Cruel cuts to SNA posts 'unjustifiable and unfathomable' – Mayo TD
A Mayo TD has strongly criticised the reduction of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts under the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) review process, describing it as “unjustifiable and unfathomable."
Deputy Conway-Walsh said the 2025/2026 Guidelines for the Review of SNA Allocations must be scrapped immediately and any cuts where there has been no change in need must be reversed.
She elaborated: “These guidelines are clearly designed to narrow access to support and reduce allocations. At a time when demand for special education supports is increasing, schools are being told to do more with less.
“The government is saying one thing and doing another. The minister announces increases in SNA posts at budget time, yet here we are four months later and schools are now being told they are losing vital supports.
“Ask any school principal and they’ll tell you there is already a massive unmet need. Children who require SNA support are waiting or going without, and now they face reductions despite no change in their assessed care needs. That is simply unacceptable.
“Among the many schools who have contacted me in Mayo, one principal has been trying to facilitate the return to education for a child with a brain injury resulting from a life-altering accident.
"This child is a wheelchair user, paralysed on one side and the National Rehabilitation Hospital recommend they have a full-time SNA throughout the school day, yet just 0.25 of an SNA allocation has been offered – the equivalent of one hour per day.
“That is not reflective of the reality of this child’s needs, and it highlights the flawed and rigid approach being applied under this review.
“If SNAs are pulled back from supporting care and behavioural needs, that responsibility will fall on already overstretched teachers, with a knock-on effect on every child in the classroom.
“The government cannot claim special education is a priority while quietly cutting supports on the ground.
“Children with additional needs in Mayo and across the State deserve better. These NCSE cuts to SNA posts must be scrapped immediately.”