Special Needs Assistants: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-04 ============================================================ Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West I thank everyone here and in Dáil Éireann for their contributions over the last number of weeks. I compliment all Members on all sides for their interest in, and commitment to, special education. I would also like to compliment many of the councillors across the country who have contacted me directly. It heartens me that, as public representatives from all parties and none, we have such an understanding of special education and of what is needed and what is right. It is fair to say that this might not be universal across the country. I would have concerns about some attitudes that are out there but I thank Members of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann and members of local authorities for their engagement and the sincerity with which they have contacted us. It is not something I have addressed before in the Houses of the Oireachtas, but it is normal for people to mention when special needs education has a direct impact on their families, that is, my family. If Senators indulge me for a moment, I am the proud parent of an 11-year-old non-verbal son, and he goes to school because of an SNA. Please bear with me for a second. Each afternoon when we get a text to say what type of day he has had in school, it encourages us for the rest of the day. For this reason, I fully understand the challenges being faced by many families right across the country. The work being done by SNAs the length and breadth of the country is second to none. I have visited over 120 schools in the 12 months since my appointment. The first thing I do when I meet SNAs is tell them that it is on their backs that we have built special education. I am honoured to have been a Member of the Houses of the Oireachtas for almost 29 years. I remember when I started first that it was people on community employment, CE, schemes who were providing special education needs within the education system. I have seen the advancement of it. I know that some people whom I deal with on a daily basis were at the very core of that when it was starting, in terms of their engagement with unions and others on the advancement of special education and the many challenges that were faced over the last 20 or so years. If Senators indulge me further, St. Joseph's school in Liscarroll is where Paddy goes to school. It is one of the brilliant schools that provides for special education requirements and the special needs assistants and the entire teaching community there are second to none. Their engagement is constant, whether at the school gate or when I meet them in clinics, socially or whatever. They are constantly looking for how they can do more for their communities and for the children, and that applies the length and the breadth of the country. Senator Noonan mentioned a school in his community that I was working with in relation to it. It is important that we acknowledge the school leadership, teachers, SNAs and the entire school communities for what they are doing for special education the length and breadth of the country. The last couple of weeks have been extremely difficult for SNAs, families and school communities. When I was appointed last year, I believed that destiny had brought me to this because I had such an in-depth knowledge of the system. I was proud to serve with Senators Tully and Flynn on the disability committee during the term of the previous Dáil and Seanad. They were second to none in relation to the advancement that we made at that time. I believe that I have a unique insight into it, and it would be lessening the job I have if I did not bring every ounce of energy that I have to it to make sure that we have a better education system. I listened to the debate while the Minister, Deputy Naughton, was here and since I joined the debate I have listened to the contributions of all Members, as I did in Dáil Éireann during the Private Members' time and the statements. Members outlined the concerns of families who had corresponded with them. Each year, we have an issue with special education. This year, we wanted to bring forward the date from 1 February to 1 October so that we could plan better. We have to do so to ensure that children with additional needs and their families and guardians are treated in the same way and that they are given certainty. We have a huge need right across the country. Actually, it is not just in Ireland, but right across the OECD countries that we have sight of. I shudder to think about what is happening in the undeveloped countries because of the challenges that exist. If there are things that keep me awake at night, it is that in terms of the entire holistic education. Over my time as a public representative, I have seen the outcomes for children where they get the best possible education. Sometimes, unfortunately, we have put that together piecemeal in terms of how we roll out the policy, but we have, by and large, put a huge amount of money into it. I know that Members of the Houses work with the NCSE and the Department in a professional way. There are three fundamental blocks that we have to bring. Members spoke about building trust. I think we can do so. From the engagement the Minister and I have had over the last number of weeks, we are serious about making sure that what happened recently will never happen again and that we build trust within the SNA community. We have the workforce development plan, the redeployment and the circular. These are the three key pieces we need to get right and we have to make sure that we do that in an holistic way so that people have confidence in it and understand the challenges that exist. Going back about 20 or 25 years when the SNAs were brought into the schools, Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to advance that policy. Others have done so since, but we have to make sure that our policies are correct and implemented properly. I thank the Senators for their indulgence and I look forward to working with Members across the Houses to ensure that we can have the education system that all of our citizens deserve. --- 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/2026-03-04/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:43+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-04