'I am genuinely shocked' at the Minister’s response to Special Needs Assistant motion

Deputy Seamus Healy, Independent TD for Tipperary South, has said he is “genuinely shocked” by the Minister’s response to a Dáil motion on Special Needs Assistants, accusing the Government of causing alarm among families and school communities across the country.

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In a statement issued on Tuesday 24 February 2025, he said the Government’s handling of the matter had spread “fear, trepidation, confusion and chaos” among parents, special needs assistants and schools.

He expressed disappointment that there was “not even a mention of an apology or an ‘I am sorry’” in the Minister’s contribution to the debate.

“That is disappointing, to say the least,” he said, adding that it suggested to him the Government did not understand the effect of its actions over the past couple of weeks.

The motion on Special Needs Assistants was debated as Private Members’ Business. Deputy Healy argued that the controversy had compounded pressures already faced by families of children with additional needs.

Parents, he said, must “fight and advocate for everything” on behalf of their children. Even the prospect of a difficulty can bring anxiety and sleepless nights.

He pointed to waiting lists of more than two and a half years for an assessment of need, despite what he described as the critical importance of early intervention.

Many families, he said, are forced to “scrimp and scrape” to secure private assessments and diagnoses.

Securing a school place can be another ordeal. Some parents, he noted, have had to take cases to the High Court. Others have been offered places up to 25 miles from home.

He said he dealt with such a case only last year. The cumulative effect, he argued, is that parents are “running on empty”, facing sustained stress and anxiety.

Earlier in the day, he stated, the Taoiseach declined to address what he described as the central issue. He maintained that the Minister also failed to do so in her remarks to the Dáil.

“The core issue is the criteria by which a child with special needs is allocated a special needs assistant,” he said. He described the existing framework as “untenable and unacceptable”, arguing that it is outdated, overly restrictive and no longer reflective of the duties currently carried out by special needs assistants in schools.

Deputy Healy further contended that last week’s pause in the proposed changes was “simply a cynical exercise to buy time”, and that the subsequent reversal, though welcome, had been compelled by public protest and further demonstrations planned for the days ahead.

He said the present situation, in which a child with autism who is overwhelmed, anxious or unable to learn without adult support does not qualify for an assistant, “simply has to change”.

The same applies, he said, to children who require help with communication, social understanding, emotional distress or sensory difficulties.

“That is what the protests are about,” he stated, adding that they “are going to continue until that situation changes.”

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