Seán Canney TD, Minister of State for International and Road Transport, Logistics, Rail and Ports and Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers, has welcomed last night’s agreement to ensure there will be no reductions to Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) for the 2026/27 school year.

In his role as Leader in Cabinet of the Independent Ministers , Minister Canney was part of last night’s meeting where he, the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, met with Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State for Special Education Michael Moynihan and officials to reach agreement on the issue.

Following discussions, it was agreed that all schools reviewed by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and allocated additional SNA resources will receive them in full for the coming academic year. No reductions will come into effect in 2026/27.

An additional €19 million in funding will be provided to the Department of Education to support the decision.

Minister Canney said: “I welcome the outcome of last night’s meeting. It was vital that we removed uncertainty for children, parents and school communities.

At last night’s meeting, I made it clear that reductions to SNA supports could not proceed for the coming school year. I am pleased that we reached agreement to protect these posts and to ensure that schools receive the resources already allocated to them.”

While no reductions will take place next year, it was agreed that the SNA redeployment scheme, the SNA workforce development plan and updates to the 2014 circular outlining the role of an SNA will now be progressed. The priority will be to retain and enhance the child-centred approach to the provision of special education.

Once these key policy documents are agreed and published, the NCSE can commence reviews of supports for the 2027/28 academic year, ensuring that allocations continue to be based on the needs of children.