Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 May 2023
268. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education the number of SNAs currently employed by her Department; the number of sanctioned SNA posts; the average full-year cost of employing these SNAs; and the average cost of each SNA to her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24107/23]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that for the first time ever there will be 20,000 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) allocated to schools by the end of 2023.
This figure will include an additional 1,194 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) in schools by December 2023. These additional posts will help support the care needs of children in primary, post-primary and specialist school settings, with 335 posts in mainstream classes, 735 in special classes and the remaining 124 in special schools. It should be noted that SNA allocations are adjusted throughout the year based on requests to the NCSE from schools where there is a change in the care needs profile of the school so as to provide children with additional supports.
As of 12th May, 2023, the allocated number of SNA posts allocated to schools is 19,481. During this period, 19,871 individual SNAs were paid on my Department's payroll. The reason for the higher difference of SNAs being paid is largely due to the fact that some posts are filled in a job-sharing capacity.
The annual cost, based on the figures of SNAs allocated to schools as of 12th May, is €779m.
