Special Educational Needs
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-24
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Seán Crowe (SF), Dublin South-West

Our issue is about a special school for special children. It is a good example of the uncertainty, fear and distress being created around this SNA issue. The school was told in writing it was losing an SNA and then it was told it was not. There were two emails, with one withdrawn in 40 minutes. The NCSE asked parents to fill in a form outlining the care needs of their child. It is a difficult form to fill in. It is about what is wrong with your child rather than what is right. If a parent fills in the form wrong, the child could lose his or her SNA; so no pressure. Parents were told forms were needed for review and then that they were not needed. Some 30 forms were left in the school; we have seen them. A signed parental consent form was needed and then not required. We are told this is a pause and that suggests this process will resume and the school could lose its SNA. The system that allocates SNAs is utterly opaque and parents, SNAs and many schools feel it is deliberately made that way. We need clarity and a defined approach that gives certainty. Parents should not have to fight every day for their special needs child.

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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