Last week's outcry shows just how highly SNAs are regarded not just by families who rely on them directly but by all families. It would be a mistake to move on too quickly without exploring reform or we risk ending up back here again. Equitable access to education is a value we hold dear. That is why there is such strong public support for building an inclusive education system. Where barriers exist and difficult decisions must be made, let us have those conversations honestly and openly. I visited a school in my constituency just weeks ago that was undergoing an SNA review. Staff spoke of their fear of cuts. My first instinct was to examine the figures that showed that at a Department level, there are no such cuts. Whole-time equivalents have increased from over 1,200 in 2024 to 1,700 in 2026. Yet, despite this growth in investment, supply is not keeping pace with demand. At a very basic level, if we open 300 new special classes in a single year with each requiring two SNAs, we need more than an increase of 117 whole-time equivalent SNAs to fulfil the needs of all children in our schools. At the same time, I recognise that every Department must operate within a budget. At the Oireachtas committee on education in November, concerns were raised with the NCSE about the new guidelines. SNAs are allocated to schools rather than to individual children, yet surely resources must follow genuine need. The 2014 circular defines the role of an SNA narrowly as primary care, but SNAs support a far wider range of needs. We cannot rely on an outdated circular to bridge the gap between policy and practice. Review processes, redeployment mechanisms and workforce planning must form part of a broader inclusion strategy. "Let us not waste a crisis" is the famous saying. Fixing the system requires change, processes and structures that work, so let us build them.

Sentiment score: 0.09