Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a good point. As I said in reply to Deputy Conway-Walsh, it is my view, not necessarily the Department's view, that since this is the first training programme in UCD, I do not see what barriers there would be to have that training programme for SNAs in other parts of the country in the future in different universities and higher and further education facilities. As the Deputy said, this provides for 3,500 and there are 19,000. However, some of them can avail of the UCD course, which is online. Anyone, wherever they are located, can access it online. Certainly if there was an appetite for a similar type of programme, now that the precedent and the model has been set, it is something that could be looked at.

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