceist:190 Mr. Martin asked the Minister for Education if she will provide resource staff at St. Mary's national school, Dunmanway, County Cork, to cater for 20 children with special needs in the Dunmanway area. [20048/96]
Written Answers. - Dunmanway (Cork) School.
The school to which the Deputy refers and another adjacent school submitted a joint application to my Department seeking the provision of a resource teacher post, a special class for mildly mentally handicapped children, and a special class for children with moderate mental handicap. In the current year, a total of ten resource teacher posts were available for allocation to primary schools dealing with children with disabilities on a fully integrated basis. The needs of all applicant schools, including the school mentioned by the Deputy, were considered in this context. Schools were selected for receipt of these posts on the basis of priority of need. Unfortunately, the school mentioned by the Deputy was not successful on this occasion. The needs of the school will again be considered when I am next in a position to allocate resource teacher posts. However, I should point out that my Department has recently sanctioned the establishment of a special class to cater for children with mild mental handicap from the Dunmanway area. My Department's inspectorate is also currently examining the educational needs of children from the area who suffer from moderate mental handicap.