Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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635.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full-year cost to recruit 200 additional special needs assistants. [31404/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The estimated annual cost of a new entrant SNA post is €33,990. The full-year cost of recruiting 200 additional special needs assistants is estimated at €6.798 million.

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority 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.

In 2024, €2.7 billion is being spent on special education, an increase of €113 million, and this is dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs.

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 2024, the number of SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 1,216 SNAs posts available for allocation by the NCSE. This will mean we will have over 21,900 SNA posts available to our schools to support the care needs of pupils 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.

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.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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636.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the schools in Waterford sanctioned for autism and autism spectrum disorder classes for September 2024. [31406/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority 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.

402 new special classes have been sanctioned by the NCSE for the 2024/25 school year, 284 at primary and 118 at post primary level. Of these 12 are in Waterford, 7 at primary level and 5 at post primary level. This brings the overall number of special classes in the county to 70. The link below provides a breakdown of new autism classes sanctioned for Waterford for 2024/25.

The NCSE is confident that through the provision of the newly sanctioned classes and vacancies in existing classes there is sufficient places to meet the needs of all children known to them for September 2024.

I am determined to ensure that all children who require a placement can access this as quickly as possible. I meet with NCSE weekly to discuss progress and to ensure that every child has a school place for the coming term.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally for planning purposes. Local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) are available to assist and advise parents and can provide details on schools with available special educational places. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE website.

Significant additional resources have been provided to the NCSE to allow for their expansion. We will have 120 local special educational needs organisers at a local level in September who are a pivotal point of contact for parents, guardians and schools. This together with the enhanced capacity of other services within the NCSE, will bolster the level of service and provide effective structures to relieve pressure on parents.

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