Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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421. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the NCSE engaged in meaningful consultation with schools, SNAs, and parents before finalising the 2025-2026 SNA review process guidelines; if so, to provide details of that consultation; and if not, the reasons key stakeholders were excluded. [54716/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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422. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider extending or reopening the application window for school-led SNA reviews beyond the current period 15 September to 24 October; and if flexibility will be introduced to accommodate mid-year applications in cases of new or emerging needs. [54717/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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424. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the 2025-2026 SNA guidelines appear to exclude or deprioritise behavioural care needs; and if she will direct the NCSE to explicitly recognise behavioural and emotional needs as part of complex care needs requiring SNA support. [54719/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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425. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of concerns that the unification of SNA allocations across mainstream and special classes may result in a net reduction in support for students in autism classes; and if she will ensure that these allocations reflect the higher and distinct needs in those settings. [54720/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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426. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has considered the potential for internal conflict within schools arising from the redeployment of SNAs between autism classes and mainstream settings; and the safeguards in place to prevent the erosion of specialist supports. [54723/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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427. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if schools and staff have been given adequate time and training to implement the 'Relate' document, which is now a required component of the SNA review process; and if she will delay enforcement of the requirements until proper capacity building has occurred. [54724/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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428. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the training or guidance which has been issued to schools and SNAs to assist them in navigating the new SNA review process; and if additional supports or professional development resources will be made available. [54725/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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429. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the appeals process for SNA review decisions under the 2025-2026 guidelines; and to confirm that the process will be transparent, timely, and accessible to schools and families. [54726/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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430. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department is monitoring the impact of the revised SNA review process on school staffing levels, student wellbeing, and inclusion outcomes; and if she will publish impact assessment reports. [54727/25]

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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431. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to respond to concerns from the education sector that the new SNA guidelines appear focused more on rationing or gatekeeping resources than supporting students; and the steps she is taking to protect children's access to essential SNA supports. [54728/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 421, 422, 424, 425, 426, 427, 428, 429, 430 and 431 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.

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

My department has been steadily building on the number of SNAs in our education system. This September there will be over 23,000 SNAs allocated to schools, 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 the highest number ever. Budget 2026 provides for a further 1,717 SNA posts which will bring the total number of SNA’s to almost 25,000 by the end of 2026.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) issues guidance each year to schools regarding SNA reviews and the guidance for 2025/26 school year issued on the 12 September 2025.

It is important to clarify some of the issues raised since publication of the guidelines.

The process for allocating SNAs has been in place since 2014 and is not changing this year. There has been no freeze on SNAs, in fact the number of SNAs in our schools has increased by 43% in the last 5 years alone.

Schools were issued with their allocations for the 2025/26 school year in June and the SNA review window from 15 September to 7th November relates to schools who believe they do not have sufficient SNAs to support their care needs at present.

A school can apply to the NCSE at any time during the school year, as in previous years, for a review where emerging or new care needs arise. An emerging care need for example would be changing care needs in their existing student enrolment, newly identified care need or a new enrolment(s) with care needs.

The NCSE has written to all schools since the publication of the guidelines to clarify that a school can request a review during the school year and not just in the review period set out in the guidelines.

The following are the reasons for the timeline of reviews contained in the guidance:

Supports the earlier announcement of allocations for the 2026/27 school year to align with the release of the annual staffing schedule.

Management bodies, staff representative bodies, schools and SNA’s have all requested the department to ensure that SNA allocations issue earlier each year and ideally should align with the general staffing allocation in February each year.

Supports the SNA workforce by giving them early clarity on their roles.

Facilitates the SNA Redeployment Scheme.

The role and responsibilities for SNAs has also not changed. SNAs remain responsible for meeting primary care needs for students with special educational needs.

New special classes continue to be supported with additional SNAs each time a new class opens – this has not changed. The NCSE guidelines set out the number of SNAs per each category of special class and there is no change to those baseline allocations.

Any school who has concerns about the level of their SNA allocation should contact their local special education needs organiser. This has always been the case and remains today.

The NCSE assesses the level of need within the school as a whole and this is critical to ensure that the care needs of the entire school are identified and that the school is resourced to meet this identified need. There continues to be separate allocations for mainstream and special classes in individual schools.

Then the NCSE completes the SNA review and if additional SNA support is identified as being required it will be provided. This has always been the case.

The NCSE carried out a record number of reviews in 2025 to ensure that children who most needed SNA support could access it. This will continue for 2025/26 school year.

Circular 0030/2014 outlines that provision of SNA Support should not be considered as a first response for the management of behaviour. SNA support should only be provided where behavioural management strategies have not been successful to date and where it is demonstrated how access to such support can assist with ongoing planning and intervention for the child. Schools are required to show evidence of the use of a variety of approaches to behaviour in all applications to the NCSE.

The NCSE have advised that schools are not required to use inclusive practice document for 2025/26/ This document can be commenced and is intended to support schools’ approach to managing behaviour.

The NCSE has confirmed they continue to engage with stakeholders to clarify any issues raised.

I want to assure you that the department and the NCSE, through all of our policy and guidance such as resource allocations, take a child centred focus and approach to ensure that all children in our schools with special education care needs are provided with a supportive environment and the resources needed to help them develop and be prepared for life after school.

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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423. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to clarify the definitions used in the NCSE's 2025-2026 guidelines for 'complex care needs' and 'level 3 care needs'; and if she will commit to co-developing the criteria with practitioners and parents to ensure fair and inclusive application. [54718/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is, in the first instance, the primary body responsible for the matter the Deputy has raised.

As the matter raised relates to a NCSE process. I will arrange for your query to be forwarded to the NCSE 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: oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie