On behalf of my colleague, Deputy Robert O'Donoghue, I welcome the Tidy Towns group from Rush. Over the last number of days, there has been an absolute outcry of support for special needs assistants, SNAs, school communities, children with special educational needs and SNA provision for the coming academic year. This outcry and this stress have been caused by the Government and policy decisions that the Government has made. These actions and communications have been cruel; there is no other word for it. Is it any wonder that there has been such an outcry when the Department of education has made a decision to abruptly take SNAs out of mainstream environments? A person does not have to be an expert to know that taking SNAs out of mainstream environments genuinely affects children, and this is affecting the most vulnerable children in our society. Last year, I stood on the streets of Cork city and outside Dáil Éireann protesting with parents who could not get access to special classes. At that time, I welcomed the fact that there was an allocation of special classes. While they may not have been fully appropriate, I welcomed the development. At budget time, I welcomed that there was a new allocation for SNA provision. I welcome improvements to our education system. What I do not welcome, and something I will never accept, is that provision of services would be taken from a child. I know from working within school environments that there are children who rely solely on the support of a special needs assistant. We are now, as a State, going to take those supports away from particular children because they do not fit into the rigid criteria that have been created by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the Department of education. It is unacceptable to imagine or think that we would have children in this country who currently rely on a SNA not getting that support in the next academic year because of decision making by Departments and politicians. As a society, we must accept that the level of resources has not kept up with the level of need. The Taoiseach and the Minister can come in here all they want and say that we have increased the number of SNAs, but if we abruptly pull SNAs from mainstream classrooms, it destabilises them immediately. If we must take these decisions, we must see genuine increases where all children are able to avail of the necessary supports if they need them. There should not be a sudden announcement of "You have it this year, but not next year." Will the Tánaiste confirm what this pause means? When will the pause be lifted? Will schools lose SNAs for the next academic year? Will he confirm for schools that have been told by the NCSE that they have an increase in allocation for next year that this will stay the same?

Sentiment score: 0.07

With all due respect, while I agree with the stuff the Tánaiste has said, he has not answered any of my questions. He raised the issue of care needs. Does he accept that the care needs system has become too rigid? I am putting on the record of the Dáil that those who are on the autism spectrum and those who have inclusion needs, social anxiety or academic needs, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or dyspraxia, do not fit into the criteria you need to meet to get the support of a SNA. They will not have that support. That is the fundamental issue. I need an answer to the first question I asked the Tánaiste because I am meeting SNAs, teachers, principals, students and parents tonight. When will this pause be lifted? That is the fundamental question. The Minister, Deputy Naughton's office sent an email back to a school in Dublin 15 this morning saying that this issue was the responsibility of the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan. Is this his issue or is it the Minister's?

Sentiment score: 0.14