‘This 11th hour U-turn is a victory for almost 80,000 people’

The Government rolled back on their plan to make SNA cuts across the country, including in Walkinstown, and instead put €19m aside but “a reset” is needed.

Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton TD announced that the proposed cuts to SNA staff across Ireland will not be going forward, at least for the 2026/27 academic year, and €19m has been set aside to fund SNAs over the next 12 months.

Almost 80,000 people signed a petition to stop the cuts, which were set to almost halve the number of SNA posts at a school in Walkinstown from nine to five and leave them with only one full-time member of staff.

Assumption Junior National School Principal Jean Leonard said that the school were delighted that there will be no cuts for next year, but added that more is necessary.

The school principal stated: “We strongly believe that the SNA allocations circular must be completely reviewed and an emphasis needs to go on allocation of SNA resources to children with needs other than medical needs.

“Children have a right to attend school and we believe they should have a right to engage meaningfully in their education also.

“Unfortunately, this is often something they can only do with the support of an SNA and if this is not prioritised by the Department of Education schools will continue to struggle to meet the needs of children across all primary school years.”

The 2014 circular was also brought under fire by Dublin Mid-West TD Mark Ward, who said it was “outdated.”

The Dublin Mid-West TD labelled the 180-degree move from the Government as a win for those who were campaigning but noted that more is needed to be done.

Deputy Ward said: “This 11th hour U-turn is a victory for the almost 80,000 people who have signed the petition, for the parents who campaigned tirelessly, and for the SNAs who were facing an anxious summer.

“The government’s actions over the past fortnight have caused enormous upset, and showed a staggering lack of respect for SNAs, schools, students and their families.

“I received countless emails from concerned parents and school staff, including SNAs themselves.”

The Minister noted in her statement announcing that no cuts will be taking place that changes to this circular will be advanced before a decision on cuts taking place in the future is made.

The Circular describes the role of the SNA mainly to support the care needs of children they work alongside and not to help provide access to therapeutic services, with the class teacher maintaining a clear primary responsibility for the child.

Minister Naughton added that the National Council for Special Education will review supports provided to schools after such changes are made.

In a statement, the Minister said: “No reductions will come into effect in the 2026/27 school year.

“However, 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.

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

“After these key documents are agreed and published, the NCSE can commence reviews of supports provided to schools for the 2027/28 academic year which will uphold the integrity of the process, which allocates supports based on the needs of children.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.