I welcome all the SNAs in the Gallery. I apologise that I could not stop to chat to them; I was running to a committee. I recognised some of them. I was not being rude; I swear. I thank the Minister of State for his visit to St. Michael’s House today. I have often seen him in special schools in north Dublin. It is great to see him there, taking that hands-on approach. What we saw today was the SNAs at work, and the pride they showed could not be more topical for this debate. We saw that investment is needed in Baldoyle and St. Michael’s House. It is needed in St. Michael’s House and across north Dublin, especially, as I am always saying to the Minister of State, in Stapolin Educate Together National School, speaking of SNAs. Regarding the SNA allocation, I welcome the announcement last night but, as we all know, it is far too often we are reactive rather than proactive. We are putting out fires. This should never have happened. The fear, terror and uncertainty that spread among teachers, parents and students in my constituency and across Ireland should never have occurred. That is important. Someone in the Department has acknowledged that already and I welcome that, but it should never have reached that point. The gap still remains, and I heard other Deputies speak about the 2014 circular which still defines the role of an SNA primarily in terms of care support. That circular is more than a decade old, however, and it is clearly not the case. SNAs support everything and everyone. They support speech and language and occupational therapies. They facilitate everything. The Minister of State goes to schools; he has seen them. They do everything. They are the extra everything. They are integral members of the school community. I have spoken to some of the SNAs I grew up with, such as Audrey Byrne for example. When I was in the school I asked her what she wanted me to speak about. She was the heart of the school; she was in everything. She is still in the school. She mentioned the fact that it is very difficult for SNAs at the moment. Some of them must arrange voluntary contributions themselves rather than it being directly taken out of their pay. Two professions of teaching working side by side under the same roof and in the same classroom should not face different levels of payroll support when planning for their financial future. It may seem to be just an administrative issue but it speaks volumes about how we value this role. We need to extend beyond policy documents into employment practices. Going to the schools, as the Minister of State is already doing, is going to change that, and I welcome that. The most vulnerable pupils depend on SNAs, and giving a child the right to thrive is the bare minimum. One of the fundamentals of a Government is that we give every single chance to any citizen of this country. Our schools depend on SNAs. The State depends on SNAs to make inclusive education a reality. There are huge commitments in the programme for Government. I welcome the announcement made last night but it should not have come to that. While I was campaigning before the election - it is the reason I am involved in politics - a woman named Eleanor Lanigan was on the door speaking about SNAs. She is fighting illness at the moment and I wish her a speedy recovery. I know she is watching these proceedings.

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