Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13368/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The general provisions regarding short-term occasional absences for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) sanctioned by the employer during the school year are contained in Circular 32/2010 issued by my Department in July 2010. There is currently no provision for the granting of paid leave to SNAs when representing Ireland at International Sporting Events. SNAs may be granted unpaid leave, subject to the approval of the Board of Management, with the cost of substitution met by my Department, in accordance with the provisions outlined in Circular 32/2010. The reality of the economic situation, the difficult circumstances in our public finances and the public expenditure corrections which must be made in the coming years present challenges across all areas of public expenditure and make any proposals to expand existing schemes extremely difficult.