1032. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education if there is a limit as to the number of special needs assistants that the National Council for Special Education is permitted to sanction; the criteria on which additional SNAs will be awarded; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20794/25]
Topics / School Staff
A subject heading for parliamentary questionsSchool Staff
914 questions from 127 TDs, between 22 January 2025 and 22 October 2026.
914
questions
909 written, 5 oral
127
TDs have asked
11
parties and groups
Independents counted together
3
departments asked
Questions per month
The record holds no questions for August, when the Dáil does not sit.
Jan 2025Oct 2026
Show as a table
| Month | Questions |
|---|---|
| January 2025 | 17 |
| February 2025 | 24 |
| March 2025 | 23 |
| April 2025 | 58 |
| May 2025 | 52 |
| June 2025 | 63 |
| July 2025 | 55 |
| August 2025 | 0 |
| September 2025 | 54 |
| October 2025 | 18 |
| November 2025 | 61 |
| December 2025 | 51 |
| January 2026 | 45 |
| February 2026 | 65 |
| March 2026 | 37 |
| April 2026 | 40 |
| May 2026 | 54 |
| June 2026 | 71 |
| July 2026 | 34 |
| August 2026 | 0 |
| September 2026 | 63 |
| October 2026 | 29 |
Who asks, by party
The party each TD belonged to on the day, in alphabetical order. Parties differ a lot in size, and members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them, so this shows who raised it, not how much a party cares about it.
The TDs who asked most
Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them. Each question counts once.
-
70
-
55
-
41
-
23
-
22
-
21
-
18
-
17
Asked of
Debated under the same heading
Debates whose official heading is exactly these words.
The questions
1033. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education if she intends to sanction additional special needs assistants for a school (details supplied). [20795/25]
1037. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education the number of schools that have utilised funding from her Department to enrol teachers in upskilling courses in high-demand subject areas. [20821/25]
1044. Deputy Maeve O'Connell asked the Minister for Education to provide a cost breakdown of the expenditure of the “Teachers’ Professional Journeys: The First Decade” longitudinal research study, in tabular form. [20828/25]
1045. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Education further to Parliamentary Question No. 304 of 20 March 2025, the reason an applicant (details supplied) was denied leave in 2012 and therefore refused incremental credit despite a circular; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20835/25]
1047. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education if her recent announcement that teachers will be given permanent contracts after one year favours newly qualified teachers over highly experienced Irish teachers who have returned from teaching abroad and are fighting to obtain CID; if her Department will recognise Irish teachers for their work in international schools outside the EU and put in place an effic…
1048. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education to review the case of pension entitlements for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20941/25]
1049. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Education regarding her recent announcement about offering teachers permanent contracts earlier in their career, whether she will clarify if she is proposing to reduce the current requirement of two years of continuous service down to one year for contract of indefinite duration eligibility; when these changes will come into effect; and if they will apply to those c…
1051. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education for details of her proposal for newly qualified teachers to gain a permanent contract a year earlier; what classifies as a 'viable post' in this instance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20953/25]
1052. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education when details of the main panel and supplementary panel for primary schools will be released; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20954/25]
1053. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Education for the urgent approval under a review request for an additional SNA for a school under medical needs for a student (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20970/25]
1057. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Education if she will consider changing the initial teacher training programme for secondary school teachers back to one year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21072/25]
1062. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Education to urgently address the disparity faced by school secretaries and caretakers, who are directly paid by the Department but who are being denied a pension (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21177/25]
1068. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Education if she will introduce a pension scheme for those school secretaries that are employed by boards of management and to give them parity with other school staff such as SNAs and teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21279/25]
230. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education if there is any assistance her Department can provide in securing an SNA post in a school with relevant qualifications. [18232/25]
233. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education if a DEIS Band 1 school (details supplied) will lose its 10th teacher (details supplied; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18237/25]
237. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education if she will provide a breakdown of how the 1,600 new special needs assistant posts for 2025 will be distributed across the country, and specifically how many will be allocated to schools in Dublin Bay north, given ongoing reports of unmet need in the area. [18327/25]
238. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education whether she will commit to streamlining the NCSE review process for schools seeking additional special needs assistant support, in light of concerns that delays in decision making are impacting students with autism and complex needs; and if she will provide average processing times for such reviews in the past 12 months. [18328/25]
116. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Education if she plans to ensure that school secretaries employed by boards of management receive equivalent pensions, leave entitlements and the equivalent benefits and conditions enjoyed by her Department or ETB-employed school secretaries/administrators; her views on whether this is an inequity and anomaly that is required to be addressed in the interests of fairness; an…
128. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Education if she will review the policy on incremental credit for post-primary teachers with overseas experience in private schools, given that such experience is recognised for primary teachers but not at post-primary level (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18087/25]
117. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education the number of teacher posts currently vacant, by county. [17203/25]
125. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the measures she is taking to address the recruitment and retention crisis in education and the related increase in numbers of unqualified teachers employed in the system; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16936/25]
203. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education if consideration will be given to keeping a teacher at a primary school in Louth (details supplied) as its projected pupil numbers will be higher in September 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16889/25]
207. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education the measures she is taking to ensure the full complement of special needs assistant posts are filled in September 2025 in order to adequately staff the 400 promised new special classes and 300 special school places; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16934/25]
437. Deputy Jen Cummins asked the Minister for Education the number of SNAs employed in the education system, in tabular form. [16566/25]