Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This Government has prioritised special education. The last three budgets have delivered more than 3,300 additional special needs assistants, SNAs, and more than 2,000 additional special education teachers. Today’s budget allows for 686 additional teachers to support those with special educational needs in special classes, special schools and mainstream settings. With an additional 1,194 SNAs, this will be the highest number of SNAs we have ever had in our country's education system, at over 20,300.

I am pleased to confirm funding for a reduction in the staffing schedule by one point for all primary schools, bringing it to its lowest in the history of the State and providing 370 additional teacher posts. This builds on the previous two budgets and reduces the pupil-teacher ratio for the third year in a row.

We know that buying schoolbooks can add further pressure to families at an expensive time of the year as children go back to school. Today, I am providing funding for free schoolbooks for all pupils in recognised primary schools within the free education system from September of next year. This measure will benefit well over 500,000 pupils across our country and is a reflection of the value we place on an education for all.

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