Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy will be aware special education continues to be a key Government policy. There has been unprecedented investment in providing supports for pupils with special needs in recent years. There are now about 20,000 adults in our schools working solely with pupils with special needs. This figure includes more than 10,000 special needs assistants, SNAs, 8,600 resource and learning support teachers, more than 1,100 special school teachers and hundreds of other teachers in special classes. More than 23,000 teachers availed of training places provided by the Special Education Support Service, SESS, in 2009 which were designed to ensure a quality service that promotes inclusiveness, collaboration and equality of access to educational opportunities for students with special educational needs. More than €1 billion is being spent in supporting special educational provision this year.

As well as this significant increase in the numbers of additional teachers and special needs assistants providing appropriate education and care supports for children with special educational needs, much investment has taken place in the provision of transport, specialist school accommodation, home tuition, assistive technology and equipment.

My Department is very supportive of the SNA scheme, which has been a key factor in both ensuring the successful integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream education and providing support to pupils enrolled in special schools and special classes.

The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, is carrying out a review of SNA allocations in all schools with a view to ensuring that the criteria governing the allocation of such posts are properly met. This exercise may result in the identification of surplus posts which are in the system and do not meet the current criteria, in other words, posts that have been retained when a pupil's care needs have diminished or where the pupil has left. At the same time, the NCSE is allocating additional posts where the criteria are met.

While there is no question of SNA posts being removed from schools where they continue to meet the scheme's criteria, there is also no question of posts being left in schools where they are deemed to be surplus to pupils' care needs. At a time of constrained resources it is essential we ensure public resources, both staff and resources, are deployed as effectively as possible. Resources left in an area that are not in accordance with criteria mean public resources are not available for another deserving area.

I emphasise that children with special educational needs will continue to receive an education appropriate to their needs. The NCSE will continue to support schools, parents, children and teachers and resources will continue to be allocated to schools to meet children's needs in line with my Department's policy.

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