Tánaiste Simon Harris has acknowledged that the Government “got this wrong” in relation to a review examining how Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are assigned to schools.
A planned review and redistribution of SNAs for the upcoming academic year was put on hold after sparking widespread concern and anger among parents, teachers and SNAs, reports Breaking News.
Following a meeting on Monday evening, the Government decided that no school would see a reduction in SNA numbers from September, while schools identified by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) as requiring additional support will receive extra allocations.
The revised approach will require an additional €19 million in funding for the Department of Education, reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris said that although there was a “strong logic” behind reassessing SNA allocations, “the buck stops with us” regarding how the process was managed.
“There’s been a lot of hurt caused over the course of the last week, a lot of stress, a lot of anxiety. We got this wrong,” he told Newstalk’s The Claire Byrne Show, reports Breaking News.
“The reality of the situation is when something goes wrong, you’ve got to put your hands up and you’ve got to fix it.
“What I heard from parents across the country, what I heard from SNAS and what I heard from teachers was that the sequencing here matters,” reports Breaking News.
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For the first time since the pandemic, the NCSE reviewed SNA numbers at approximately 580 schools, with about one-third informed that their allocation would decrease from September.
After significant backlash, the Government suspended the move this week and stated that once a revised circular, a redeployment scheme and a workforce development plan for SNAs are published, the NCSE will conduct another review for the 2027/2028 school year, reports Breaking News.
Mr Harris said the reassessment from September would operate in an “only upward manner” and noted that the 2014 circular required updating.
“The complexity of what goes on in a classroom is very, very different today than it was in 2014 and we need to use this time now to get this right,” reports Breaking News.
He added: “Let’s make sure something good comes from this. So I mean, what can happen now, within the next couple of weeks, we can have a redeployment scheme for SNAs.
“Now, in fairness to everybody, and in fairness to the Department of Education, the trade union Forsa, that’s been worked on for quite a period of time, where basically a special needs assistant will have the same options as a teacher when it comes to redeployment, that’s important in terms of job security and career security. So that’s almost there,” reports Breaking News.
He also said that the first workforce plan for special education will be prepared and published.
“I don’t think this should just be explained away as a communications issue. I think there’s a deeper conversation we need to have around inclusive education and supporting children with additional needs in 2026.
“So I’m not here to say anything other than yes, this was a week that caused a huge amount of upset, but something good has to come from it, and we’re determined that it will,” reports Breaking News.
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