Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-17
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. As he will be aware, I dealt with it earlier on a previous Leaders' question. It is important to make the point that no SNA is being removed from any school during this school year. Second, no SNA will lose their job. Those are two very important points.
There are no cuts to overall special needs assistants' numbers. By September next year, we will have approximately 24,900. That is close to 25,000. We had more than 23,000 coming into this year. The numbers grew by 45% over five years, so it has been expansion. The needs have grown. Demand has grown as well, and it is important to meet that.
So far, of the 580 reviews that took place, approximately 1%, it seems to me, of SNA posts nationally have been affected. We have 4,000 schools in our system. Approximately 190 have received letters indicating reductions. Approximately two thirds, or 68%, have either no change or an increase in their SNA allocation.
In the context of the school the Deputy referenced, the NCSE will engage with the school. The school should appeal because that is the process. If you feel you have been wronged or whatever, you appeal it. That allows a mechanism to revisit the decision of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, to reduce the numbers in a given school. It is important that be done.
The Minister has paused the review. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, will engage intensively now to ensure that all the concerns raised - the Deputy has raised some - are fully understood and that we fully support children with additional needs in our schools.
That is the objective. Is é sin atá i gceist againn. Tá an méid SNAs ag méadú bliain i ndiaidh bliana, agus is maith an rud é sin. Tá an infheistíocht ag méadú chomh maith. Dar ndóigh, bíonn athruithe ann go rialta, mar a dúirt an Teachta. Tagann athruithe ar an scéal i scoileanna éasgúla agus is é sin an fáth a mbíonn athruithe maidir leis na SNAs agus na scoileanna ina mbeidh siad.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:38+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-17