Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)

The Department has assured me that the existing level of SNAs in special schools will be maintained and that all schools that enrol children with significant care needs, as identified by professional reports, will have SNA support. The Government is committed to allocating over 10,500 SNAs over the coming academic year, which is an increase of over 7,500 since 2001.

I would like to speak about my experience in this regard. I am the chairperson of a board of management of a national school and I know all too well the excellent work SNAs have done and continue to do. My school will lose two SNAs this year, because the pupils to whom these SNAs were allocated are leaving the school. We must acknowledge reality and admit that in some schools SNAs have not always been doing the work they were allocated to do. Some were assigned to other duties, whether photocopying, assisting with tours and breaks etc. We must be honest about the situation and that is the reason there is a need to refocus and redeploy resources to the children who really need them. No Government Deputy wants to cap the number of SNAs, but we must be aware of the economic reality.

I do not doubt the genuine concerns of parents who came here today to protest or of the many parents around the country with concerns about special needs. However, that does not mean we should hype up or scaremonger on this issue. As mentioned, there are over 7,000 more special needs assistants now than there were eight years ago. A review was carried out and it found there was an over allocation of SNAs in some schools and that we needed to redeploy and refocus resources where necessary.

One issue that has not been mentioned is that the number of resource teachers, who also play an important role in schools in assisting those most in need, has increased by 350 on last year's number. The Government is committed to ensuring resources are put where they are most needed, particularly with regard to children in education. As a Government Deputy, I will continue to raise the issues on behalf of those children. The Opposition has said these people have no voice, but we were also elected to represent these people and I assure them they will have a voice in Government. They can be assured they have people of experience in place, like the previous speaker, myself and other colleagues. We will assist the most vulnerable and fight their cause within Government.

See this speech in context