Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Ivana Bacik (LAB), Dublin Bay South

The public outcry this week from parents, SNAs, principals and teachers has demonstrated the level of fear and distress created by the Taoiseach's Government with their crude approach to SNA allocations. We have all been reminded this week about the vital work that SNAs do in our schools. To the children who need them they are indispensable. One mother wrote to me yesterday and said, "My daughter feels safe with her SNA by her side. I honestly do not know where we would be without that help. No teacher, no matter how dedicated can meet every complex need alone." Another email, which the Taoiseach also received, asked him bluntly, "[H]ave you any idea what it is like to be a teacher or an SNA in a classroom in 2026? Along with sustained under funding of schools these people are bearing the brunt of the Irish Government's failures". She is right to say this because the Taoiseach's Government is failing school communities.
I have seen the NCSE letter that was sent to many school principals last week, abruptly informing them of the impact of the Government review. In one letter dated 10 February that I have seen the principal was told that "a surplus of three SNA posts has been identified in your school." Without any prior warning, this principal will find themselves with a near 50% reduction in SNA supports for this coming school year. Many more principals received similar letters. It is no wonder there was an outcry at what amounted to a cut in SNA allocations for so many schools.
Yesterday the Government sensibly paused its review in a last minute U-turn but a pause is not a plan. We need clarity on what happens next. As my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, said, any change in the allocation process must be phased in and new supports must be put in place before existing lifelines are taken away. Instead, it seems the Department of education's way is to strip supports before new ones exist while children are still waiting years for assessments.
Of course, SNAs have to be allocated correctly but many schools are struggling with large class sizes and limited resources to support children with complex needs. Every week I hear from principals who are fearful they cannot provide for those pupils needs. Every week I hear from teachers and SNAs - we all do - who are struggling to cope in the classroom. Every week we hear from exhausted parents desperately fighting for a school place or for supports for their child. Of course it is the children who bear the brunt waiting years for an assessment or diagnosis and years spent without appropriate supports.
The current practice of the Taoiseach's Government had allowed children who have not yet received a diagnosis to avail of the help of an SNA. That practice, as we know, was plugging the gap of the scandalous waiting lists for assessments of need, a list that the Government has failed to clear. Now a national increase in SNA numbers offers little reassurance if individual schools are losing posts and children are losing support. When you remove an SNA from a mainstream classroom a child suffers. It is as simple as that.
I have two questions for the Taoiseach. Will he clarify what yesterday's announcement of a pause actually means for schools? Will he apologise to schools, parents and school communities for the shock news of SNA cuts that so many schools received last week?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-18/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-18