Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria in order for a pupil to qualify for a special needs assistant in secondary school, who has an SNA in national school and will be starting in secondary school in September 2013 and will need an SNA; if there have been any changes to the criteria since 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15464/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including the allocation of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. SNAs are allocated to schools in order to provide for the care needs of children with special educational needs attending such schools. The policy of my Department in relation to the SNA scheme is set out in Circular 07/02, which also provides details regarding the role and duties of an SNA.

The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department. I wish to advise the Deputy that SNAs are not allocated to individual pupils. The NCSE allocates a quantum of SNA support for each school annually taking into account the care needs of all of the qualifying children enrolled in the school, and on the basis of the assessed care needs of the children. It is a matter for schools to then allocate and manage these resources to assist children as their needs arise.

It is expected that, for many pupils, as they mature and develop, their care needs will also correspondingly diminish. Therefore not all pupils who have had access to SNA support in primary school will continue to need support in post primary school. However, students who have continuing care needs in secondary school may qualify for access for SNA support. Any such applications for support will be considered by the NCSE. The NCSE has asked all schools to forward applications for SNA for the 2013/14 school year to the NCSE by 15th March, 2013 and schools will be advised of their new allocations in advance of the coming school year.