Vol. 508 No. 1
952 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science if a resource teacher or classroom assistant will be afforded to a person (details supplied) in Dublin 6W; the reason for the delay in arranging this teacher; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18337/99]
In 1992, the school in question was allocated a resource teacher to cater for the educational needs of pupils with special needs. That post was shared with three other schools. An application was recently received for additional support to cater for an increase in the number of pupils with special needs.
In December 1998, nine hours per week, one-to-one tuition was sanctioned for the pupil in question on a temporary basis, pending a review of existing resources within the school. Following this review, the resource post was reorganised by my Department. This reduced the level of support to five hours one-to-one tuition per week as the pupil is also on the caseload of the full-time resource teacher.
Following a request by the parent of the pupil in question my Department's inspectorate has been asked to re-examine this case. The inspectorate has also been requested to report on the need for child care support in the school. My Department is currently awaiting the report from the inspectorate.
