Written answers
Tuesday, 24 June 2025
Department of Education and Skills
School Staff
John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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408. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of SNAs employed in County Wicklow in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023; the number that will be employed in the 2025-2026 academic year, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33863/25]
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.?
The number of special needs assistants (SNA) continues to increase, in 2019 there were 15,950 SNA posts allocated to schools nationwide. This figure has been built on year on year by successive budgets as outlined in the table below.
| Budget | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allocation | 1,600 | 1,216 | 1,194 | 1,165 | 990 | 1,064 |
| Rolling Figure | 23,179 | 21,579 | 20,363 | 19,169 | 18,004 | 17,014 |
As the Deputy knows, it is the role of the NCSE to manage the allocations of SNAs across the country and to ensure that all of the additional SNAs provided for by this government are allocated to schools to support those children with the highest level of need so they get the highest level of support.
I have therefore forwarded your query to them for their direct reply.
Deputies are also welcome to raise such queries with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas query line at oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie.
It is important to remember that when the NCSE allocates a SNA post, the board of management as the employer, is responsible for filling the vacancy. The decision on whether to employ a full time SNA to fill a full-time post or to employ an equivalent number of part time SNAs therefore rests with the employer.
John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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409. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of new SNA posts allocated for the 2025-2026 academic year in comparison to 2024-2025; the number of these who are full-time contracts; the number who are part-time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33864/25]
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.?
The number of special needs assistants (SNA) continues to increase, in 2019 there were 15,950 SNA posts allocated to schools nationwide. This figure has been built on year on year by successive budgets as outlined in the table below.
| Budget | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allocation | 1,600 | 1,216 | 1,194 | 1,165 | 990 | 1,064 |
| Rolling Figure | 23,179 | 21,579 | 20,363 | 19,169 | 18,004 | 17,014 |
As the Deputy knows, it is the role of the NCSE to manage the allocations of SNAs across the country and to ensure that all of the additional SNAs provided for by this government are allocated to schools to support those children with the highest level of need so they get the highest level of support.
It is important to remember that when the NCSE allocates a SNA post, the board of management as the employer, is responsible for filling the vacancy. The decision on whether to employ a full time SNA to fill a full-time post or to employ an equivalent number of part time SNAs therefore rests with the employer.
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