Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 September 2014
1264. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the disproportionate reductions in special needs assistant posts in County Sligo; if she has any concern that these positions are being replaced by JobBridge internships; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33371/14]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The criteria by which SNA support is allocated to pupils is set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014. The NCSE have allocated over 10,900 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts in schools to support students with special needs for the 2014/2015 school year. This is more SNA posts than have ever previously been allocated, and has increased from 10,656 posts at the end of the last school year. The exact numbers of SNAs will become clear when enrolments of students in mainstream schools are finalised later this month. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised. It is important to note that each school's allocation of SNA support can change from year to year and may be increased or decreased as students who qualify for SNA support enrol or leave a school. New students with care needs may, or may not, enrol to replace students who have left, for example, or SNA allocations may be decreased where a child's care needs have diminished over time. There is always a significant churn of posts within the system. Details of schools and their SNA allocations, including in Co. Sligo, are available on the NCSE website at www.ncse.ie. JobBridge, the National Internship Scheme, operated by the Department of Social Protection provide work experience placements for interns for a six to nine month period. This scheme aims to assist in breaking the cycle where jobseekers are unable to get a job without experience, either as new entrants to the labour market or as unemployed workers wishing to learn new skills. Recognised schools and Education Training Boards (ETBs) may choose to participate in the scheme if they wish. My Department's circular 46/2011 states that an internship must not cause an existing member of staff to be displaced from the school or be used to fill a current vacancy in the school. In addition, the Department of Social Protection have stringent monitoring in place at local level and investigate any complaint or alleged breach of the scheme. Schools and ETBs, participating in the scheme, must submit an online monthly compliance check to verify that the terms of the internship are being met.
