THERE WILL BE no reduction in the number of special needs assistants (SNAs) for the next school year, the ministers responsible for education have confirmed.

After a meeting with government leaders tonight, it was agreed that all schools recently reviewed by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and allocated additional resources will receive them in September.

The review had been prompted by public backlash, after almost 200 schools were told they could lose part of their SNA allocation.

Opposition TDs, teachers, parents and trade unions criticised the move, which Tánaiste Simon Harris subsequently described as “botched”.

“It is a really bad situation that caused a lot of upset, a lot of anger, a lot of hurt from parents of children with special educational needs, from children themselves, from SNAs and from teachers,” Harris said last week.

Until this evening, it was unclear whether the decision would be walked back, reformed, or commence with updated communication.

Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton and Minister of State for Special Education Michael Moynihan today confirmed the former.

“It was agreed that the SNA redeployment scheme, the SNA workforce development plan and changes to a 2014 circular outlining the role of a SNA will be advanced before any further decisions are taken,” they said in a statement.

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“The priority will be ensuring that the child-centred approach to the provision of special education is retained and enhanced in these policy developments.”

Once these changes are made, the NCSE “can commence reviews of supports provided to schools for the 2027/28 academic year”. 

Reporting by Christina Finn