The Government is to announce that the number of special needs assistants in schools will increase next month.

An extra 115 are to be appointed in January after the approval of Cabinet.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny says the Government wants to ensure every child who needs an SNA has one.

Mr Kenny said: “We’ve had an increase in SNAs every year now for a number of years, we now have more special needs assistants than we have Gardaí, or indeed doctors.

“It shows, if you like, the commitment from Government to give every child, who has a particular assessed challenge or difficulty, an opportunity to benefit from that.”