Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the Members who have spoken, particularly those who have spoken in support of the motion, Senator Robbie Gallagher from Fianna Fáil, Senator Máire Devine from Sinn Féin, Senator Grace O'Sullivan from the Green Party and the Civil Engagement Group and my own colleagues, Senators Nash, Bacik and Humphreys who have laid out the reason as to why this issue is so important.

I wish to pay tribute in particular to IMPACT Trade Union, who are in the Visitors Gallery. If any SNA is listening to this debate in any part of the country is not a member of a trade union, today is a good example as to why they need to join a trade union. Without the activity of IMPACT, in mobilising their members, this debate would not be happening and the Minister for Education and Skills would not be here to respond to the issues that have been raised. I thank the members of IMPACT for being present in the Gallery, for promoting the interests of special needs assistants and for continuing to do so.

I take issue with some of the comments made by Government speakers. To suggest some level of surprise that an SNA has been given a menial task to undertake in a school is, as anybody who knows anything about special needs assistants, completely disconnected with the reality of what is happening in Irish primary and secondary schools. If that is a surprise to anybody, they do not know fundamentally what they are talking about.

I suggest that it would be significant surprise to IMPACT to learn that it is being consulted in regard to this review because if so, it was not aware of it as late as 2 o'clock this afternoon. I am sure it will be surprised to learn that it is part of the consultation for this review, which we believe from the amendment to the motion will report back in March 2018.I am delighted to hear there is a SNA on the review group but that is not good enough. That is not a comprehensive review of the role of the SNA. If one is excluding members of the trade union which represents the SNAs from being on this review group or even in consulting with it in a meaningful way, then I think the review is doomed to fail. However, we will give it a fair chance to report to the House. We will obviously be in the Chamber to discuss the group's report.

I think everybody in this House fundamentally knows the value of the special needs assistant. SNAs do not ask for much. They do the most incredible of jobs, they empower the most vulnerable of children in our system, they give them a reason to smile, they look forward to seeing them every day. They make a connection with them on a human level, which is unparalleled. Without them many families would not be able to cope. They give the child a reason to go to school and to look forward to it. They build relationships that often last long after the child has left second level education. They are not asking for even a fraction of the world, they are not even asking for a single penny in extra salary, all they are asking for is respect and for their role to be valued.

That is why so many Members of this House from different political backgrounds have looked at the motion and realised it is not a political football. We are not trying to have a go at anybody or have a political points scoring exercise. We are trying to defend the employment rights of SNAs with a trade union such as IMPACT. That is the reason that speakers from Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, the Green Party and the Civil Engagement group have seen the validity of our motion and rejected the Government counter motion. I am quite sure that when the votes are cast, it will become a Seanad Éireann motion that shows the SNAs of this country that this House respects them. The IMPACT trade union and other trade unions that work with SNAs are working tirelessly on their behalf. It will be a good day for them to realise that the political system is backing them, that their union backs them and this House backs them. What they want from the Minister for Education and Skills is that he will back them too.