Written answer
School Staff
28. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools in County Clare that were notified of a reduction in their special needs assistant allocation arising from the National Council for Special Education's 2025-2026 review process; the current status of those allocations following the pause announced in February 2026; if every school who was notified of a reduction will retain the number of SNAs they had previously; if this has been communicated to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53904/26]
Comment on this
This government is strongly committed to supporting children with special educational needs to achieve their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.
By the end of this year there will be over 25,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) in our mainstream classes, special classes and special schools. It should be noted that in the last 5 years in County Clare, the number of SNAs have grown from 394 to 519, which is an increase of 32%.
I visited a number of schools in county Clare last year and saw first hand the wonderful work that is being done in those schools to support children with special educational needs.
SNAs play a key role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools.
In February I confirmed that I had listened to and engaged intensively with stakeholders to ensure that all of the concerns raised were fully understood and it was agreed that there will be no reductions to special needs assistants for the next school year 2026/27.
The SNA allocation circular for 2026/27 advised schools that there would be no reduction in NCSE allocated SNAs for the school year and the NCSE advised all schools of their allocations on the 3rd of June.
All schools reviewed by the NCSE and allocated additional resources will receive them in the upcoming school year.
The 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.