Vol. 494 No. 3
255 Mr. Higgins (Dublin West) asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans, if any, he has for the immediate appointment of a full time home-school liaison teacher for St. Bernadette's junior school, Quarryvale, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. [18127/98]
The school in question, in common with the majority of schools in the scheme, already has the services of a home school community laision co-ordinator on a shared basis. My capacity to allocate additional home-school community liaison co-ordinator posts in any given year is dependent on resource availability and the level of competing demand from other special needs areas. I have to determine priorities and allocate available resources to best effect.
I recently allocated an additional 26 home school community liaison co-ordinator posts with effect from September 1998. This brings the total number of posts currently in place to 133. The co-ordinators in question cater for 225 national schools. The needs of the school in question will be fully considered in the context of any future expansion of the home school community liaison scheme.
