Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 May 2018
69. Deputy Kathleen Funchion asked the Minister for Education and Skills when SNAs and teaching staff on similar contracts will receive notification of their employment in schools for the 2018-19 school year. [22390/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, I was very pleased to announce last Friday that 800 additional Special Needs Assistants will be allocated for the beginning of the next school year, with a further 140 expected to be allocated by the end of the year.
I was extremely pleased to be able to make the announcement on Friday, in keeping with the commitment made last year to inform schools of the September 2018 allocation before the end of May. In making this announcement at this time I am providing certainty to schools, parents and of course SNAs in relation to the posts that will be in place for the coming school year.
By the end of this year, there will be a total of 15,000 Special Needs Assistants working in our schools, a 42% increase on 2011. The National Council for Special Education notified the schools of their SNA allocations on Friday last and the details of these allocations are now published and available on their website.
