Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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299. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of special needs assistants in 2020, 2021, 2022 and to date in 2023. [26205/23]

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. 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).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

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 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 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, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).

In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. Together we will 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 NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.

SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

When a school has been allocated an SNA, the Board of Management as the employer, is responsible for filling the vacancy. 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 Managementare the direct employers of SNAs. SNAs employed within the Education and Training Board (ETB) sector are paid by the respective ETB.

Therefore information in relation to the numbers of SNAs employed is not to hand, however, the NCSE publish statistics on SNA allocations for each school year, by county, in tabular form on their website. These details can be found at: www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations

The NCSE have confirmed the SNA posts allocated as follows;

My Department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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300. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of increasing the number of special needs assistants per full year by 5%, 15% and 30%. [26206/23]

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. 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).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

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 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 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, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).

In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. 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 NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.

SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

My Department acts as paymaster to over 3,700 schools whose Boards of Managementare the direct employers of SNAs. SNAs employed within the Education and Training Board (ETB) sector are paid by the respective ETB.

The NCSE have confirmed that as of 12 May 2023 19,481, SNA posts have been allocated to special classes, mainstream and special schools. This number will rise to over 20,000 by the end of this calendar year as additional SNAs are allocated to schools from September 2023 for the new school year to support students in mainstream, in new special classes and in increasing capacity in some special schools.

The annual current cost at entry of an additional full time Special Needs Assistant is €39,990 including provision for related substitution costs and employer PRSI.

The estimated cost of a 5% increase (974 posts) in current SNA posts as of 12 May 2023 is therefore almost €39 million, the estimated cost of a 15% increase (2,922 posts) is just under €117 million, and the estimated cost of a 30% increase (5,844 posts) is just over €233.7 million.

I want to reassure you also that my Department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.