Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not think it is necessary to withdraw the circular. The intent contained within it is perfectly legitimate. Recent Department and National Council for Special Education reports concluded that while the SNA scheme has been very successful in supporting the care needs of children with special needs in schools, the intended purpose of that scheme was not always generally well understood by parents or schools and the scope and purpose of the scheme needed to be clarified within that circular, which is what happened. The purpose of the circular was not to scare or somehow lead parents to conclude that there was going to a reduction in SNA supports. It was simply to clarify the role of the SNA within the school setting and I am confident that it did that. An explanatory booklet will be available for parents in the very near future. Since 2011, we have protected resources within special education in very difficult economic circumstances.

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