Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of schools amalgamating and the Special Needs Assistants in these schools, if they have a right to continue employment in the new amalgamated school or the options and positions in relation to these situations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2644/16]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school.

Where children have significant care needs whereby they may need additional support to be able to attend school, the NCSE may make an allocation of SNA support to the school to assist those children.

The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The criteria by which SNA support is allocated to pupils is set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014. This criteria applies to newly amalgamated schools, as it would in schools prior to amalgamation.

It is important to note that each school's allocation of SNA support can change from year to year and may be increased or decreased as students who qualify for SNA support enrol or leave a school. New students with care needs may, or may not, enrol to replace students who have left, for example, or SNA allocations may be decreased where a child's care needs have diminished over time. The number of SNAs which will be allocated to schools, including amalgamated schools, will be determined by the NCSE following consideration of new applications and assessment of the schools capacity to meet the combined care needs of qualifying pupils.

Supplementary Assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are in place. The purpose of these arrangements is to facilitate eligible SNAs who are being made redundant by one employer in filling SNA vacancies that may become available in another school/ETB. The detailed supplementary assignment arrangements are set out in Departmental Circular 0044/2014 which issued on 12 May 2014 and which is available on the Department's website at the following address:

With effect from 1 May 2013 once an SNA with a minimum of one year's service (Service in a substitute capacity i.e. covering for maternity leave, sick leave, career breaks, job-sharing etc. does not count) is notified by his/her employer that s/he is to be made redundant then s/he shall be deemed to be a member of a supplementary assignment panel for SNAs.

With the exception of SNAs who have been re-employed on permanent contracts or have chosen to opt out of the panel in accordance with the terms of Paragraph 6 of the circular, all SNAs who have been made redundant since 1 May 2013 are members of the SNA Supplementary Assignment Panel.

It should be noted that this does not prevent any person, including SNAs who are working in temporary or cover positions, or SNAs with less than one year's service, from applying for SNA vacancies but employers are obliged to give precedence to applicants who are members of the SNA Supplementary Assignment Panel.

When an employer has a vacancy to fill, they must undertake the recruitment process in accordance with the provisions outlined in paragraphs 12-18 of Circular 44/2014.

Finally, my Department has set up a dedicated e-mail address to deal with all queries in relation to the SNA Supplementary Assignment Panel and any queries in respect of the operation of the Panel can be directed to this dedicated e-mail address: snasupplementpanel@education.gov.ie