Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I have said many times in this Chamber, I have a personal interest in the area of children with special needs and in special needs assistants. It is extremely important that these children and their assistants are treated fairly. It is also important that the policy put in place by my party, Fianna Fáil, in 1998 is made available to every child with extra needs without hesitation and that stakeholders are confident in the system.

I note that budget 2019 provides €4.75 million in funding that will be made available to commence the implementation of a comprehensive review of the special needs assistant scheme, which is intended to support a new school inclusion model to deliver the right supports at the right time to students with additional care needs. Of course, the devil is in the detail and I note that a more detailed announcement regarding the implementation of the review will be made in due course. The NCSE proposals whereby a greater range of supports would be offered via the special needs assistants makes absolute sense. They have a unique relationship with the child and it stands to reason that their intervention would benefit the child. From speaking with special needs assistants, I know they are willing to learn and are anxious to see their students progress.

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