I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department has sanctioned a full-time special needs assistant post to the school to help support the significant care needs of identified pupils, including the pupil in question. A letter to this effect issued to the school on 21 October 2004. My officials have also spoken with the school principal about the matter.
To appreciate the scale of improvement in the provision of resources to primary schools for special needs, it is worth reflecting on the fact that there are now more than 5,000 special needs assistants in the primary school system, up from a figure of 300 in 1998.
I accept, however, that there are individual cases where schools are awaiting decisions on applications for additional resources and I am taking measures to ensure the process is speeded up. This whole process will shortly undergo major transformation as the National Council for Special Education commences operation on the ground throughout the country.
The Deputy may be aware that my Department has established a team to review the level of special needs assistant support in mainstream schools generally. The team has commenced its task and is assessing the levels and deployment of such support to ensure the needs of children are being met in the context of new applications for resources for the school.