Taoiseach says Government never signed off on review of SNA allocations

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

The Government did not sign off on the review of how special needs assistants are allocated at schools across Ireland, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

He was defending a move to pause the review and reallocation of SNAs for the coming school year after it caused concern and outrage among parents, teachers and SNAs.

The number of SNAs at around 580 schools were reviewed by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), and a third were told that the number of SNAs at their school would be reduced from September.

Two thirds were deemed to need more SNAs or to keep their current allocation as it was.

At a meeting on Monday night, the Government agreed not to reduce the number of SNAs at any schools from September, but in schools where the NCSE said more SNAs were needed, they will be allocated.

The decision will cost an extra €19 million in funding at the Department of Education.

Once a revised circular, a redeployment scheme and a workforce development plan for SNAs are published, the NCSE will again review SNA allocations at schools for the 27/28 academic year.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik said it was “extraordinary” to state that the Government did not sign off on the review after ministers publicly defended the plan last week.

“The Government never signed off on this at a governmental level, just make that point to you,” the Taoiseach said.

“Government didn’t sign off on this, in terms of the 550 and the scale and the impact of it.

“When Government saw the impact of this, Government considered it, and Government have decided not to go ahead with what was being proposed.”

The paused proposal to reallocate SNAs across almost 200 schools in Ireland was raised by Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and Independent TD Seamus Healy at Leaders’ Questions on Tuesday.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the Government had announced “an extension of that pause” that would “buy yourself time and to alleviate pressure on government”.

She said the cut SNAs “remains on the table”, despite concern and “heartbreak” from parents, and called on the Government to rule out any cuts to SNA services, calling it a “cynical bean-counting exercise”.

“This is a tactical retreat and not a change of heart,” she said in the Dáil on Tuesday.

When Government saw the impact of this, Government considered it, and Government have decided not to go ahead with what was being proposed

Mr Martin accused Ms McDonald of exaggeration, while speaking in Irish, and then said she personified “cynicism”.

“In 2020 there were 16,000 special needs assistants, starting next September, there will be well over 25,000 special needs assistants.

“That’s not cut backs, that’s not pulling back, that’s not taking special needs assistants from vulnerable children, that’s allocating more resources.”

He said there had been a “significant” increase in the number of children and young people identifying with a disability in the last census compared to the previous census.

“Taoiseach, what you have given us is a demonstration of a complete unwillingness to accept realities on the ground,” Ms McDonald said.

“In fact, I would say that your response there was gaslighting parents and SNAs,” she said, prompting objections from the government benches.

There's a fundamental lack of coherence in government decision making that is so visible here, Taoiseach. There's this fundamental lack of coherence. There's a lack of vision

“You need to know that those parents and children and young people who rely on their SNA to participate in school life, to participate in learning, to stay at school, to build confidence esteem, to build relationships.

“You need to announce now, not a pause or a review of a review, but a complete reversal of this disgraceful policy.”

Ms Bacik said schools were told “without warning or consultation” that they would have their SNA allocation reduced, and it was only reversed after “a national uproar”.

“It’s extraordinary to hear you say the Government never signed off on this,” she said.

“It was your government policy. Government ministers were out defending it all last week.

“It’s extraordinary to hear you now seeking to deflect blame, to deflect responsibility. It was your policy, you got the NCSE to implement it.

“There’s a fundamental lack of coherence in government decision making that is so visible here, Taoiseach.

“There’s this fundamental lack of coherence. There’s a lack of vision.”

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said that complex needs must be reintroduced as a criteria when considering allocations and its removal was “a step in the complete wrong direction”.

Mr Martin said he accepted that parents of children with special needs “have to fight a very hard battle” for services in education and healthcare and said he believes in a “multi-disciplinary approach” to help children with special needs which they would “deliver on during the lifetime of this Government”.

He said the percentage of the overall education budget, now at €13 billion, “is very, very high” because the Government had “prioritised” special education.