Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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243. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the provisions that are being made to provide a special needs assistant for a child (details supplied) in Dublin 11 who is due to start primary school in September; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7511/14]

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. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.

SNAs are allocated to schools to enable them to support pupils with disabilities who also have significant care needs. 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.

Schools who wish to make applications for SNA support for new pupils enrolling to schools for the coming 2014/15 school year, should submit such applications for to the NCSE for their consideration. The NCSE will advise all schools of their SNA allocations for the 2014/15 school year, in advance of the new school year.

All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.