Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-24
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Ivana Bacik (LAB), Dublin Bay South

It is extraordinary to hear the Taoiseach say that the Government never signed off on this. It was Government policy. Government Ministers were out defending it all last week. The Labour education spokesperson, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, was on "Prime Time" last week against the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, on this very point. It is extraordinary to hear the Taoiseach now seeking to deflect blame and responsibility. It was Government policy. It got the NCSE to implement it.
There is a question here for special educational needs organisers, SENOs, as well. Where does this leave them?
There is a fundamental lack of coherence in Government decision-making that is so visible here. No matter how much the Taoiseach says this money is extra and schools will be reassured, there is a fundamental lack of coherence and vision. Meanwhile, there are nearly 200 schools that were facing a cut in SNA allocation last week and are now waiting to see if they will, in fact, be able to keep their SNAs and what that will mean for education planning overall. As the union Fórsa has said, this is a sticking plaster. This €19 million is a sticking plaster to disguise and mask the lack of coherence and the attempt to deflect blame to others.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:40+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-24