Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-24
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Seamus Healy (IND), Tipperary South

The Taoiseach has had four opportunities to answer the core question in relation to this issue this afternoon but he has refused to do so. He has taken the opportunity to deflect at all stages in the four contributions. As anybody involved in education, and particularly in special education, knows, the core question in this whole debate is the criteria that are to be met if a child with special needs is to get the assistance of a special needs assistant. The current criteria are too narrow. They are outdated and primarily based on primary care needs. They do not include children who have social misunderstanding, children with sensory difficulties or children who are on the autistic spectrum or some of the other spectrums. Everybody involved in education knows that is the key question. What we here, the public, parents and special needs assistants want to know is whether those criteria will be used and extended into the future.

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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