Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if she will outline the results of her audit of the special needs assistants programme; the decisions made to date in respect of the service since the audit was completed; her views on the development of this service over the coming four years of budgetary consolidation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42229/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) has carried out a review of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations. The NCSE has published its report on the Review of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) Allocation to Schools April 2009 – March 2010 on its website www.ncse.ie.

The NCSE has since carried out a number of further reviews of SNA allocation of schools, bringing the total number of schools reviewed as at September 2010 to 3,056. Of this number, 2,363 were primary schools, 588 post-primary schools and 105 were special schools. To date, 9,829 SNA posts have been reviewed and 9,395 SNA posts remain in the schools concerned. 434 SNA posts have been withdrawn from schools - in these cases, either the students for whom the posts were originally allocated had left the school or the students' care needs had diminished over time.

Of 2,363 primary schools reviewed 1,261 schools had no change in their SNA level, 704 had a decrease in SNA level, and 398 schools had an increase in their SNA level. Of 588 primary schools reviewed 304 schools had no change in their SNA level, 158 had a decrease in SNA level, and 126 schools had an increase in their SNA level. Of 105 special schools reviewed 54 schools had no change in their SNA level, 29 had a decrease in SNA level, and 22 schools had an increase in their SNA level. The full updated report will be published by the NCSE shortly on its website www.ncse.ie. A small number of schools remain to be reviewed and the NCSE has indicated that these will be reviewed shortly.

There are currently in excess of 10,000 SNAs in schools compared with just 300 in 1997. I wish to emphasise that the criteria governing the allocation of SNA posts has not changed, and that SNA posts continue to be retained, and new posts sanctioned, where the care needs of pupils meet the criteria for the scheme. I can confirm for the Deputy that I am very supportive of the SNA scheme. It has been a key factor in both ensuring the successful integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream education and providing support to pupils enrolled in special schools and special classes.

However, the Deputy will appreciate that the preparation of the Budget is carried out on a strictly confidential basis and as a result it would not be appropriate for me to comment specifically on this matter in advance of the formal announcements involved. The Government has made it clear that difficult decisions will be necessary across the broad spectrum of public expenditure in order to secure the significant level of savings required. This will obviously impact on sectors of public expenditure, including the education sector. The Government will, however, seek to ensure that the necessary savings are achieved in a fair and equitable way.