1140. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of SNAs employed in County Clare schools in each of the past five years. [55149/26]

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%. This will increase further for the 2026/27 school year to 555 which is almost a 41% increase from 2021 school year.

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.

The NCSE advised all schools of their allocations on the 3rd of June.

The NCSE published on their website the individual allocations for each year by county.

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.