Vol. 549 No. 3
432 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Science if it is necessary to submit a psychologist's report when making an application for a special needs assistant for a gifted child who has been assessed by Dublin City University. [6647/02]
Special needs assistants may be allocated to schools to assist in the care of pupils with disabilities in an educational context. The allocation is made on the basis of the professionally assessed needs of the child in question. Special needs assistants may be appointed to a special school or a mainstream national school to assist school authorities in making suitable provision for a pupil or pupils with special care needs arising from a disability. The allocation of special needs assistant support may be made on a full or part-time basis.
It is open to the family in question to discuss the psychologist's report with their school principal. Alternatively, if the Deputy would like to provide information regarding the pupil in question to my Department, my officials will be happy to advise if he or she qualifies for such support.
