Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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104. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of school management regarding their allocation of additional needs assistants (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17748/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 question relates to supports for a specific school, my department will ask the NCSE to provide a direct reply.

By the end of the year there will be over 20,800 special educational teachers and 23,400 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,000 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

Allocations of special education teaching posts for the next school year have recently been provided to schools and SNA allocations will be confirmed by the NCSE to schools in the coming weeks. The NCSE also publish SET and SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations.

SNAs are allocated to schools as a school-based resource. Principals/board of managements deploy SNAs within schools to meet the care support requirements of the children enrolled whom SNA support has been allocated. This provides schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

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 website ncse.ie/sna-review-mainstream. Each case is individually assessed and is based on the student profile of each school.

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.

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.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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106. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of SNA positions currently filled, given the allocation of 1,600 additional SNA posts in Budget 2025, bringing the total to 23,179 SNAs for NCSE to operate under; to provide a breakdown of these positions by school type (mainstream primary, mainstream post-primary, special classes, and special schools); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17765/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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.

By the end of the year there will be over 20,800 special educational teachers and 23,400 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. This will mean we will have over 44,000 teachers and SNAs working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. This is an increase of 39% and 80% respectively since 2016 when the number of special education teachers was under 15,000 and we had just 13,000 SNAs in our schools.

Allocations of special education teaching posts for the next school year have recently been provided to schools and SNA allocations will be confirmed by the NCSE to schools in the coming weeks. The NCSE also publish SET and SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations.

SNAs are allocated to schools as a school-based resource. Principals/board of managements deploy SNAs within schools to meet the care support requirements of the children enrolled whom SNA support has been allocated. This provides schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

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 ncse.ie/sna-review-mainstream. Each case is individually assessed and is based on the student profile of each school.

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.

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.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of children in Dublin postal districts 1, 3, 7, and 9 who are currently on a waiting list for a place in a special school for the 2025–2026 academic year; the number of special school places currently available in these districts for September 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17768/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Through the accelerated provision of additional special class and special school places over recent years, there are now just over 28,000 students enrolled in special classes and special schools. 2,700 new places are being created and these together with the over 1,200 existing places available for enrolment will mean there is close to 4,000 places available for the coming school year. This significant level of provision means that the department and NCSE have created sufficient capacity for the children whose parents and schools have identified as requiring a place.

Of the 400 new special classes places provided for in Budget 2025, the NCSE has advised that 375 of these classes have already been sanctioned for the 2025/26 school year. Of these 77 are in Dublin, 59 at primary and 18 at post primary level.

This will add to the 602 special classes already sanctioned in Dublin, 455 in primary and 147 at post-primary level.

There are also 40 special schools in Dublin with approximately 2,600 students enrolled. Two of the five new special schools for the 2025/26 school year will open in Lucan and Belmayne also. These schools will open for enrolment shortly. Capacity is being expanded in a number of other special schools also.

In County Dublin and indeed nationwide, the NCSE continue to engage intensely with schools and school patron bodies to confirm remaining classes. As the NCSE progress the sanctioning of the remaining special classes they will inform parents.

My department has requested the NCSE to work closely with schools and families to ensure that these children access places as quickly as possible. My department has also written to all schools opening new special classes asking them to commence their admission processes as quickly as possible.

My department and the NCSE are committed to ensuring that sufficient special education placements remain available for children with special educational needs.