Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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406. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what engagement her Department has had with a school (details supplied) regarding behaviour analyst funding, given that the funding for this post has not been amended since 2005. [15145/23]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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407. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills is she will ensure that a school (details supplied) is provided with earlier confirmation of funding for its behaviour analyst for the upcoming school year as the current process of the school being informed in May, a matter of weeks before the end of the school year, is making it increasingly difficult to fill these positions and plan for the new school year. [15146/23]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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408. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will approve the request for the behaviour analyst post at a school (details supplied) to be made permanent. [15147/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 406, 407 and 408 together.

I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.

It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion providing supports to children and young people with special educational needs and to their schools.

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 funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers and special needs assistants.

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.

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.

The Deputy may be aware that my Department previously funded 13 centres through an ABA pilot scheme for the period 1999-2011. All of these centres applied for and were granted recognition as Special Schools for children with Autism and now form part of the network of special schools. A transitional agreement was put in place between the Department and Patrons of these schools to manage this process.

As part of the transitional agreement my Department continues to provide grant funding to these schools to engage behaviour practitioners. This arrangement has been extended for the 2022/23 school year and my Department will be contact with the school in relation to the coming school year 2023/24 very shortly.