Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 January 2017
433. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide further information on his announcement regarding 115 extra special needs assistants; the schools these SNAs will be appointed to and the way they will be appointed; the number of SNA posts in County Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1633/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraAn additional 115 SNA posts, at an annual cost of €3.8 m, will be available to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to allocate to schools from January to June 2017, bringing the total number of SNA posts available for the 2016/17 school year to 13,015. This is the highest allocation of SNA posts that we have ever had.
This increase reflects the growing participation of children with Special Needs in education and will support their full participation and progression within the educational system, reflecting the Programme for Government commitment to ensure that all children with special needs can maximise their potential.
The NCSE, which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including SNA support.
The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014, which is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.
The additional SNA posts are added to the existing number available for allocation by the NCSE who consider the applications for SNA support received from schools nationwide. The NCSE then allocates SNA support to schools based on valid applications received.
The NCSE has published details of SNA allocations for all schools which are available to view on a per county basis, including Tipperary. Details can be accessed on the NCSE website at www.ncse.ie or by using the following link http://ncse.ie/statistics.
