13.—(1) The Minister and the Minister for Health and Children shall each, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, provide such moneys and other resources as are determined by him or her for the purposes of the preparation and implementation of education plans prepared in respect of children with special educational needs.

(2) Each of the following—

(a) a determination by the Minister or the Minister for Health and Children in respect of the matters referred to in subsection (1), and

(b) an exercise by the Minister for Finance of the power of consent under that subsection,

shall be in accordance with the policies from time to time formulated by the Minister, the Minister for Health and Children or the Minister for Finance, as the case may be, in relation to the performance of each of his or her functions as a Minister of the Government.

(3) In formulating any such policy, the Minister of the Government concerned shall have regard to, and take due account of, the following principles—

(a) that the provision of resources by the State in fulfilment of its duties under Article 42 of the Constitution (being the resources available to the State and allocated by it in a manner consistent with common good) shall be such as to ensure the equitable treatment of every child in the State,

(b) that the objective of the educational provision made by this Act is to ensure that children with special educational needs have the same right to avail of, and benefit from, appropriate education as do their peers who do not have such needs.