Children with the most complex needs in Donegal are losing essential support under the NESC's reviewed special needs assistants, SNA, review process and it comes at a real human cost. I personally reviewed the situation at Scoil Aodh Rua agus Nuala in Donegal town and what is going on there. There are children who rely on SNA supports to eat, to move and to communicate. These are their primary care needs and yet 2.5 SNAs are being cut from this school next September. It is far too much for this school to manage. If SNAs are treated as part of the general allocation, the school is forced to choose who loses support - children with special classes or children in mainstream classes with complex needs. Either way, inclusion fails and the children are forced out of their communities into special needs schools. The reduction sometimes is appropriate. I acknowledge that but this is not one of those times. Research shows best practice in law and that children with complex needs thrive in a stable, predictable and delivered educational environment within their own communities. The Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, ESPEN, Act 2004 guarantees that every child is entitled to appropriate education. Cutting essential supports is harmful and contrary to law. I have written urgently to all the Ministers and the relevant agencies seeking an intervention in this. The reality is stark. If these cuts continue, schools will not be able to safely manage special needs classes. The SENO may technically instruct schools to open classes but the practical reality for schools is they cannot meet the children's needs and they cannot provide essential care. This is not a threat. This is the reality that is going on on the ground. Children's safety, education and well-being are now at risk. These cuts undermine the inclusion and breach the principles of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Ireland has signed up to. I call for an urgent review, particularly of Scoil Aodh Rua agus Nuala in Donegal town because it is in a desperate situation and this review needs to be stopped and revisited immediately. I am asking the Taoiseach to intervene, that the 2.5 SNA cuts for this school in Donegal town be stopped and that the review and the process be looked at so that no child is left behind and that they can be educated within their communities.

Sentiment score: 0.06

I understand what the Taoiseach is saying around the allocations and deployment but in Donegal, it is not practical. For example, if in Donegal you are deployed to somewhere within a certain radius, there are no spaces available. That will not help, and within these schools, these children will be left without the rapport or the relationship they have built up over the years with the SNA who was there to help them. These children in this school are not going out anywhere over the next couple years; they will still be there. There are primary care needs here and they have still been cut. I ask the Taoiseach to review this school in Donegal town because we can see there is definitely something wrong. According to his own figures, 32% of schools are affected. If we are dealing with 32% of schools affected in the long run, what will that be next year and the year after? We have to make sure we are looking after children with primary needs and their care.

Sentiment score: -0.00