Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 January 2014
47. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the way the National Council for Special Education and his Department arrived at the number of 32 hours as the benchmark for a full-time post for a special needs assistant. [4580/14]
View answer48. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a list of the number of schools where special needs assistants' hours equate to the full 32 hours that were stated in the report or recommendation. [4581/14]
View answer56. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Education and Skills which report or recommendation the National Council for Special Education used as the guideline for implementing the 32-hour system as a basis for calculating an hourly rate. [4717/14]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 47, 48 and 56 together.
The allocation of SNA resources is not a matter for this Department but is instead an independent function carried out by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), who are responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including resource teaching and SNA support as well as the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required. The number of SNAs employed in a school depends on the allocation given to the school by the NCSE, based on its assessment of the special educational needs of pupils in the school. If the Deputy requires further information regarding the methodology around the allocation of SNA resources to schools then her query should more appropriately be directed to the NCSE.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) does not have a role in setting the contractual hours of work of SNAs. The contractual position in respect of SNAs is outlined in their contract of employment. Links to the SNA Contracts of Employment are as follows:
Department of Education and Skills Circular SNA 12/05 (Post-Primary) http://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Active-Circulars/sna12_05.pdf
Department of Education and Skills Circular SNA 15/05 (Primary) http://www.education.ie/en/Circulars-and-Forms/Popular-forms/SNA-15-05-Contract-Form.pdf
This contract of employment is augmented by all of the relevant Departmental Circulars governing Special Needs Assistants which detail the standardised terms and conditions of employment for SNAs. These Circulars are amended and new Circulars are issued by the Minister for Education and Skills from time to time. The position regarding the working hours of full-time SNAs is as outlined in the standard SNA contract of employment, which was agreed by this Department, the Trade Unions (IMPACT and SIPTU) representing SNAs and the Management Bodies in 2005. In that context, the standard SNA contract has been designed to be flexible to cater for the different spectrum of working hours across all the various schools including primary, post-primary and special schools. No set hours were agreed but instead full-time SNAs are expected to work for the normal school hours in the school that they are working in, and in addition to be available for a period of time before and after school in order to help with reception and dispersal of children and preparation and tidying up of classrooms etc. These times are set locally by the school management and will vary from school to school depending on the requirements of the school.
In addition, all SNAs were required to be available for a number of days at the start and finish of each school term not exceeding 12 in total. Under the Croke Park Agreement it was agreed to introduce greater flexibility to the use of these 12 days. These 12 days now equate to 72 hours (pro-rata for part-time SNAs) to be used by schools as an additional bank of hours to be utilised and delivered outside of normal school opening hours and/or the normal school year. SNAs who are employed in a part-time capacity are paid a pro-rata amount dependent upon their level of hours of employment. Part-time SNAs are paid on the agreed divisor rate for pay purposes for part-time SNAs which is 32 hours. I should point out that this divisor was agreed with both of the Trade Unions (IMPACT and SIPTU) that represent SNAs. Furthermore, the issue of appropriate working hours for all public servants was one of the key aspects of the set of proposals for a public service agreement which were put forward by the Labour Relations Commission and which now form the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2016 (the Haddington Road Agreement). The specific text of the Haddington Road Agreement relating to working hours for SNAs is as follows:
"SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANTS
Hours
Under the terms of the Public Service Agreement 2010-2014, discussions took place that led to agreement on changed attendance arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) that give schools the option of an additional two hours working time per week from each Special Needs Assistant. Under the terms of this Agreement on increased working hours in the Public Service, the available requirements in schools for additional hours for SNAs is quite limited. Given issues such as the duration of the school day and operation hours, and the specific availability of individual SNAs the details of the utilisation of any additional requirements should be the subject of further discussions.
These new attendance arrangements, allied to the provisions outlined in the above paragraph should be the subject of a review by the LRC in advance of the 2013/2014 school year, involving the Department of Education and Skills and IMPACT/SIPTU, in order to assess if the additional hours are being utilised in the most effective and appropriate manner and in order to achieve agreement on any changes deemed necessary in terms of the arrangement agreed for teachers. This will constitute the liability on Special Needs Assistants in respect of working hours for the purposes of this extension to the Public Service Agreement."
Finally, I note that you have requested a detailed breakdown of the working hours' patterns for all full-time SNAs in the country. This information is not available in the Department and it would be wholly impractical, and a waste of administrative time and resources, to seek such information given that there are over 4,000 schools in the country.
