Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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508. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special needs assistants allocated to schools in the Dublin 22 area; and the funding allocated for SNAs in the Dublin 22 area in 2018-2019 and 2019-2020, respectively. [36840/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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At the end of the 2018/19 school year there were approximately 15,030 SNA posts allocated to schools. I announced on 27 May that 792 additional SNA posts will be allocated to schools for the beginning of the 2019/20 school year, with almost 130 additional posts expected to be allocated by December 2019.

By the end of this year, there will be up to 15,950 SNAs working in our schools, an increase of over 51% since 2011.

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 NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is available on my Department's website atwww.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.

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.

The number of SNAs allocated to schools at the end of the school year 2018/19 was 15,030.  At the start of the current school year, 2019/20 there are approximately 15,800 SNAs posts allocated.  Expenditure on SNA pay for 2018 was in the region of €525 million and approximately €551 million for 2019.  SNA 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.

The information requested is not available in the format requested by the Deputy. However, the NCSE publish the SNA allocations for individual schools for each school year on their website,www.ncse.ie.