Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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231. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated additional cost of funding each education and training board to employ a support person with disability training to support students with disabilities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36987/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides each of the sixteen Education and Training Board (ETB) with a staffing allocation to support its schools, colleges, head office and other centres of education. In providing these supports, it is the responsibility of each ETB to recruit and manage staffing levels within this allocation and to deploy staff in roles in accordance with the priorities and needs as identified by the ETB concerned.

I understand from clarifications received from your office that the support person role referred to in your question is that similar to the role provided by the Career Guidance Teacher. This being the case, I would like to advise the Deputy that each ETB school would have access to the services of a Career Guidance Teacher, whose role is to support and guide students, including students with disabilities.

The annual cost of funding each Career Guidance Teacher post would be in the region of €68,000.