Schools have warned that a “flabbergasting” move to cut back on special needs assistants (SNAs) in mainstream schools will set the education system back 30 years.
It comes as the first schools across the country have learned of plans to reduce their individual number of SNA posts following reviews by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
This is despite the overall number of SNA posts in the school system, including special classes and special schools, set to increase from September 2026.
Of the 585 reviews carried out by the NCSE to date, roughly 187 schools will see reductions. The NCSE is expected to continue to update schools on the outcomes of reviews in the coming weeks.
Cliona O’Keeffe, principal of Our Lady’s Boys’ National School in Ballinteer, Dublin, said:
“This is a backwards step. It’s taken us nearly 30 years to get here, now it’s taking us back to where we were before inclusion.”
The NCSE is proposing to reduce the school’s mainstream SNAs from five posts to two from September. This represents a 60% reduction in mainstream SNA support.
“In practical terms, weekly support will fall from 125 hours to 50 hours across the same cohort of pupils, with the remaining two SNAs required to work across four classes each.
“As a result, SNA support will be limited to pupils with the most significant needs, and access to support for many other children will be greatly reduced,” she said.
One parent described the SNA staff as “lifesaving, indispensable, and utterly critical to my child’s ability to learn, thrive, and feel safe and included at school”.
There has been a lot of progress and positive work in the whole area of special education in the last 20 to 25 years, according to primary school principal Paul Favier, based in Killarney.
The town is expected to lose at least 10 SNA posts from its primary schools in September.
“Schools are concerned that if the current trend continues, we will regress in our duty of care for children with additional needs,” he added.
Scoil Barra in Ballincollig, Cork, is set to lose two posts from September, despite more than a quarter of its students requiring SNA support.
Staff told the Irish Examiner it was “flabbergasting” and “mystifying” to see the reduction as its care needs have increased in recent years.
“The outcome simply does not align with the level of need in our school. We haven’t received clear, transparent criteria explaining why this reduction was calculated.
We want to know why we are losing two SNA positions, which hasn’t been made clear to us.
On Monday, education minister Hildegarde Naughton and special education minister Michael Moynihan both encouraged schools to engage in the NCSE appeals process.
Mr Moynihan confirmed he had been contacted by a number of schools. He said:
There is an appeal mechanism, a very robust appeal mechanism, and I would very much encourage the schools to engage in that process.
Ms Naughton said two thirds of the reviews to date will retain or gain SNAs.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said the NCSE will undertake approximately 1,000 SNA reviews in schools this school year.
“Of the total number of SNAs in our schools at present, which is over 23,000, less than 1% have been identified to date by the NCSE as surplus in schools.”
No SNAs are being removed from any school in this school year, with any change only coming into effect for the start of the 2026/27 school year.”
Details on the new redeployment scheme for SNAs are currently being finalised, she added.
However, the Fórsa trade union said this has been “agreed in principle”.
Jess Casey, Education Correspondent