Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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335. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what recourse is available for a parent where their child has additional needs child and is not receiving the agreed weekly hours with a special education teacher in school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35286/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an appropriate education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me, my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The special education teaching (SET) allocation for mainstream schools provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on the educational needs profile of each school.

Schools are frontloaded with ring-fenced SET resources for the purpose of supporting students with an identified special education learning need. The allocation allows schools to provide additional teaching support for students who require such support. Schools then deploy SET resources to meet the needs identified in Student Support Plans, based on the continuum of support framework.

It is open for parents to discuss the content of Student Support Plans with schools. Parents can also contact their local special educational needs organiser (SENO) in the NCSE to discuss the supports available for their child with special educational needs. The contact details for local SENOs is available on the NCSE's .

For the 2025/26 school year close to 15,000 special education teachers have been allocated to schools to support children and young people. The 2025/26 school year will see almost 86% of schools either increase their allocation of hours or retain their previous allocation. Of schools who will see a reduction this is driven by demographic change in the geographic area and a reduction of enrolments in the school. The vast majority of these schools will see a reduction of under five hours.

Any school who has any concerns on their allocation can engage with the NCSE. The NCSE will provide support to schools as required and will examine if the allocation is sufficient to meet the identified needs of all children and young people enrolled.

Where the NCSE identifies the need for additional resources, my department will immediately approve the identified increase so that it is available to the school ahead of the 2025/26 school year.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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336. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the SNA allocation for a school (details supplied) for the upcoming year; the reason there was no increase in this allocation; if this decision will be reviewed given the student/SNA ratio; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35292/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs, including the allocation of special needs assistants (SNAs). The NCSE has advised my department that all schools have been informed of their SNA allocation for the 2025/26 school year.

As the NCSE is responsible for the allocation of SNAs to schools, I have forwarded the school's details to them for their attention and direct reply.

Deputies are also welcome to raise such matters with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas query line at .

It is open to any school which feels like it has insufficient SNA support to meet the needs of its students to submit to the NCSE a request seeking a review of its allocation. Detailed information on the NCSE's SNA review process is published on the NCSE's?.