Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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337. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to increase the pay scale of special needs assistants and in particular for those fully qualified as Irish Sign Language interpreters and teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55472/21]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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338. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to ensure all children who happen to be profoundly deaf have access to fully qualified in-classroom Irish Sign Language teachers and interpreters; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55473/21]

Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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339. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to provide support and resources to special needs assistants who wish to become fully qualified Irish Sign Language interpreters and teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55474/21]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 337 to 339, inclusive, together.

Very significant levels of financial provision are made to ensure that all children with special educational needs, including children who are deaf/hard of hearing, can be provided with an education appropriate to their needs.

The State currently spends approximately €2 Billion - almost a quarter - of its annual educational and training budget on making additional provision for children with special educational needs.

This represents an increase of over 60% in total expenditure since 2011, at which point €1.247 Billion per annum was provided.

Included in this provision is an extensive range of supports to assist students who are deaf or hard of hearing.

In line with the Department's policy that children with special educational needs access appropriate education intervention in mainstream settings where possible, many deaf or hard of hearing pupils are integrated into mainstream classes at primary and post-primary level, while other children who are deaf or hard of hearing and have more complex needs may attend special schools or classes, which have lower pupil teacher ratios.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) published the Comprehensive Review of the SNA Scheme on 30th May 2018 and the Government has noted the contents of the report. The report recommends that Irish Sign Language (ISL) qualified assistants should be put in place to support profoundly deaf students whose primary language is ISL and that this should be aligned to the requirements of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017. This recommendation is under consideration at present.

In the interim these posts are filled, on a case by case basis, through the NCSE to allocate an additional SNA post with appropriate ISL qualifications.

The Department of Education has allocated a post to a small number of schools who have students enrolled with significant hearing impairments as confirmed by professional reports.

The purpose of these posts is to enable these students attend school and access the curriculum and these staff are employed on similar terms and conditions to SNAs. There are no plans to change this interim arrangement.

Generally, as set out in Circular 0030/2014, when a school is recruiting an SNA, the board of management should ensure that the SNA recruited is equipped with the skills necessary to support the particular needs of the pupils for whom SNA support have been appointed.

The terms and conditions including pay of SNAs is determined centrally as part of a national process and it not something that can be addressed outside of these arrangements.

Planning is underway for the development of the schemes required under the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 in consultation with the NCSE. Arising from this work, any necessary amendments to current level of supports for students whose primary means of communication is ISL will be made.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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340. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a school will be facilitated as the host of, and be a base for, a supply panel for substitute teachers for a number of schools in a location (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55510/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the COVID-19 supports provided to schools in 2020, additional funding of €41.2 million was allocated to provide primary schools with substitute staff.

This funding allowed for the expansion of the Substitute Teacher Supply Panel from a pilot scheme consisting of 6 base schools to 132 Substitute Teacher Supply Panels nationwide, with almost 380 newly appointed Supply Panel teachers employed, providing substitute cover to over 2,500 schools across the country.

The base schools were firstly identified in conjunction with the INTO and primary management bodies. The INTO and management bodies made contact with these schools with a view to being a base for that location.

In forming the Supply Panel clusters, my Department's GIS system identified the receiving schools based on distance from the base school. Teaching posts were allocated to each Supply Panel cluster based on the number of permanent teaching positions in the schools in the cluster and the distance to the base school.

My Department has further engaged with the education stakeholders on the issues raised about the current difficulty in accessing substitutes for teacher absences.

Among other measures, a review of the supply panels has taken place and approximately 100 additional teachers are being added to existing/new areas where significant challenges have been demonstrated in sourcing substitution. Posts have been allocated to the base schools to allow for the recruitment of additional staff immediately.

My Department will continue to keep this matter under review in collaboration with the education stakeholders.