Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 136: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to appoint special needs assistants at a school (details supplied) for the coming year beginning September 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14223/11]

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 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts.

The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the allocation process for the 2011/2012 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. However, while this process is ongoing it is not possible to predict the numbers of Special Needs Assistants that will be allocated to any school, including the school referred to by the Deputy in Ballinteer.