The Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, stated that the Government did not approve the review regarding the allocation of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) across schools in Ireland, reports RTE.
He was responding to criticism following the decision to pause the review and redistribution of SNAs for the upcoming school year, which had sparked widespread concern among parents, teachers, and SNAs, reports RTE.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) reviewed the number of SNAs across 580 schools, with a third of those schools being informed that their SNA allocations would be reduced starting in September, reports RTE.
The remaining two-thirds were found to either require additional SNAs or maintain their current staffing levels, reports RTE.
After a meeting held last night, the Government decided that no school would face a reduction in SNA numbers starting in September, but where the NCSE identified a need for more SNAs, those schools would receive additional support, reports RTE.
The NCSE will conduct another review of SNA allocations for the 2027/2028 academic year once a new circular, redeployment scheme, and workforce development plan for SNAs are issued, reports RTE.
Labour leader Ivana Bacik criticized the Taoiseach’s claim that the Government had not endorsed the review, especially since ministers had publicly supported the plan only the previous week, reports RTE.
“The Government never signed off on this at a governmental level, just [want to] make that point to you,” Taoiseach Martin explained, reports RTE.
Martin continued, explaining that the Government had not approved the scale of the cuts affecting 550 schools and their potential impacts, reports RTE.
However, after the Government reviewed the consequences, it chose not to implement the proposed reductions, reports RTE.
Derval McDonagh, CEO of Inclusion Ireland, pointed out that the controversy surrounding SNAs was merely one part of the ongoing challenges faced by disabled children and their families, reports RTE.
She stressed that the education system required a broader, more comprehensive reform, mentioning issues such as children being forced to travel long distances daily in taxis and children attending school with limited timetables, reports RTE.
“Every child deserves a quality education experience in their local school alongside their siblings and peers,” McDonagh said, reports RTE.
She called for more ambition during this pause to explore how a truly inclusive education model could be established, reports RTE.
McDonagh also emphasized that children, as the experts on their own needs, must be heard in discussions about their education, reports RTE.
She further criticized the lack of communication regarding any changes in supports, highlighting that it was unacceptable for families to learn about reductions through social media and other indirect channels, reports RTE.
While she acknowledged the significant recent investments in education, McDonagh noted that these efforts were coming from a “pretty low base,” and that funding should be multi-dimensional to address all aspects of the system, reports RTE.
Protests to continue despite Government’s reversal
Organizers of nationwide protests scheduled for tomorrow confirmed that the demonstrations would proceed, even after the Government reversed its plan to cut SNAs, which would have affected 194 schools, reports RTE.
An additional €19 million in funding has been promised to support schools in maintaining their current SNA allocations, with schools expecting new SNA posts also assured that those commitments would be met, reports RTE.
Fórsa, the SNA trade union, criticized the Government’s response as a temporary solution, calling it a “sticking plaster” that would last only 12 months while the Government worked on a longer-term plan, reports RTE.
However, Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton rejected this criticism, stating that the Government was not simply postponing the issue but was working to get the solution right, reports RTE.
On Tuesday, 30 primary school principals met with local representatives, including Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, to express their concerns, reports RTE.
At Johnstown Boys JNS in Dublin, for example, the school was set to lose five out of its nine mainstream classroom SNAs. The school arranged for a minibus to travel to Leinster House tomorrow for one of 29 protests happening across the country, reports RTE.
Campaigners indicated that the Government’s decision to pause the cuts came after persistent pressure from SNAs, parents, and school communities, who argued that SNAs were essential for children with additional needs in a system that was already struggling, reports RTE.
Niamh McDonald, a parent and protest organizer, remarked that while there was relief over the suspension of immediate cuts, other issues such as waiting lists, insufficient therapies, and daily pressures on children in school remained unresolved, reports RTE.
Ms Naughton acknowledged that she was “not happy with the sequencing of events” and explained that a redeployment scheme for SNAs affected by changes in allocations was nearly complete but needed to be properly explained to SNAs, reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s *News at One* programme, she took responsibility for the communications breakdown and pledged to rectify the situation by ensuring that the relevant documents were distributed before the NCSE resumed its review of allocations, reports RTE.
Taoiseach Martin said the Government aimed to establish a normal, annual review process for allocating SNAs in the future, reports RTE.
A Sinn Féin motion on this issue will be debated in the Dáil this evening, reports RTE.
Fórsa’s head of education, Andy Pike, emphasized that the cuts “should never have happened” and suggested that the next 12 months should be used to reassess special education policy for mainstream classes, reports RTE.
The Department of Education has stated that the primary focus will be to ensure the child-centered approach to special education is preserved and improved, reports RTE.
Sinn Féin’s Education and Youth spokesperson, Darren O’Rourke, criticized the Government’s failure to heed the concerns of parents, SNAs, and teachers, and described the reversal as an “essential” move to prevent further harm, reports RTE.
The Social Democrats’ Education spokesperson, Jennifer Cummins, called for clarity on the future of SNA funding and stressed that temporary solutions and “late-night announcements” were insufficient, reports RTE.
Eoghan Kenny, Labour’s Education spokesperson, urged the Government to explain how the original proposal to reduce SNA support came about, warning that the issue could be forgotten by the 2027–2028 academic year if not addressed properly, reports RTE.
He called for more clarity and certainty for schools and SNAs, reports RTE.
People Before Profit (PBP) celebrated what they saw as a victory for parents, children, SNAs, and school communities, with Richard Boyd Barrett of PBP attributing the reversal to the power of collective action, reports RTE.
However, he warned that unless the Government drastically changes its approach, the issue could return in a year, reports RTE.
Jean Leonard, the principal of Assumption Junior School in Dublin, spoke on RTÉ’s *Morning Ireland* programme, explaining that the school had been devastated by the news of the proposed cuts to their SNA allocation, reports RTE.
She highlighted the difficulties faced by children who may not meet the strict eligibility criteria for SNA support but still required it to access meaningful education, reports RTE.
Ms Leonard also criticized the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is responsible for organizing special education services, saying she had “never dealt with an organization less child-centered than the NCSE,” reports RTE.
A new circular redefining the role of SNAs is in the works, replacing the 2014 circular that limited SNAs primarily to providing physical care, such as assisting with toileting, reports RTE.
Ms Leonard expressed concerns about who would be involved in drafting the new guidelines regarding SNA access, reports RTE.
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