Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

-----he would have noted that in many instances it became the norm for a special needs assistant to be allocated not because of disability or the particular challenges a child faced. This could not continue.

I know from visiting many schools the value of special needs assistants to children who need them. There will in fact be more special needs assistants in the system this year than ever before. Of course, Deputy Boyd Barrett will not recognise this. Neither does he want to understand the Minister's logic in holding back more than 400 of these to ensure they are allocated to children who really need them.

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