Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Senator is being quite reasonable in his representation today. He has spoken to a cohort of people doing tremendous work and who are very much part of the school "infrastructure", for want of a better word. It may not be a good word but it signifies the value that students, teachers and principals place on the role of special needs assistants so integral as they are to the running of a school. They are very much part of the ecosystem. We are looking at reviewing the role of the SNAs and this will provide an opportunity to feed in the sentiments and observations made by the Senator today. Maybe this matter can be considered in that context.

I refer again to the contribution of SNAs. There will be an increase next year and upwards of almost 16,000 SNAs will be employed; we announced another 900 in the recent budget. This demonstrates the value of and demand for those SNAs. In 2011 there were approximately 455 special classes but that number has increased this year to almost 1,500.That is the position in terms of the demand. Obviously, it also reflects the growing choices parents have as to whether they want their children to go to a special school or to special classes within mainstream schools, be they ASD units or other forms of provision.

The most important point with regard to SNAs is the role they play. They provide one-to-one help and support but they also play an all-inclusive, all-school role. They play a fundamental role in education. I acknowledge the work they have done and continue to do and obviously they will have a future role in our education system. That is why we are going to carry out a comprehensive review of SNAs. I will keep the Senator and this House posted on developments.