Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The parents and staff of Scoil Naomh Cholmcille in County Louth are at the gates of the Dáil today. They are protesting the failure of the Government to provide the school with an adequate number of special needs assistants, SNAs, for children with autism spectrum disorder. They have just one SNA to share between 12 kids. It is by no means a unique situation. SNA provision is in crisis across the State. Indeed, the assessment process used to allocate resources is clearly not fit for purpose. Scoil Naomh Cholmcille has repeatedly made requests for extra SNAs which have been denied by the Department. The school has been told to reprioritise its resources. The fact is the school does not have enough resources. This is by no means a unique situation. I have come across the same issue in my own constituency. Will the Taoiseach ensure that the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, intervenes for this school and others?

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