Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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181. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the lack of job security for special needs assistants; if he will consider establishing a SNA panel modelled on the supplementary panels for primary school teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20708/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible for allocating a quantum of 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. The number of SNAs employed in a school depends on the allocation given to the school by the NCSE, based on its assessment of the special educational needs of pupils in the school.

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 is an independent statutory body. In considering applications for SNA support for individual pupils, the NCSE take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources. SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource and allocations to all schools can change from year to year as children with care needs leave the school, as new children with care needs enrol in a school and as children develop more independent living skills and their care needs diminish over time.

In respect of job security, the supplementary assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) were established on foot of proposals brought forward by the Labour Relations Commission when the Haddington Road Agreement was being agreed. These supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs continue to operate under the Public Service Stability Agreement 2018 - 2020 , and both unions representing SNAs, namely SIPTU and FÓRSA, have signed up to that agreement. As set out in the LRC proposals, the supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs only apply to current SNAs who are notified that they are to be made redundant. Accordingly, 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.

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. The detailed supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs for the 2018/2019 school year are set out in Departmental Circular 0034/2018 which issued on 17 May 2017 and which is available on the Department's website at the following address:

The operation of this panel is described and outlined in Circular 0034/2018 and it is designed to be as flexible as possible which enables all eligible SNAs, who have the requisite Panel Form 1 completed by their former employer, to apply for any SNA position that is advertised by a school or an ETB with no sectoral, diocesan or geographical limitations imposed. Every eligible SNA will remain on the panel for two years with a view to getting further employment. If they are not successful over that period of time in obtaining a further SNA position then they will be eligible for a redundancy payment. Furthermore, an SNA may opt out of this supplementary assignment panel at any point in time triggering the processing of his/her redundancy payment in line with the terms set out in the SNA redundancy scheme (DES Circular 58/06) or any revision of same that is applicable at that time.

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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182. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if information regarding to the way in which special needs assistants' bank of 72 hours should be used and on which tasks could be circulated immediately to schools nationally; and if these hours can be brought into line with those of teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20709/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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All Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are required to be available for a number of days at the start and finish of each school term not exceeding 12 in total. Under the Croke Park Agreement it was agreed to introduce greater flexibility to the use of these 12 days. Accordingly, DES Circular 71/2011 was issued on 15 December 2011 which outlined that these 12 days now equate to 72 hours (pro-rata for part-time SNAs) to be used by schools as an additional bank of hours to be utilised and delivered outside of normal school opening hours and/or the normal school year.

The scope of this circular is for all SNAs employed in recognised Primary, Secondary, Community and Comprehensive Schools and by ETBs. It doesn’t make any distinctions between any SNAs (whether standard or cover posts), except to provide for part-time SNAs only doing pro-rata Croke Park hours (i.e. percentage of the total 72-hours commitment).

While my Department published the Circular 71/2011 concerning Croke Park Hours for SNAs (a link to which is provided below), it does not get involved in the local management of how schools (as the employers) arrange the delivery of the hours from their staff (including SNAs). However, point 9 of Appendix 1 of this circular does provide possible examples (not an exhaustive listing) of the type of work that maybe undertaken by SNA’s to meet their Croke Park hourly obligations.

Link to DES Circular 71/2011 is as follows:

Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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183. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if certain entitlements such as breastfeeding breaks, days off for children's college graduations, bereavement leave, assault and health and safety leave could be introduced for special needs assistants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20710/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are recruited specifically to assist in the care of pupils with disabilities who have additional and significant care needs in an educational context. They may be appointed to a special school or a mainstream school to assist school authorities in making suitable provision for a pupil or pupils with special care needs. The first priority is that the care needs of the pupils are met on an ongoing basis during the school year.

In accordance with the Education Act, the terms and conditions of employment of SNAs employed in approved posts funded by moneys provided by the Oireachtas are determined by the Minister for Education and Skills, with the concurrence of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Circular 17/2013issued by my Department, deals with the Maternity Protection entitlements, including provision for breastfeeding and Maternity Health and Safety Leave for SNAs employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools.

Circular 32/2010 caters for Brief Absences and Circular 62/2017deals with Leave of Absence following Assault for SNAs employed in Recognised Primary and Post Primary Schools.