LAST UPDATE | 24 Feb

EDUCATION MINISTER HILDEGARDE Naughton has defended the government’s U-turn on reducing the number of special needs assistants (SNAs) for the next school year, after criticism that it was simply delaying a decision on the issue.

Naughton rejected claims from trade union Forsa and the Labour Party that it was “kicking the can down the road”, insisting that the decision was taken to “bring everyone with” the government on the reforms to the sector.

The Fine Gael TD told reporters on the way into Cabinet this morning that she appreciated that parents and schools were “worried about the process” and that she wanted to get the proposals right before they are implemented.

“I think it’s important that we listen to the concerns of the school community and the SNAs,” she said, adding that the government was “responding to that” fear.

Last night’s Government meeting

The decision was taken after a meeting with government leaders last night, where it was also agreed that all schools recently reviewed by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and allocated additional resources will still receive them in September.

Naughton told reporters that “additional funding” of €19 million would be provided to cover the measure.

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

Naughton and Minister of State for Special Education Michael Moynihan last night 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.

“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”.

‘This was poorly communicated’

Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One programme this afternoon, Naughton conceded that “something obviously went wrong” with how the proposed SNA cuts were communicated. 

“This was poorly communicated, and there is a collective responsibility here on this. I’m not happy with the way it played out, but I want to make sure now that we get this right”, she said. 

Asked if she was aware that the letters were being sent to schools last week, Naughton said she knew there were reviews taking place.

“But the communications around it, and the sequencing of the communications, was not done correctly, and I absolutely accept and I’m going to rectify that now.”

Naughton said she was not blaming the NCSE for how schools were informed. “This is a collective responsibility, and I’m taking ownership of this and moving forward now to make sure that children across this country get the support that they need.”

She added that she will be working “at pace” with teachers, unions and SNAs in the coming months to ensure that the supports are there for the start of the school year in September.

“I’ve heard the concerns and the anxieties loud and clear, and I’m acting on that now, and that is my commitment. To get this right, to make sure that we proceed here in the interests of our children who need those supports so badly.”

‘Gaslighting’ 

Speaking during Leader’s Questions, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the rollback was an effort to “buy yourself time and to alleviate pressure on government”.

She added “parents see through the ploy” and that the “can has been kicked down the road for another year”.

“They don’t want an extended pause, they want these cuts taken off the table.”

Taoiseach Micheál Martin claimed that McDonald “personifies cynicism in her approach to politics” and noted that the number of SNAs has increase from 16,000 in 2020 to an anticipated 25,000 in September.

But McDonald said Martin exhibited a “complete unwillingness to accept realities on the ground” and accused him of “gaslighting parents and SNAs”.

Elsewhere, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said that the government only reversed course “after a national outcry”.

Related Reads

Special Needs Assistants u-turn the talk of the Dáil amid backlash from government's own TDs

“You’ve kicked the problem into next year, hoping that the anger will fade, but it won’t fade,” said Bacik.

Meanwhile, the Forsa union’s head of education Andy Pike this morning told RTÉ that the “review should never have produced an outcome that could have taken so many supports away from students in mainstream classes”.

He said the cancellation of cuts is welcome but a “lot of work” is needed on why do on why the NCSE took the move in the first place.

Pike added that there is a “policy question for the government around where they want to see students with additional needs carry out their programme of education” into the future.

“Do they want to continue to encourage students to stay in mainstream class with SNA support, or are they indicating a shift towards special classes? Policy on this area hasn’t been looked at in a while,” Pike said.

“The 12 months ahead provide an opportunity to sit down and hammer out the future for special education policy and mainstream classes.”

Asked whether nationwide protests scheduled for tomorrow will continue, Pike said he believes the “issue hasn’t really been resolved” and that the protests should take place to drive this point.

Labour education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny meanwhile remarked that government had created the policy and directed the NCSE to implement it:

The changes were rolled out and school communities were left scrambling. Only after a huge national outcry from parents, SNAs and schools did Government reverse course. That is not leadership. That is panic.

The Cork North-Central TD added that there is “clearly no confidence” in the NCSE after the debacle.

“That is deeply worrying for a body tasked with allocating vital supports for children with additional needs,” he said.

“Government must now come forward with a clear, long term plan to rebuild trust, guarantee SNA supports and properly reform special education so that this never happens again.”

Reporting by Christina Finn, Eoghan Dalton and David Mac Redmond