Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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346. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a budgetary cap for SNA posts of 23,179 posts is being operated; and whether she thinks that this budgetary cap is standing in the way of children getting the support they need in school. [28493/25]

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.

Special needs assistants (SNAs) play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools. They help ensure that these students can access an education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

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 manages the allocation of SNAs to schools and it is the responsibility of the NCSE to ensure that these resources are allocated to the children with the greatest level of need. SNA allocations for the 2025/26 school year will issue to schools this week. 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: .

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.