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Dáil
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

SNA reviews and Dáil agenda

Summary

Deputy Coppinger demands that the paused SNA review be abandoned and debated, arguing it threatens supports for children with additional needs. The Taoiseach defends assessment of allocations, while the Order of Business is concluded and the House moves to questions.

We absolutely have to have the SNA cull, or sorry review, put onto the Dáil agenda this week. Every single TD has been plagued by a deluge of representations on this. Fair play to parents, pupils and staff in the school in Dublin who yesterday called out the Government and got it to pause it. However, it has not dropped it; it has just paused it. It has to be discussed in the Dáil. What we have from the Taoiseach is that suddenly students progress. God forbid a special needs assistant, SNA, should be left in a school-----

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We assess it.

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-----because, of course, there would not ever be another student who would have additional needs.

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We would assess it.

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We all know that appeals very rarely go in favour of the parents or the student. Help with school refusal, anxiety and ADHD in mainstream schools is very important. It is very important that SNAs are maintained in schools. Shifting the focus away or on to the primary care needs of children, which is what the Minister is doing, will gut SNAs from so many schools. We need this put onto the agenda. We need to stop pitting schools, mainstream and special schools, against each other. It will not work.

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I thank the various Whips for their comments. We have a request for four additional sets of statements this week but, as Members know, we are dealing with requests that came in two weeks ago, including for statements on bluetongue and on flooding. Notwithstanding they are all extremely important, I will consult with the various Ministers to see if they can be facilitated as soon as possible. The Order of Business stands.

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John McGuinness An Leas-Cheann Comhairle Fianna Fáil

Is the Order of Business agreed? No.

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Division Carried

Question put: "That the proposed arrangements for this week's business be agreed to."

Tá 79
·
Níl 63

Do you agree with this result?

John McGuinness An Leas-Cheann Comhairle Fianna Fáil

We move now to Questions on Policy or Legislation. I call Deputy McDonald.

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