Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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793. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware that parents of children with special needs fear that they may be faced with reduced resource special needs assistant hours in the upcoming school year; the assurances she will provide to alleviate such fears; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20573/15]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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794. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason some families have been advised that their children with special needs will be subject to an assessment regarding special needs assistant hours; if there will be an imposed limit of resource hours further to such assessments in the upcoming school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20574/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 793 and 794 together.

I wish to advise the Deputy that there are now more Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and Resource teachers available for allocation than ever before.

As part of Budget 2015, I announced that an additional 365 SNA posts are being provided in 2015, as well as an additional 480 Resource Teachers, to take into account increased demand and demographic growth and to ensure that children can continue to have access to additional supports in school.

In total there is provision for 11,330 SNA posts and 6,705 resource teaching posts in 2015. This is the highest level of SNA and resource teaching provision that we have ever had. These increases, building on increases which have already been provided in recent years, will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teaching and SNA support to schools to support children with special educational needs and additional care needs respectively.

All schools have been asked to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March, 2015. On 21st May, 2015, I announced that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will increase its allocation of Resource Teacher Posts to schools by over 9% for the start of the coming school year.

The NCSE will allocate 6,454 resource teacher posts to schools for September 2015, which is an increase of 554 posts -or 9.4% - since September 2014. Even in the constrained economic circumstances we have faced in recent years, we have been able to continue to meet the needs of children with special educational needs attending our schools.

This year we have again increased the number of Resource Teachers which will be allocated to schools, keeping pace with both demographic growth and increased demand. The NCSE has now published details of the allocations which will be made to each individual school on the NCSE website ncse.ie. The NCSE will also have a second round allocation process to respond to late enrolments, or from diagnosed disabilities emerging after the closing date for the first allocation round, to the start of the new school year.

The NCSE will also consider all applications for SNA support which have been made by schools, following which allocations will be made to qualifying schools. Schools will be advised of their revised SNA allocations for the 2015/16 school year, prior to the end of the current 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.

The procedures for applying for SNA support and resource teaching hours have not changed in the current year. It remains the case that SNA support and Resource teaching hours are allocated on the basis of assessed needs of the qualifying children in line with my Departments policy.

Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that investment in education has been a priority for this Government and we have been resolutely committed to protecting, and in some instances increasing, the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a requirement to make expenditure reductions across a range of areas. It is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending.