Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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93. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a decision will be made on the allocation of a special needs assistant, SNA, for a school (details supplied); when the subsequent appointment of the SNA will take place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30791/25]

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am looking for an update on the status of a request for SNA support for Gurteen National School in County Galway. Gurteen has applied, gone through the process, had its review and was hopeful that over the Easter break it would have been able to interview people. Can I please get an update on the status of that application for SNA support?

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for the question. The Government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential, and the programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has responsibility for co-ordinating and advising on education provision for children with special educational needs, including the allocation of special needs assistants. The NCSE contacted all schools on 6 June to advise them of any changes to the SNA allocations for the coming school year, 2025-26.

In regard to Gurteen National School, I am pleased to confirm that the NCSE has advised me it has allocated one additional SNA to the school for the next school year, 2025-26. I am very much aware of the central role that SNAs play in the successful inclusion of students with additional needs and significant care needs in schools.

Looking back over the past 20 years at SNAs and the work they do, we should always compliment them because they really have made our education system more inclusive. They help to ensure that these students can access an education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. The number of SNAs available for allocation has continued to increase annually, resulting in a significant increase in the number of SNA posts employed by schools. Budget 2025 provided for 1,600 SNAs, the largest number ever allocated, which brings to over 23,000 the number of SNAs in our schools. The NCSE manages the allocation of SNAs to schools and it is the responsibility of the NCSE to ensure that these resources are allocated to the children with the greatest level of need.

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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That is fantastic news for Gurteen. I thank the Minister of State and the Minister for their commitment to special education. It is vital and the needs have to be met. The most important thing is that every child have a fair chance in school and get the support he or she needs to thrive.

I attended the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO, briefing yesterday. Its proposal for special educational needs co-ordinators, SENCOs, in schools is a really worth considering. I have no further questions but I appreciate the update on Gurteen.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I take the point. I also met with the INTO yesterday in regard to its pre-budget submissions. It outlined the challenges in respect of SENCOs. The provision of special education has developed extraordinarily throughout the country over recent years. We have to pay tribute to school leadership and the school communities, be they teachers, SNAs or the other support people who make that possible. We have to look at how we are going to make it more inclusive and what better way we can structure the system to improve it. The Deputy's suggestion is certainly something that we will look at.