I commend Sinn Féin on its motion. What we have witnessed in recent weeks on the issue of special needs assistants has been nothing short of a fiasco, one that has caused deep and unnecessary anxiety for families, teachers, principals and SNAs across the country. At its core this episode reveals a Government that still does not understand the daily reality of inclusion in our schools. Instead of planning properly for rising need, the Department of education attempted a crude "robbing Peter to pay Paul" exercise, shifting supports from one school to another as if children's needs were interchangeable and as if relationships, stability and continuity in the classroom did not matter. This was not meaningful, consultation-based workforce planning; it was spreadsheet management. It was based on a fundamentally outdated and narrow understanding of what SNAs actually do. The Government continues to speak about SNAs as if their role is confined to physical care needs, but anyone who has spent time in a modern classroom knows that this bears little resemblance to reality. SNAs support children with emotional regulation and sensory overwhelm. They support communication, participation and belonging in education. They often provide the steady relational presence that allows the child to remain in school at all. Crucially, however, SNAs not only support the individual child with an identified disability or additional need; they support the entire ecosystem of the classroom. Their presence allows teachers to teach. It allows other children to learn without recurring disruption. They create the conditions in which inclusion works, not just in theory but in practice. Remove that support and the impact is felt across the whole class, not just by the one child. We should also say something clearly about the people doing this work. SNAs are not highly paid for the invaluable work they do every day, which is emotionally demanding, highly skilled relational work. They are poorly rewarded. Yet, despite that, they remain one of the most committed groups in our education system. If the Government is serious about inclusion, then the forthcoming workforce development plan for SNAs cannot be just another review exercise. It must deliver a secure, decent contract structure, proper career progression and the recognition of the full scope of the SNA role. Any future review of SNA allocations must be grounded in the full breadth of what SNAs actually do in schools, not in a narrow, outdated definition that ignores the relational, regulatory and classroom-wide impact of their work. Once again, we see the same underlying mindset from the Government. Essential front-line staff are viewed primarily as a cost to be contained rather than as an investment in children, families and the functioning of the education system as a whole. When that mindset dominates, what follows is entirely predictable: short-term, politically reactive decisions and crisis management instead of forward-planning. We saw it in the rushed communications to schools, in the confusion over allocations and in the Government scrambling to reassure parents only after public anger became insurmountable and impossible to ignore. Now we hear talk of deploying clinicians into mainstream schools as if to compensate for future cuts to SNAs. Multidisciplinary supports in schools are desperately needed. Educational psychology, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy services should be embedded in our education system. However, where is the plan, where are the timelines, where is the workforce strategy and where is the clarity on recruitment, funding and delivery? At the moment, this looks less like a reform programme and more like a political holding statement designed to get the Government through the current news cycle. What families and schools need now is forward planning, transparency and a clear commitment that supports will expand in line with need and not be shuffled around when pressure builds and cost containment becomes the narrow priority. If we are serious about inclusive education, we must treat SNAs and school-based supports as core assets, no different from classrooms, transport or teachers.

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