Industrial Relations
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-16
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

There has been huge engagement by the Department on the development of the workforce development plan over the past two years. A large amount of engagement and meetings were held. It is the first workforce development plan. There was concern regarding redeployment. The circular and all of those documents were worked through and co-designed very carefully with the SNAs in mind. We wanted to ensure that we understood the concerns of the SNAs.
The Department has written back this week to confirm that it remains committed to constructive engagement with Fórsa and is available to engage on these matters. That is the communication we have sent back to Fórsa and that is the commitment we can give the Deputy. We remain committed to constructive engagement with Fórsa, the union representing the SNAs, because we value the role of SNAs across the education system and the commitment and work they provide to allow children with additional needs to avail of a fully functioning education system.
All of us across the House accept and appreciate the role of the SNA, and I am deeply committed to further engagement.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:17+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-16