Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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599. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria attached to the announcement earlier in 2015 that 600 new special needs assistants are to be put in place; if these will be full-time and permanent posts, for primary and secondary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36389/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in July last I announced that an additional 610 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts are being made available to the National Council for Special Education to allocate to schools to support children with special educational needs for the current school year.

From the beginning of September, there are 11,820 whole time equivalent SNA posts available in Primary, Post Primary and Special schools to support children with special educational needs with assessed care needs. This is the highest level of SNA allocation that we have ever had and builds on the increases of 365 additional SNA posts provided for in last year's budget announcement and the 390 additional SNA posts announced in December 2013. In total there has been an increase of 11.7% in SNA posts available for allocation to schools since this Government came to office.

These extra posts will ensure that the Government's policy of ensuring that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.

I wish to advise the Deputy also that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs.

The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support, which are set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.

Special Needs Assistant posts are allocated annually to schools to support pupils who have assessed care needs and who are attending the school and are therefore reviewed each year.

Once allocated, the deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

Details of SNA allocations to schools for 2015/16 are available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie.