Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----so that if anything changes in the future, you would hope it would apply to students who have also recently completed the course. Does Ms O’Sullivan have any feedback? I am just curious about the course itself. My earlier questions were around rolling this out, perhaps across other colleges in the country. I am curious about the online elements of that. Would there be any sort of idea of a hybrid type course?

I thank Mr. Pike and Ms O’Mahony for their submission and opening statement. I would know many SNAs and I have family members who work as SNAs as well. I have always seen, and what I have heard anecdotally, that it is very much a team environment. From what I have heard, you would very much see that teachers are working with SNAs. To be honest, everybody wants to have a classroom where children are working to their potential and are being looked after, especially if they have significant care needs. Would Mr. Pike or Ms O’Mahony have any guidance in terms of SNAs working within particular schools? Do SNAs engage with the school board or in staff meetings? Are there representatives of SNAs on these groups as well? It is just that this cohort has now grown larger. As we heard from the Minister of State, there has been an 80% increase and more than 25% of the Department of Education’s budget has been spent on children with special needs this year. Can Mr. Pike or Ms O'Mahony give an example of how they would see it working in a school?