Special needs assistants protest outside Leinster House demanding ‘job security’

Hundreds of special needs assistants (SNAs), parents and children cheered and chanted outside Leinster House on Wednesday afternoon demanding clarity and certainty from the Government.

In an interview earlier in the day, Tanaiste Simon Harris said the Government had got a review of how SNAs were allocated at schools “wrong”.

The review and reallocation of SNAs for the next school year was paused after it sparked a backlash from parents and educators.

On Monday night, the Government agreed not to reduce the number of SNAs at any schools from September, but in schools where the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) said more SNAs were needed, they would be allocated.

Anne Marie Williams, an SNA from Cabinteely, in South Dublin, was at the demonstration and said she thought this decision was just the Government “kicking the can down the street”.

Her colleague, Marnie Kelly, said they just wanted “proper job recognition” and “job security”.

The group, from a DEIS secondary school, were carrying banners featuring their students’ handprints and Ms Williams said: “We’ve got a lot of kids that stay with us because of SNAs, if not, they’d been gone at 13.

“If they pull out SNAs, don’t support these kids, they’ll be on the streets at 13 years of age.”

Also taking part in the protest was six-year-old Lily, a surviving twin, she was born at 25 weeks and spent 11 weeks in neonatal intensive care with bleeds on the brain.

Her mother, Natalie Murphy, described her daughter as “Einstein clever” but said: “This time last year, Lily wouldn’t leave the house.

“She wouldn’t come in near a crowd like this.”

Ms Murphy said Lily only got her own SNA in the last year and was “like a different child” now.

She said: “Look at her, she’s even saying the chants with us.”

The thought of Lily losing her SNA was “terrifying”, Ms Murphy said.

“She’s only a baby; she needs all help she can get to stay in mainstream school.”

Close to tears, Ms Murphy said the anxiety caused by the uncertainty of the situation was having a “ripple effect on the whole family”.

Michelle Adebisi, an SNA from Bray, described the Government’s handling of the situation as “shocking, absolutely shocking”.

“It’s really bad, it’s not fair to take away SNAs from everyone who needs them,” she said.

She pointed out that it was not just children with care needs who relied on SNAs: “Some of them are very vulnerable.

“Some of them have ADHD and autism, and they just need someone to just give them space, to be with them, to help them get through their day.”

She was at the event with school service dog Diego, who helps children at the Bray School Project who are experiencing anxiety.