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MORE THAN 40,000 people have signed a petition to stop the loss of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts after it emerged that hundreds of roles in mainstream primary schools could be cut from next September.

Trade union Fórsa said it has been contacted by schools around the country after they received notifications from the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) that their SNA allocations will be reduced for the next school year.

The letters, sent last week, do not take effect immediately but advise schools that posts will be lost from September. Fórsa believes more than 180 schools have been notified, with reductions affecting an estimated 300 or more SNA posts.

Fórsa head of education Andy Pike said the notifications are unsigned, pro forma, and do not set out the reasons for the reductions.

The petition, which has 43,135 signatures, is calling on the Department of Education to “urgently reconsider and reverse” decisions that reduce SNA allocations in schools.

“By maintaining and expanding SNA support, we can ensure that all children have the opportunity to thrive in a supportive and inclusive learning environment,” it said.

“We must protect the rights of students with special needs and commit to providing them with the resources they require to succeed.”

Sarah Carty, who created the petition, said her child, among many more, depends on the daily support of an SNA in school.

“Without this support, children with special needs are at risk of being left behind, depriving them of their right to an inclusive education.”

Several signers of the petition have expressed support in the comments. One man said: “I’ve seen first-hand what a good SNA means to a child and their family – the confidence it gives them, the progress they make, the simple fact that they get to be included like every other kid in the room.”

Numerous opposition parties in Leinster House today were furious about the cuts.

Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly said there was a “cruelty” attached to the decision and said it is “not good enough” to treat SNAs in such a “dismissive” way by saying they can be redeployed elsewhere. 

He called on the Government to clarify the situation. 

Likewise, People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett said the move is “absolutely devastating for all concerned”. 

Boyd Barrett highlighted one school in particular, Our Lady of Good Counsel NS in Johnstown, where he said its nine SNAs are being reduced to 3.8. 

“For the SNAs, some of whom have worked there for in excess of 20 years, for the kids,  kids of every description, the kids who are now being excluded because they don’t tick the box of so-called primary needs,” Boyd Barrett said.

In one instance, he said a father had been in touch with him over concerns that his child, who needs insulin shots, would no longer be able to go to school.

Labour TD Eoghan Kenny said the decision is “disgraceful” and also called for the Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton to clarify the situation. 

“Who’s running this department? Is it the NCSE themselves, or is it the minister?,” he said, adding that this is “no way to treat” workers. 

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said yesterday that the NCSE allocates SNA support based on reviews of care needs in each school, and allocations can change due to student numbers, care needs, or pupils moving between school levels.

“This school year, the NCSE will undertake approximately 1,000 SNA reviews in schools,” the spokesperson said.

“Of the 585 reviews to date, 68% of school will see no change or an increase in SNA resources allocated. Of the total number of SNAs in our schools at present, which is over 23,000, only 1% have been identified to date by the NCSE as surplus in schools.”

“No SNAs are being removed from any school in this school year with any change only coming into effect for the start of the 2026/27 school year,” they added.

Michael Moynihan, Minister of State with special responsibility for special education, is encouraging schools to contact the NCSE to lodge an appeal if they are unhappy with their NCSE review.

He said that the NCSE has found that “around 1% of the overall number of SNAs require redeployment” and pointed to supports and training available to schools through the NCSE for teacher upskilling.

The Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education has been contacted for comment.

With additional reporting from Concubhar Ó Liatháin.