Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy referred to the squeezing of SNA posts, but that is certainly not what is occurring. As I mentioned, we have the highest number of SNA posts allocated in the history of the State and there are 309 posts yet to be allocated between now and the end of the December.

I will outline why the circular was issued. In June 2011 the Department initiated a value for money review of the SNA scheme. In May 2013 the National Council for Special Education published its policy advice on supporting children with special educational needs in schools. Both reports concluded that the SNA scheme had been very successful in supporting the care needs of children with special needs in schools and assisting in their integration and inclusion. Ultimately, that is the function and role of the SNA - to assist in meeting the care needs of the young person who may initially find it challenging to operate in a school environment, particularly at primary level. However, I argue that it is the ambition of every parent and teacher of every child with special needs that ultimately the child achieve full independence and succeed to the best of his or her capacity while moving through the education system. That is ultimately what we are trying to achieve; we are not trying to frighten people. The criteria for the allocation of SNAs have not changed. When a young person needs SNA support, it will be available up until the point where he or she can operate independently. Ultimately, that is the ambition of parents and teachers in general when it comes to caring for children with special needs.

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