Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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660.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of vacancies, broken down by grade, specifying whether they are full-time or part-time, to work with the National Council for Special Education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31607/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following.

It remains a priority for my department to ensure that the NCSE agency is properly resourced to have a visible and effective presence in our schools and guiding and supporting our parents and children on their educational journey. The funding announced in Budget 2023 will result in an increase of over 50% in staffing levels in the NCSE. This will provide for an additional 161 staff in front line and administrative posts which will ensure the NCSE can continue to deliver real and meaningful supports for children, families, and schools.

Since funding was approved, the NCSE has completed an extensive organisational analysis to ensure that the expanded organisation can respond to service demands efficiently and to establish the optimal allocation of resources. This will allow the NCSE to gain a thorough understanding of current demand areas as well as forecast future demand, helping to ensure that staffing can be deployed most responsively to meet current and future requirements for the NCSE's services.

In the newly expanded structure, there will be 20 specialist teams, consisting of 120 SENOs, closely aligned with counties. This is increased from the previous 10 team structure. The SENOs are further supported by additional administrative staff, to allow SENOs concentrate on working directly with schools and families, and by a network of Specialist leads, team managers and national co-ordinators, all reporting to the head of Inclusion and Education Support Services. This will enable an integrated community-based service, which is conducive to the development of key relationships between NCSE staff, parents, and schools in the provision of services to students.

A recruitment process for the following full-time staff position grades is ongoing in the NCSE. There are currently 88 SENOs in place, with a further 31 commencing in the coming months. There are 47 Advisors in place, with a further 33 being added to build additional capacity. The NCSE are now at the interview stage for these positions and plan to have these in place for the new academic year. The are currently 18 therapists in place with sanction in place for a further 26 posts. The NCSE expect to advertise for these positions by the end of July. The NCSE are finalising interviews for six additional SENO team managers currently.

When this process is complete, it will be the single largest increase in these essential frontline grades, since the establishment of the NCSE and will result in a significant increase in service capacity levels for parents and schools.