Kildare South TD slams Minister's 'pause' to SNA reviews

Sinn Féin spokesperson for Special Education and TD for Kildare South, Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh, has said that the Minister for Education’s announcement of a pause to the NCSE-led SNA reviews will come as little consolation to families who are anxious about the future of their children’s education.

In response to the Minister’s announcement, Deputy Ní Raghallaigh said: “The Minister’s decision to pause the NCSE-led reviews points to the level of anger in communities as well as the ridiculousness of the cuts in the first place.

“Why did it have to take this long for the Minister and the NCSE to realise that slashing up to 6 SNA in a school is cruel? Obviously, children who relied on this support would be losing it from one term to the next.

“From my discussions with school principals across the State, it’s clear that the planned cuts were not at all proportionate to changing need. In fact, needs are growing every year and we are already playing catch for historical under-resourcing.”

READ NEXT: Kildare primary schools awarded at Intel Mini Scientist Grand Final

According to Deputy Ní Raghallaigh, the “fundamental problem” is that SNAs are currently provided based solely on primary care needs, whereas in reality they are doing much more than that.

She pointed out that SNAs help children to focus, to participate and interact, providing emotional support and building confidence.

This must be recognised “urgently”, she said.

“The Government has recognised the ‘evolving’ role of the SNA and is currently reviewing the job specification. So, for them to turn around and apply these outdated criteria so harshly is just wrong and hypocritical.

“All planned cuts to schools must be scrapped for good and no further reviews should take place until the SNA Workforce Development Plan is completed. This is the only way to properly reassure worried parents and SNAs, and to ensure that children with additional needs do not lose out the support they rely on every day."