Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 10: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on his decision to maintain the cap on special needs assistants implemented by the previous Government.; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9891/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Programme for Government clearly states that education will be a priority for this Government and that we will endeavour to protect and enhance the educational experience of children, young people and students. We will endeavour to protect frontline services in education. However, the fiscal position is extremely difficult.

It is necessary to ensure that educational services are delivered within the resources available. I intend to prioritise and support special educational services. However, I cannot re-visit the previous Government's decision to place a cap on the number of posts available under the special needs assistant scheme. This number is 10,575 whole time equivalent posts. This 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 over recent years. 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 National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is responsible, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants to schools to support children with special educational needs. 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.

The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the allocation process for the 2011-12 school year. A key feature of the amended scheme will be to provide for an annual allocation of SNA support to eligible schools. The NCSE has asked schools to submit all applications for SNA support to them by 18 March 2011 and intends to inform schools of their annual SNA allocation 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 this regard I am committed to making whatever improvements are possible to the resource allocation system.

We need to understand the legacy of economic mismanagement which the last Government gave to this country. We have in effect lost our economic sovereignty and every Member of this House continually needs to understand that.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I thank the Minister for the standard reply. The last Government's decision to cap the number of SNAs in schools was disgraceful. Even heretofore it was difficult to get their children assessed, to get them into schools and to get the SNAs that are needed. Now they are being told that because of economic constraints their children may not and will not have that support in the future. The Minister might put a cap on the number of SNAs but he cannot put a cap on the number of children being born every year who will have special educational needs in the future. I heard the Minister's speech to the INTO conference, which did not mention resource teachers or SNAs once.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Can we have a question please?

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister has choices like everybody else. The cost of employing the required 2,000 SNAs would be €60 million, of which €40 million would be saved on social welfare payments. Really it would cost €20 million to employ 2,000 more SNAs, which is a drop in the ocean. The Minister should consider that alternative.

The cost of subsidising private fee-paying schools teachers is €100 million.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy will not get an answer if she does not give the Minister a chance to reply.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Will the Minister not stop paying these teachers in private fee-paying schools and put that €100 million into employing resource teachers who are absolutely needed?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The framework of spending for this year has already been decided, and implicitly and explicitly confirmed by this House. There will be no changes for 2011. I will consider what to do in 2012 in the light of what resources are made available to me in the context of where the country is at the moment.

Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I cannot accept that. The Minister has a choice and can stop paying teachers in fee-paying schools thereby saving the State €100 million, which could be put into providing badly needed SNAs and resource teachers. The choice is between protecting people and keeping privileged schools going.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The programme for Government makes no such proposal. We are operating in very constrained circumstances and we will work within that framework and not outside it.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Does the Minister accept that the growth in SNA numbers has happened because children are now educated in mainstream schools as opposed to special schools?

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Does the Deputy have a question?

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Yes. The SENO system does not appear to provide cover for maternity leave and I am concerned that children are not being properly assessed. I asked the Minister about St. Raphael's and am still awaiting a reply.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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Sorry-----

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Is there any scope for covering maternity leave in order that there can be an adequate assessment?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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A number of parents of children with special needs are in the Gallery today. Can the Minister give them any hope? Some of their children have very severe special needs requirements. One child, Aisling McEniff's five year old son, is unique in the world. He has been in intensive care eight times and has had two heart operations. He has Down's syndrome and-----

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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The Deputy will not get a reply if he does not-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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He has been approved for a special education place but because there is no sanction for another SNA, her child cannot get into school. Can the Minister offer them any hope or is he telling them there is no hope because we have to pay off the IMF?

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Special schools such as the Holy Family school in Cootehill in my county or St. Raphael's in Celbridge, which has already been mentioned, cater for pupils with very complex and severe physical and intellectual disabilities. Are those schools exempt from the cap on their total SNA allocation?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The National Council for Special Education is the professional body which through its locally based SENOs assesses individuals referred to it and comes to a professional conclusion whether a particular child qualifies for support. It is not the function of the Department of Education and Skills in order to prevent it becoming open to manipulation and abuse as we have seen in the past with other schemes. The professional assessment is not made by politicians or by civil servants who have a generalist education and do not have the necessary expertise. The number of SNAs has increased by almost 1,000% since they were established.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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They are needed.

Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Ceann Comhairle)
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If the Deputies ask a question they get an answer.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The growth seemed to be exponential. The previous Government against the background of economic constraints, which still exists, decided to cap it at the level I mentioned and investigate ways in which some degree of internal prioritisation can be made. It would be easy for me to tell Deputy Boyd Barrett that I would review the specific individual application, but I will not discuss individual cases in the House as it would be wrong.