Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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150. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which adequate special needs places exist in mainstream education at primary and second level nationally; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14648/18]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which the number of SNAs in situ is adequate to meet the demand; his plans to augment the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14655/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 150 and 157 together.

Ensuring that children with special educational needs are supported and given the opportunity to reach their full potential is a key priority for this government.

My Department's policy aims to ensure that all children with Special Educational Needs can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.

Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.

All state-funded primary and post primary schools have been allocated additional resources to provide for children with special educational needs enrolled in school.

In 2018, almost €1.8 billion will be invested in Special Education. This represents an increase of almost 43% since 2011 and amounts to almost 20% of the Department’s overall Budget.

To this end my Department has allocated SNA support to over 12,000 extra pupils since 2011 and provided extra special educational needs teachers to meet the expansion in children in need of teaching support.

Since 2011, the increase in SNAs has been 3,545, including an additional 2,080 posts in the last two years bringing the current number to some 14,120.

The number of special educational needs teachers has increased by 3,660 since 2011, including 1,600 additional posts in the past two years bringing the current number to 13,400.

The number of special classes has risen by 712 since 2011, including 277 new classes in the past two years bringing the current number to over 1,300.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is a separate statutory agency, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

The NCSE is aware of emerging need from year to year, and where special provision is required it is planned and established to meet that need.

The NCSE continues to progress the planning process to ensure that all students with Special Educational Need can access special educational needs supports appropriate to their needs for the 2018/19 school year and beyond.

The NCSE are currently finalising a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme which aims to identify and recommend how, in the future, the additional care needs of students, over and above those needs that could be reasonably expected to be managed by teaching staff, should be met and to identify and recommend the most appropriate form of support options to provide better outcomes for students with Special Educational Needs who have additional care needs, having regard to the significant amount of State investment in this area.

Following the interim report on the SNA comprehensive review provided to the Minister in May 2017, the NCSE established an NCSE-led working group, comprising relevant stakeholders, to assist in developing a proposal for an improved model for providing care supports so as to provide better outcomes for students with special educational needs who have additional care needs, the report of which has been finalised.

The report of the cross Departmental Working Group established to develop proposals in relation to the need for nursing supports in schools for children with complex medical needs is being finalised currently.

The full report of the SNA Comprehensive Review, which will be informed by the Report from the Working Group to consider an alternative model of SNA allocation and the working group on Nursing Supports for students with complex medical needs is due to be submitted to the Minister in Spring 2018 and work is ongoing to meet this deadline.

My Department continues to work with the NCSE to ensure that there is appropriate planning and supoorts in place to ensure that all children who will require special educational needs supports can access such supports in schools within their communities.