Last week, I received a letter from 21 school principals across Donegal. I sent it to the Minister and the Minister of State. I ask them to meet with a delegation of these principals. They have asked that the Ministers meet them in the school to see exactly what they are talking about. I ask them to read the letter because it specifically deals with the issues. It is not just about these letters that cause great distress and anguish to schools across the State. The first I knew about it was when it affected one of my local schools, St. Oran's National School in Buncrana. The system that is in place and the outdated criteria just do not reflect what the special needs assistant does today, as we speak in 2026. It does not reflect the central importance SNAs have in schools. Teachers - in this case the principal speaking for the teachers - are struggling to deal with the existing criteria. The big lesson for the Government to take is that the regulations that go back to 2014, as Deputy O'Rourke said, are just not fit for purpose any more. They have to be scrapped. The Government has to put in place a new framework for SNAs, one that is based on the real experience teachers and SNAs are seeing in schools. It is important that this is not just a case of kicking the can down the road and a review of the review. This has to mean a complete change to the framework that is there. It is not working and does not reflect the reality. That is the lesson that needs to be learned.

Sentiment score: -0.02