Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill 2025: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-18
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Linda Nelson Murray (FG), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I thank Senator Harmon for bringing this Bill forward. Nothing ever becomes real until it is experienced. I know Senator Harmon has spoken to people who have experienced this, which is why she is so passionate about bringing the Bill forward. I spoke to her last week about it. Fair play to her. We all feel that.
This is a very important Bill, which contains Parts dealing with injury leave for people who work in jobs that are nearly like a vocation. When it comes to SNAs, parents cherish the fact that their child has one and likewise with teachers.
I will start by talking about a friend of mine who sent me a message last week. She said she was just out of a cast after four weeks. A child in school broke bones in her hand but she did not get assault leave because she came to school the next day and the injury was not discovered until five days later. She has only been back at school since last Monday, and that leave has been taken out of her sick leave.
I also mentioned that I am on the board of a special school and I see at first hand what teachers and SNAs do in the school. The advantages that I see in this Bill include expanded paid leave for teachers and SNAs injured while at work, and not just for a limited period. This provides wage security, and people know their job is there when they recover. It acknowledges that assaults and injuries are a workplace health and safety issue for people in the classroom, especially those in a special classroom where, unfortunately, physical aggression can occur through no fault of the child.
Perhaps, through having this Bill enacted, better records might be kept, so we can further support policy development and resourcing for preventative measures. When a person knows they are valued and looked after that can really help their well-being and recovery. It is not always physical. We must, however, consider other aspects of the Bill, for example, the cost to the State and employers. School budgets are tight as it is. Is there potential for misuse? Are we better to put resources into having more teachers and SNAs? Should we be supplying more training for behaviour management and putting more resources into therapies in schools? I fully welcome the recent announcement of therapy services, which cannot come quickly enough. I also welcome the increase in SNAs on a year-on-year basis.
Having made those points, I still consider that this Bill is very important. I would also try to improve in-classroom support, behaviour provisions and preventative staffing, working in parallel with this entitlement. I do not think there is one person in this room who does not value the work of SNAs and teachers. If there was, that person would be wrong. If you get injured in the course of work, in a job you have been trained to do and that you enjoy doing, you should get paid if something happens in the course of that employment. This Bill will make teachers and SNAs feel a sense of comfort so that should anything happen, they will be looked after. However, it does not automatically prevent classroom injuries and will need clear implementation rules, adequate funding and wider preventative measures to be truly effective. I will not oppose the Bill. I congratulate Senator Harmon on bringing the Bill forward. Well done to her.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:39+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-18