Beverley Flynn
Ceist:405 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will appoint a part-time class room assistant to St. Bríd's special school, Castlebar, County Mayo. [7150/98]
Written Answers. - Teacher Appointments.
Beverley Flynn
Ceist:406 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will appoint a part-time class room assistant and a bus escort to St. Dympna's special school, Ballina, County Mayo. [7151/98]
Beverley Flynn
Ceist:408 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Science when funding will be provided to provide two temporary teacher aids for the special class at Glencastle national school, Belmullet, County Mayo. [7153/98]
Beverley Flynn
Ceist:409 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will appoint a part-time class room assistant to St. Anthony's special school, Castlebar, County Mayo. [7154/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 405, 406, 408 and 409 together.
My Department's capacity to allocate additional child care assistant posts in any year is dependent on resource availability and the level of competing demand across the special needs area. Where such posts do become available, they are allocated on the basis of priority of need. In recent years, available posts have generally been allocated to special schools and classes which cater for children with a severe or profound mental handicap.
I am at present reviewing provision across the special needs area to ensure that all available resources, including child care support, are deployed as effectively as possible. I assure the Deputy that the needs of the schools to which she refers will be considered in this context.
Since 1995, an annual allocation of £150,000 has been provided to fund a pilot scheme of grant-aid for escorts on certain school transport services. All applications for support under this scheme were carefully considered in my Department. It was decided that the pilot phase should focus on facilitating the appointment of escorts on services to special schools and special classes for children with physical disability, and providing assistance towards the cost of escorts for pupils attending the special schools for hearing-impaired and visually-impaired children who travel long distances by bus and train at weekends.
The question of escorts for children with special needs travelling to special schools and classes was one of the issues considered by the school transport review committee. The committee's report was received by my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, in September 1997. The report was published on 21 January 1998 and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dea, has invited views and submissions from interested parties.
Decisions on the future development of the school transport system, including the question of escorts on special services, will have full regard to submissions received in response to the recommendations of the school transport review committee.