Sorca Clarke
Question:324. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the SNA allocations for the school year 2024/2025. [8109/24]
View answerTuesday, 20 February 2024
Questions (324)
Written answers
I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and advise that the provision of education for children with special needs is a priority for Government and for me as Minister for Special Education and Inclusion. In 2023, my department spent over €2.6 billion on special education and further progress will be made this year as an additional €113 million will be dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs.
Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) provide schools with additional adult support staff to assist children with additional care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate attendance by those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.
My department has allocated 1194 additional SNA’s to schools in the past year and in Budget 2024 an additional 1216 SNA’s are being provided to support schools and will be allocated as follows: 806 to support students in new special classes, 150 to support students in new special school places and 260 to support students in mainstream classes.
The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations for the 2024/2025 school year are presently being development by my department and will be advised to schools as soon as possible and in line with previous year timelines.
Question No. 325 answered with Question No. 258.