An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-17
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James Geoghegan (FG), Dublin Bay South

I welcome the decision by the Minister for Education and Youth to pause the review and the support of the Government for that decision. A school in my constituency, Scoil Bhríde, had applied for an additional SNA and was told that not only would it not get an additional SNA, it would lose an SNA that had been with the school. That is a good example of where a school has clearly identified an additional need and the review has gotten it wrong.
I acknowledge that the Taoiseach is saying now that appeals should be submitted. I just want clarity. As the matter is paused, should a school like this submit an appeal even while the pause is ongoing? Separately, I acknowledge the overall issue about ensuring we have the correct SNA allocations. Another school in my constituency, Star of the Sea Boys National School, made an application for an SNA for a child who is in a special class because the special class could not support the child without an additional SNA. An appeal on this matter is due to be heard by the NCSE on 27 February. I hope there is a positive outcome with the appeal, and I hope that those types of appeals are not paused. I want a positive outcome in this case in order that the SNA will be allocated to Star of the Sea so the child can go to a special class in a school in his own community.

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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