Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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274. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost in 2023 if an additional 900 special needs assistants were recruited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47238/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and reviews. My Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.

Budget 2022 provides funding for an additional 1,165 SNAs (in 2022) to provide support to children with special educational needs, which will bring the total number of SNAs to 19,169 at the end of December 2022. This will represent an increase of 81% since 2011 at which time 10,575 were provided.

The annual current cost at entry of an additional full time Special Needs Assistant is calculated at €30,001 including employer PRSI. The cost of 900 additional SNAs would then be estimated at approximately €27 million.

When a school has been allocated an SNA post, the Board of Management, as the employer, is responsible for filling the vacancy and the decision on whether to employ a full time SNA to fill a full time post or to employ an equivalent number of part time SNAs rests with the employer.

My Department acts as paymaster to over 3,700 schools whose Boards of Management are the direct employers of the SNAs in those schools. SNAs in the Education and Training Board sector are employed and paid by the ETBs.