Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
494. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will consider a visit to a school (details supplied) that has a significant cohort of students with additional needs, to discuss the principal’s concerns in relation to support from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3508/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra495. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the concerns of the principal in a school (details supplied) in relation to the shortage of SNA support for children that qualify for this additional support; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3509/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra496. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to an ongoing review of the SNA allocation for a school (details supplied); if she will engage with the NCSE to ensure that this school is supported and retains its allocation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3510/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra497. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will review the existing SNA allocation for a school (details supplied) to ensure that the students and staff in the school have the support they require; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3511/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra498. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth her views on the fairness of the system applied by the NCSE in relation to the provision of SNA support per school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3512/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra499. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the criteria whereby the NCSE allocates SNA support to schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3513/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra500. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any change in policy regarding the allocation of SNA support to mainstream schools, regardless of whether the school has any SEN classrooms; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3514/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra501. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her attention has been drawn to the feedback from school principals in relation to the increasingly strict guidelines being applied to the allocation of SNA support to schools; if this reflects any change in policy or directive from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3515/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 494 to 501, inclusive, together.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is the statutory body responsible for the provision of special education and allocating supports for students with special educational needs.
The NCSE is, in the first instance, the primary body responsible for the matter the Deputy has raised. 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 queries with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas email address.
My Department has been steadily building the level of special need assistant (SNA) support in our education system. This school year there will be over 23,000 SNAs allocated to schools, working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing students with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. Budget 2026 provides for a further 1,717 SNA posts which will bring the total number of SNAs to close to 25,000 by the end of 2026.
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.
SNA posts 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 students enrolled whom SNA support has been allocated. This provides schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
The NCSE has published the SNA allocations for the 2025/26 school year. For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and are available on the NCSE's website (www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations).
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 (https://ncse.ie/sna-review-mainstream). Each case is individually assessed and is based on the student profile of each school.
Some review requests can be concluded as an office-based exercise, whilst others require a school to be visited in order to observe the current deployment of SNA support in the school setting.
The timeframe for concluding a review can vary depending on the school context or the nature of the information provided.
I would like to assure you when a NCSE review is completed in a school and the review identifies that additional SNA resource(s) is required that these will be allocated by the NCSE to the relevant school.
Following the outcome of the review, the NCSE can make a local special educational needs organiser (SENO) available to the school to discuss their current deployment of SNA supports in the school and to put these supports to the best advantage of the students. The NCSE in-school support service is also available to schools to offer further guidance and 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.
