Written answers

Tuesday, 31 March 2015

Department of Education and Skills

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Photo of Charlie McConalogueCharlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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605. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the actions being taken to address concerns by special needs assistants over the reduction of their working hours and the fragmentation of special needs assistants posts; and her views on the approval of the ballot for industrial action by the assistants represented by the IMPACT trade union. [13390/15]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The number of SNAs employed in a school depends on the allocation given to the school by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), based on its assessment of the special educational needs of pupils in the school. This allocation can increase or decrease from year to year depending on a variety of factors. My Department has no control over the allocation process to schools and is not in a position to influence the allocation process in light of the fact that the NCSE has been established as an independent statutory body by order of the Minister for Education and Science in December 2003.

Where schools receive a reduced SNA allocation, this is usually because pupils for whom the school had previously received an allocation in the school have left, or have declining care needs. These reduced allocations are counterbalanced by new allocations in respect of new enrolments elsewhere. It is also important to point out that, as part of the Budget 2015 announcements, the Government advised that it was making an additional 145 SNA posts available for allocation to the end of 2014 and an additional 220 posts available for 2015. This will bring to 11,330 the total number of SNA posts available for the NCSE to allocate to schools to work with children who have assessed care needs requiring SNA support in primary, post primary, and special schools. This is the largest number of posts that has ever been available for allocation and will ensure that my Department's policy of ensuring that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.

In relation to the specific matter raised I have noted the Union decision to ballot SNAs for industrial action. I have asked IMPACT to contact officials in my Department with a view to exploring those issues which are now of concern to IMPACT, prior to the instigation of any industrial action by SNAs.

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