Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 8: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review the allocation of special needs assistants in DEIS schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9929/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that the special needs assistant, SNA, scheme provides additional supports for schools to enable them to support pupils with significant care needs. SNAs are allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts.

Schools may apply to the NCSE for an SNA post to support students with an assessed special educational need who also have a significant medical need or a significant physical or sensory impairment. Students with an assessed special educational need who present with significantly challenging behaviour may also qualify for some SNA support. I have no plans to review the allocation of special needs assistants in DEIS - developing equality of opportunity in schools - schools, as SNAs are allocated to such schools on the same basis as other schools, including special schools, that is, on the assessed individual needs of pupils in the context of the resources available to a school.

The programme for Government clearly states education will be a priority for the Government and that we will endeavour to protect and enhance the educational experience of children, young people and students. To that end, we will endeavour to protect front-line services in education. However, the fiscal position is extremely difficult. The country is effectively in receivership. It is necessary to ensure educational services are delivered within the resources available. I intend to prioritise and support special educational services. However, I cannot revisit the previous Government's decision to place a cap on the number of posts available under the SNA scheme. That number is 10,575 whole-time equivalent, WTE, posts. That is a significant number of posts and, unlike other areas of the public sector, vacancies are being filled up to this number. It also represents continual increases in the number of SNAs in recent years.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

It is considered that with equitable and careful management and distribution of these resources there should be sufficient posts to provide access to SNA support for all children who require such care support to attend school in accordance with departmental criteria.

The NCSE asked schools to submit all applications for SNA support to it by 18 March and intends to inform schools of their annual SNA allocations as soon as possible in advance of the coming school year. My Department and I will be glad to consider any suggestions from school management or parent representative organisations as to how the allocation of SNA resources can best be managed within the context of the overall limit on SNA numbers established. In that regard, I am committed to making whatever improvements are possible to the resource allocation system. We all must understand the legacy of economic mismanagement which the previous Government gave to this country.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister will accept that there are particular demands on DEIS schools in terms of where children come from. I accept what he said, that he has an envelope for education services. However, there are particular demands on SNA support services in DEIS schools. In many cases there is a senior and a junior school operating in tandem. When the EPSEN Act was passing through the House we talked about the provision of seamless support for those with special educational needs. I am concerned that where a junior and a senior school operate within an area the SNA supports will be retained by pupils when they move to the senior school. Would it be possible for the Minister to examine this possibility, bearing in mind the special needs of such children? What is happening in the community is being reflected in the schools and as such, there is a greater demand on teachers in DEIS schools. We should try to retain supports for pupils at first and second level. The Minister should, therefore, examine the possibility of ensuring SNA supports are maintained throughout the education process. I accept there might be difficulties in stand-alone schools, but it would be one way to address the problem. What is evident in the schools reflects what is happening in society. The demands are much greater in DEIS schools which cannot seek funding from parents. They do not have the extra supports into which other schools can tap. I urge the Minister to examine the issue and revert to me.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy is well aware that a DEIS school, in contrast to a regular primary or post-primary school, receives additional resources for the very reasons outlined, namely, the socio-economic background of the pupils, the lack of resources among parents that could otherwise be made available through a PTA in a middle-class or non-DEIS school.

The difference between what the Deputy proposes and what is available is that the SNAs are tailored to the needs of individual students, irrespective of whether they are in a DEIS school or not. It is the individual need of the student, for whatever reason and as assessed by the SENO and as signed off for by the NCSE, that makes for an assessment of that individual student as requiring an SNA. I understand the sentiment expressed by Deputy Crowe, but what he is effectively saying is that where there are existing SNAs in DEIS schools, they should be kept there, even if the individual with the specific need that brought them there may have moved on to post-primary school. We have capped the number of SNAs at 10,575. We are looking at how that will play out and the points made by the Deputy will be taken into consideration.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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We have a trapdoor in the case where an SNA is shared between two schools. If the SNA is not based in the school, the child in need cannot move on, based on the envelope available. That is one way of looking at it. My proposal is radical, but it could work to solve the difficulties faced by schools. We have seen that positive changes are taking place, with smaller classes and so on. However, we are now talking about pulling away the foundation, the structures and the supports for those children.