I begin by acknowledging the scale of the Government's investment in special education. This year, over €3 billion is being invested in special educational supports. We will have nearly 25,000 SNAs in our schools in September - an additional 1,700 this year alone. The number of SNAs has increased by approximately 45% since 2020 and by 47% in my constituency of Tipperary. We cannot say that this is not significant progress. It reflects a genuine commitment by this Government. Investment is not enough, however. What recent weeks have shown is that the framework underpinning SNA allocation, particularly the 2014 circular, may no longer reflect the realities of mainstream modern classrooms. The circular's emphasis on care needs has in practice created confusion and anxiety. Many children who do not meet a narrow interpretation of primary care needs nonetheless require structured support to access education safely and meaningfully. Teachers, SNAs and parents know this. The pause in the review process should, therefore, be seen as an opportunity to modernise the criteria so that we clearly have a child-centred approach. It is an opportunity to put in place a coherent special education workforce plan that gives certainty to schools and SNAs. We must ensure that reviews are not perceived as resource-led exercises but are perceived as needs-led assessments grounded in professional judgement and the lived reality of classrooms. If we use this pause constructively to update policy, clarify criteria and strengthen planning, something positive can come from what has understandably been an upsetting period for many school communities. Let us match our record investment with a modernised framework that delivers certainty, dignity and inclusion school by school and child by child in order that every child will have the opportunity to reach the maximum of his or her ability.

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