Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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344. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 333 of 15 November 2022, if her attention has been drawn to requests to make deputy principals administrative in all special schools; if her Department will reconsider the requirement for more than 15 teachers to obtain an administrative deputy principal in order to facilitate the request; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58852/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.

For 2022, my Department will spend in excess of €2.3 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs.

For 2023, this spend will be substantially increased by over 10%, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.

This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.

This includes additional teaching and care supports. It also includes funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for an additional 54 psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes.

In 2022, funding for an additional 980 teachers and 1,165 special needs assistants was provided. For 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants in our schools next year.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 Special needs assistants. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

While the additional funding being made available to provide more special education teachers, SNAs, NCSE supports and NEPs supports in our schools is significant, it is accepted that there are a range of additional challenges facing our special schools. These schools support children and young people with the most complex special educational needs.

In terms of additional teaching support, special schools receive significant funding and have been resourced to reflect their particular needs. My Department does however recognise that there are additional challenges which arise for special schools including the importance attached to establishing and fostering positive links between the home, school and other agencies.

My Department is actively engaging with the representative body for boards of management in special schools (NABMSE – National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education) to address some of these additional challenges. In recent weeks, NABMSE has facilitated a series of meetings nationwide between my Department and special schools. This engagement involves considering how additional school management posts, such as a Deputy Administrative Principal, are allocated to special schools to help alleviate the administrative burden on school leaders.

Consideration is also being given to addressing the significant additional funding challenges that arise for special schools.

My Department is committed to continuing this engagement to address these issues facing special schools.