The government must not proceed with any plan to cut Special Needs Assistant support across the country, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins TD.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cummins, who has been meeting with teachers, school leaders, SNAs and parents on special education, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe proposed cuts are wholly premature; many new special classes, which will support children with additional needs, have not yet been fully announced or confirmed, and the broader SNA Workforce Development Plan, intended to shape how SNA resources are deployed, remains unpublished and without sufficient clarity.<\/p>\n
\u201cImplementing reductions before these fundamental pieces are in place undermines effective planning and leaves families and schools in limbo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt simply does not make sense to reduce support now when we are still awaiting the full rollout of special class provision that will directly affect where and how our children are supported.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchools, parents and SNAs are being asked to navigate uncertainty while the structures that should guide these decisions remain incomplete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe current process is robbing Peter to pay Paul – shifting resources around without ensuring that overall capacity meets the growing and varied needs of pupils with complex needs is simply not good enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch an approach risks disrupting the continuity of support that many children depend on to access and participate fully in education – at a time when inclusive education should be strengthened, we are seeing decisions made on the basis of administrative cut-offs rather than the real, lived needs of students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to stop moving supports around in ways that satisfy a spreadsheet and start grounding decisions in genuine educational needs and adequate planning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m calling on the Minister for Education and the National Council for Special Education to immediately halt any reductions pending the publication and meaningful consultation on the Workforce Development Plan and full confirmation of special class provision, and to ensure that SNA resources are allocated in a way that truly meets the needs of pupils across the State.\u201d<\/p>\n
February 16th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government must not proceed with any plan to cut Special Needs Assistant support across the country, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins TD. Deputy Cummins, who has been meeting with teachers, school leaders, SNAs and parents on special education, said: \u201cThe proposed cuts are wholly premature; many new special classes, which will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,581,7,678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-jen-cummins","category-press-release","category-special-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n