Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 186: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm that special needs assistants and resource teaching hours will not be reduced and will be available to schools commensurate with the requirement for 2010/11; if the request submitted by a school (details supplied) in County Cork for special needs assistant and resource teaching hours will be granted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9044/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts. 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. For example, there were 10,543 whole-time equivalent SNA posts in place at the end of 2010 and 10,342 at the end of 2009. 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 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 Special Needs Assistant support to eligible schools. The NCSE 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.

In respect of the allocation of resource teaching hours, the Department of Education and Skills is required to ensure that the overall allocation of teaching posts does not exceed the targets set out in the Government's employment control framework. The Department had planned for a certain amount of increased growth in teacher numbers across the school sector in 2011, in line with increased demographic growth. In respect of resource teaching hours for children with special educational needs, allowance was made for growth in 2011 over and above normal demographic increase levels. In 2010, the total number of whole-time equivalent posts provided for resource hours teaching, including under the general allocation model, was approximately 9,600 whole-time equivalent posts. By comparison, approximately 9,950 whole-time equivalent posts are provided for 2011. There has therefore not been a reduction in the overall number of resource hours or posts being provided for in 2011.

The Department of Education and Skills asked the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to provide data on the numbers and rate of application for additional resource teaching hours to date this year so that this information can be considered in the context of the Department's employment control framework obligations. The NCSE has also been asked to pause sanctioning additional resource teaching support hours to allow for collection and consideration of this data by the Department, in conjunction with the NCSE. This is a temporary suspension of the allocation process in order to allow for consideration and analysis of this issue prior to any decisions being made. The NCSE has issued a circular to schools advising them that the final date for schools to submit any outstanding completed applications for resource teaching supports is 13 May 2011. On receipt of all outstanding applications, the Department and the NCSE will be in a position to consider resource allocation for the coming school year, in the context of the Department's employment control framework obligations. Schools will be notified of their allocations as soon as possible. In the interim, children who are eligible for resource or learning support teaching can receive this tuition through the existing learning support provision in schools, either though the general allocation model or existing learning support provision.