Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As I was going to ask about school transport, I am glad the Minister covered that one. I welcome that he is working with the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, on potential changes. Change to the nearer school criterion might alleviate some of the stress for parents, students and those in Bus Éireann who deal with the queries. That is a welcome step.

I hope progress will be made because it is a big issue, one we continue to come across.

I wish to ask about special needs assistants. We can see that they have been increasing in number. The number provided is an estimated 15,950. Does this figure come from the National Council for Special Education? I am not querying it, but we still come across an awful lot of cases in which children, for whatever reason, may have to switch schools during school term, for example, at this time of year. It could perhaps be down to there being some blockage in the system or a lack of common sense when it comes to dealing with these issues. The children are told that if they switch school, they will not be able to have a special needs assistant until September. Does the Minister have any information on this matter? There are also cases in which the provision of a special needs assistant is recommended in the various reports people receive from psychologists, but the SENO overrules that recommendation. Sometimes I wonder about the power SENOs have in making these decisions. A number of professionals in the medical world might say a child would benefit from having access to a special needs assistant, but then the SENOs will say "No". They never seem to have to give any detailed reason to a parent for the refusal, which can be quite difficult. In our area there are two SENOs; therefore, there is not much wiggle room to speak to anyone else about the issue, but it still comes up. Even though we have heard - it is a welcome development - special needs assistants are increasing in number, it seems there are still issues in certain areas. Can this matter be raised with the National Council for Special Education? It might not even have to do with the number of special needs assistants available; it could have to do with a breakdown in the system. I wanted to take the opportunity to ask about this issue. That is my main question.