Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1032. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Education if there will be additional special needs assistants hired for the start date in September 2021 for schools in County Meath; if so, the number; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40534/21]
View answer1033. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Education if there will be additional special needs assistants hired for the start date in September 2021 for schools in County Westmeath; if so, the number; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40535/21]
View answer1034. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Education the number of additional special needs assistants to be recruited nationally for start in September 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40536/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1032, 1033 and 1034 together.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for the planning and cordination of education provision for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNA posts.
Budget 2021 provided for an additional 990 additional Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) posts for allocation to schools, bringing the total numbers to 18,000 by the end of December 2021. This allocation of SNAs is to meet the care needs of pupils in 2021 and will enable the establishment of new special classes, creation of new places in special schools, support children in mainstream classes and the transition to the new allocation model for the 2021/22 school year.
The Budget 2021 increase to 18,000 SNAs posts represents an increase of increase of 70% in the number of SNAs provided since 2011 at which point 10,575 SNAs were available.
The NCSE has published statistical information regarding SNA allocations for all schools which can be accessed on the NCSE website at www.ncse.ie or by using the following link www.ncse.ie/statistics.
The employment and recruitment of SNAs is a matter for each school and the Department is not directly involved.
