Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State knows, I know and, indeed, the cat knows that teachers would not be treated as SNAs are being treated because the Department would not get away with it. It is clear that the Department has a long-standing issue or policy when it comes to dealing with SNAs in that they are not treated with the same level of respect as teachers. We have seen that throughout the pandemic, from announcements being made without the sign-off of the union representing SNAs to the absolute debacle of the redeployment process last year.

Now we have a situation where the Minister of State has given a speech to the House that is very well-meaning but which shows that she will not do what we require her to do, namely, afford SNAs the credit and respect they deserve for the training they do. I suggest to the Minister of State that she should work harder to put in place the accreditation that SNAs are seeking for the training they do. This would show them that the Department recognises that theirs is a profession of which they can be proud, instead of leaving them always to feel that they are being undermined by the Department.

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