Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Question 533: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will assure parents that there will be no reduction in the number of special needs assistants employed in schools and on the hours allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40675/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers, for allocating resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special needs. Applications for SNAs may be considered by the NCSE where a pupil has a significant medical need for such assistance, a significant impairment of physical or sensory function or where their behaviour is such that they are a danger to themselves or to other pupils.

For some pupils, as they mature, their care needs may diminish over time. Pupils may move to a different school or on to a post-primary school. In such circumstances, the NCSE will review and adjust the overall level of SNA support in the school concerned. This may mean that some pupils who had previously been supported by a full time SNA may have their needs met through the shared support of an SNA or perhaps they may have no need for SNA support.

The recent budgetary announcements do not affect the criteria used for the allocation of special needs teaching and care resources for children with special educational needs. The National Council for Special Education continues to operate within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.