Ms Mary McGrath:

Certainly. I thank the Deputy. There has been no change to the role of SNAs. I am unclear what communication the Deputy is referring to. There have been some changes over the past couple of years in how SNAs are allocated to mainstream settings. Since 2020, SNAs have rolled over each year in a mainstream setting and schools can apply to the NCSE for additional mainstream SNAs if they are required to support the needs of the children within that school. Schools can do that through an exceptional review process which opened earlier this month for the forthcoming academic year. NCSE has made a clear statement and, in collaboration with education partners, is prioritising developing schools that may not currently have an SNA resource within them to ensure there are no children within the school environment who may be prevented from attending school in September due to a lack of access to SNAs.