It became clear early last week that the Government’s neck-breaking U-turn on Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations was always going to happen. There were emergency meetings, Ministers being dragged into rooms, and otherwise politically anodyne principals suddenly mobilising entire school communities. While ministers now present this as responsiveness, what we actually witnessed was a stark moment of political vulnerability laid bare. Policymakers remain fundamentally off the mark when it comes to special education and, more broadly, disability. In this case, the National Council for Special Education was tasked with implementing a directive that originated elsewhere.

Source: Irish Examiner February 24, 2026 13:04 UTC