Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will clarify the role of the special needs assistant; and his plans to broaden the scope of the role to further facilitate the needs of children with special educational needs. [25458/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that my Department has published a Value for Money (VFM) and Policy Analysis Review of the Special Needs Assistant scheme. This review is available on my Departments website: www.education.gov.ie.

The Review has shown that the SNA Scheme has been successful in supporting schools in meeting the needs of students with disabilities who also have significant care needs. However, the review also found that the allocation process is generally not well understood within schools and by parents nor is the purpose of the Scheme fully understood. The review recommended that the SNA scheme should be restated to ensure an efficient allocation of SNA resources and to clarify the 'care' nature of the SNA role for parents, schools and professionals. However, the review did not recommend expanding the role of the SNA.

The National Council for Special Education also recently published its report on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, which recommended that my Department should clarify the role of the SNA, as recommended in the recent VFM report. It is my intention that a new Circular be issued to schools in the near future which will provide clarification for schools and parents with regard to the role of the SNA.