Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021
352. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Education the number of SNAs currently employed by her Department; the number of whole-time equivalent posts available; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34987/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 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 http://ncse.ie/statistics.
My Department acts as paymaster to over 3,700 schools whose Boards of Managementare the direct employers of the SNAs in those schools. SNAs in the Education and Training Board sector are employed and paid by the ETBs.
