I begin by congratulating the parents of children with additional needs, the school communities and the special needs assistants themselves. Many of them are here tonight. I have been contacted by parents, principals and SNAs in Clondalkin, Lucan and across Dublin Mid-West over the past couple of weeks in relation to this. I was at an event on Thursday in Collinstown Community College, where people in Clondalkin are trying to make it an autism-friendly town. Members of the Minister's own party, Fine Gael, were there, getting photographs with children and parents. Where are they tonight? Not one of them is here tonight. They are ashamed to come into this room and back up what the Government is trying to do to the parents around here. The Government has done that much of a U-turn I am surprised the Minister does not have whiplash. I listened to the Minister's interviews in recent weeks. All she had to say was some of the stuff that was said in this statement, although not all of it. She stated that all schools reviewed by the NCSE and allocated additional resources will receive them in the upcoming year. That would have stopped anxiety and worry for the SNAs the Minister sees here tonight. She stated that no reductions will come into effect in 2026 and 2027. She could not give those assurances to parents and SNAs in recent weeks. The NCSE, which the Minister talked about earlier, is not perfect. Nobody is going to say it is perfect but the Government is using it as a scapegoat. The NCSE is carrying out her instructions to the letter. It is doing exactly what it was told to do. It is following the 2014 circular the Government brought in. The Minister should not stand up here and say she is blaming the NCSE-----

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-----when the responsibility lies with the Government.

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The Government needs to take responsibility. In her ten-minute speech, I did not hear an apology to the people in the Gallery - not once, not one apology.

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