Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is a freeze on special needs assistants supports in schools; if so the steps she will take to end this freeze; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14745/25]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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229. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason for the freeze on special needs assistants supports in schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14746/25]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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230. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) were turned down special needs assistants (SNA) supports after engaging with a complex review for SNA support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14747/25]

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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231. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a school (details supplied) were turned down special needs assistants (SNA) supports after engaging with a complex review for SNA support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14748/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 228, 229, 230 and 231 together.

This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.

As your questions relates to the allocation of special needs assistant (SNA) support to an individual school, I have forwarded the question to the NCSE for their direct response.

We have been steadily building on the number of SNAs in our education system. At the end of the 2024 school year there was over 22,000 SNAs in schools. Budget 2025 provides for an additional 1,600 SNA posts nationwide. This is the highest ever annual increase.

The NCSE continue to prioritise the full allocation of the additional 1,600 SNAs to schools, including to support up to 400 new special classes and 300 new special school places for this September to ensure that those children with the highest level of need get the highest level of support.

At any stage if a school feels like it has insufficient SNA support to meet the needs of its students an application can be submitted to the NCSE requesting a review of its allocation. Detailed information on the NCSE's SNA review process is published on the NCSE's . Each case is individually assessed and is based on the student profile of each school.

Following the outcome of the review, the NCSE can make a local special educational needs officer (SENO) available to the school to discuss their current deployment of SNA supports in the school and to put these supports to the best advantage of the students. NCSE in-school support is also available to schools to offer further guidance and support.

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.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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232. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to review the case of a school in County Kerry (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14757/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The key factor for determining the level of staffing resources provided at individual school level is the staffing schedule for the relevant school year and pupil enrolments on the previous 30 September. The staffing schedule operates in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally.

The primary school staffing arrangements for the 2025/26 school year are set out in Circular 0011/2025. These arrangements contain an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal under certain criteria to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board.

The school referred to by the Deputy has submitted a staffing appeal which will be considered by the Primary Staffing Appeals Board and the school will be notified of the outcome of the appeal shortly.

The Primary Staffing Appeals Board operates independently of the Department and its decision is final.