Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill 2025: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-18 ============================================================ Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel I thank the Cathaoirleach and welcome the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to the Seanad this evening. I am delighted to bring the Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill to Second Stage tonight in the Seanad. It has been a long process to even get it to this point. I believe the Government will not be opposing the Bill on this Stage. I am thrilled about that and I know the campaigners in the Gallery are really delighted about this too because we have been waiting for progress on this for a long time. It really is welcome. We need to work together across this House in order to get a resolution here. This is one step along the way. As the leader of the cross-party group in the Seanad of the Labour Party, Social Democrats and the Green Party, and with colleagues Senators Nessa Cosgrove, Malcolm Noonan and Patricia Stephenson, I are delighted to bring forward another Bill to the House. We have been very practical in all the proposals we have brought forward. This was in the Labour Party manifesto in 2024. We were the only party to have this in our manifesto at the time so I am really thrilled to be able to follow through on action in relation to this. I have many people to thank but first I want to talk about Sophie Cole, who is in the Gallery, and her husband, Shane O'Brien. I first met Sophie and Shane in November 2024 in their kitchen of their home in Carrigaline in County Cork. I could not believe it when Sophie outlined her story to me regarding what had happened to her in terms of an injury sustained in the classroom. Sophie is a special education teacher. Unfortunately, she was left without adequate supports. Once her assault leave pay ran out, she was left without support from the State for a long period. This was a huge financial burden on Sophie, and it was also a huge shock to her. There was a significant lack of information around the process and the supports that were available. Sophie has spoken about how hard it was to get information and answers on this. It is great to see that we are at the stage where there is real progress happening in respect of this issue. I really want to thank Samantha O'Flanagan from Fórsa, who is here with Andy Pike. This legislation was created with Sophie, with Fórsa and with the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. David O'Sullivan from the INTO is also here this evening. Colleagues in Cork were really supportive of this, including the Ministers of State, Deputies Jerry Buttimer and Michael Moynihan, and Deputy Séamus McGrath. Councillors Jack White, Ciara O'Connor and Peter Horgan were essential. I have also had loads of conversations with Senators Anne Rabbitte and Margaret Murphy O'Mahony. I want to put that on the record because I believe we can work together on this. There are a lot of public representatives in the Oireachtas, but we are not the only public representatives in Ireland. There are also public representatives who are outside of electoral politics. People like Sophie Cole are public representatives. She has taken on an issue and championed it because of her experience. She is being obliged to tell her story again and again. She was on Ireland AM just this week. The programme attracted nearly 1 million views. Sophie has been her story consistently, even though she is in extreme discomfort a lot of the time with complex regional pain syndrome, which she suffers as a result of her injury. She is doing this at huge personal cost, and that needs to be acknowledged. Whatever happens down the line in terms of the final legislation, I suggest that the ownership belongs to the teachers and the SNAs who are directly affected. I propose that it should be named after Sophie in terms of her campaign. Perhaps calling it Sophie's law might be appropriate. I want to put that suggestion on the record. Ultimately, Sophie set up a campaign page and she has received messages from thousands of teachers and SNAs across the country recounting their personal experiences about injuries that happened to them in the classroom. What will the Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill 2025 do? It will ensure that the current assault leave circular would be amended and that paid leave would be granted for the duration of the period for which someone is medically certified, and that immediate costs would be covered should a teacher or SNA experience an injury in work. We are moving away from the language of assault. Sophie and all the teachers and SNAs I have spoken to will say that we are not apportioning any blame to students or children here. These are not premeditated acts . The Bill will provide for early retirement provision in cases of long term or permanent incapacity to return to work. The scheme must be agreed by trade unions, which is essential as part of this, and the teachers and SNAs would be treated the same under any scheme so that there would not be any differentiation in relation to that. I want to read out some anonymous comments and messages that I have received. These are personal stories from teachers and SNAs who are affected. There are many. We know from research by the INTO last year that over 1,700 people have availed of the assault leave scheme. At the end of 2025, I think 97 had been out of work for longer than the period for which they were medically certified. This issue affects a large number of people. These are just the ones who have come forward and talked about what happened. There is a lot of stigma in relation to it as well. People are afraid to tell their stories. I will just read out the messages. I will not attribute any names. The first states: While working in an autism class I was headbutted in the mouth and as a result have a fat lip. Additionally, in last school year I ended up needing a tetanus injection due to a bite that broke the skin. These, along with many other daily injuries, occur and we keep going to work to help and support these children. We are not asking for anything other than support for the teachers and SNAs who most need it: those injured who cannot return to their job that they love due to their injury ... The second states: I am working as an SNA since 2002. In 2021 I was injured at work resulting in a fractured shoulder. Since then I have had two shoulder operations and a third one which entailed a full reverse shoulder replacement. In this time I could only avail of 12 weeks assault leave for initial fracture recovery. Three operations later I have had to use all of my sick leave ... The third states: I myself am currently on injury leave, presently unpaid and losing vital pension contributions as a result. I have been unable to work since 2023 and have been receiving extensive medical treatments, including extremely painful spinal surgery in October last, from which I am currently recovering with ongoing physio for the foreseeable future. Injuries leave pay and sick leave entitlements have all since been exhausted but I am still on medically certified leave and I am being treated by the Department as if I am on unpaid leave. This is grossly unfair given that I was injured while doing my job ... The fourth states: I have 13 years post-qualification experience. I have dedicated the past ten years to special education working in special education classrooms for students with autism. I really enjoy and love my job. Earlier this year I was injured in the classroom. I had instant pain in my arm. I took assault leave and went to the emergency department. The X-ray was clear yet the swelling and pain was very significant. I continue to experience horrific pain that led my GP to order an MRI. More than seven weeks after the incident a private MRI revealed a slight dislocation of my wrist, two partial ligament tears, cartilage damage and possibly instability in the joint. My GP and Medmark have stated I am unfit to work. I am the mother of two children under the age of four so this injury is having an enormous impact on me and my home life ... These are just some examples. I am sure the Minister has heard them as well. We have had multiple emails from members of the public who have told us their very personal stories. This is happening. We have to deal with the reality of what is happening in our classrooms. Schools need to be safe for all the people in them, namely those who work in them and students. What really struck me when I met Sophie Cole and her husband Shane O'Brien for the first time was that he is a firefighter. He said that he would expect some level of danger in the job he does but that he never would have thought that his wife would be at risk going to school every day as a special education teacher. He said he was worried about her going to school and that something was going to happen, and something did happen unfortunately. This is where we are with the campaign. It is a huge achievement for it to reach Second Stage. We genuinely appreciate the Minister's support. I know that she is keen to work with me and others across this House. The Minister met Sophie and Shane earlier. I know she Minister is committed to this. We need to ensure that this happens and that we can improve the lives of so many across the country. We are losing SNAs and teachers from their professions. Some are moving abroad. We need to ensure that the professions are as attractive as possible to enter and that we properly support those who work them. Those to whom I refer are predominantly female, but this obviously affects both women and men. We need to ensure that the Bill moves to Committee Stage, at which point there can be a full debate on it and on any amendments tabled. The most important thing is that we make sure the Bill progresses and is passed. I just want to acknowledge those in the Public Gallery, many of whom are SNAs and teachers. I thank them for the work they do. That work is vital. All of the work that Sophie, Samantha, the INTO and Fórsa have put into this legislation cannot be understated. This Bill does not belong to any particular party or individual: it is about the teachers and the SNAs. Ultimately, Sophie has been an absolute champion in relation to it. I also acknowledge my colleagues in the Labour Party, namely Deputies Conor Sheehan, Ged Nash and George Lawlor, and our leader, Deputy Ivana Bacik. This is really important to us in the Labour Party. It is a workers' rights issue and an education issue. We are the party of workers' rights and we want to make sure this happens. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-18/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-02-18