Carol Nolan: SNAs Vital, Calls for Special Schools Task Force
Carol Nolan speaks in support of a motion to establish a time-bound school-building task force to prioritise delivery of special schools and special classes. She stresses the vital role of SNAs and warns that rising diagnoses of autism, ADHD and complex needs are placing unprecedented pressure on supports.
Carol Nolan outlines why she will support the motion and why a time-bound school-building task force is needed to ensure priority delivery of special schools and special classes. She frames the proposal as a practical step to respond to urgent demand for places and tailored provision.
Drawing on her experience as a former school principal and teacher with a master’s degree in inclusive and special education, Nolan emphasises the indispensable role SNAs play in preparing children, supporting wellbeing and enabling access to mainstream education. She notes that Ireland now supports over 23,000 SNAs in the current school year.
Nolan highlights that demand continues to outpace supply and points to rising diagnoses of autism, ADHD and complex needs as factors increasing strain on schools and families. She draws attention to long waits for Children’s Disability Network Teams and describes the situation she sees in her constituency of Offaly.
The speaker references the recent NCSE allocation review, its pause, and the additional 19 million euro allocation as exposing limitations in current care-needs criteria. Nolan says families and schools experienced real anxiety during the review and argues for clear, timely solutions to reduce that burden.
Support for a task force
Carol Nolan outlines why she will support the motion and why a time-bound school-building task force is needed to ensure priority delivery of special schools and special classes. She frames the proposal as a practical step to respond to urgent demand for places and tailored provision.
SNAs at the centre of school inclusion
Drawing on her experience as a former school principal and teacher with a master’s degree in inclusive and special education, Nolan emphasises the indispensable role SNAs play in preparing children, supporting wellbeing and enabling access to mainstream education. She notes that Ireland now supports over 23,000 SNAs in the current school year.
Pressure on the system and local impact
Nolan highlights that demand continues to outpace supply and points to rising diagnoses of autism, ADHD and complex needs as factors increasing strain on schools and families. She draws attention to long waits for Children’s Disability Network Teams and describes the situation she sees in her constituency of Offaly.
NCSE review and funding constraints
The speaker references the recent NCSE allocation review, its pause, and the additional 19 million euro allocation as exposing limitations in current care-needs criteria. Nolan says families and schools experienced real anxiety during the review and argues for clear, timely solutions to reduce that burden.
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Transcript
Go raibh maith agat lasgaon comhairle. Minister, I will be supporting this motion, particularly its call to establish a time-bound school-building task force with a mandate to ensure priority delivery of special schools and indeed special classes. As a former school principal and teacher with a master's degree in inclusive and special education, I fully recognise and indeed I've seen first-hand the invaluable and indispensable role that SNAs play in our schools throughout the state, particularly in preparing children, in enabling them to access mainstream education, supporting them to thrive alongside their peers and indeed dealing with their care needs and their wellbeing. It's absolutely invaluable. So our SNAs are vital in our mainstream primary schools and they deserve to be respected and indeed recognised for the great work they do. I want to acknowledge that Ireland has built one of the most dedicated SNA schemes in the European Union and we now support over 23,000 SNAs in the current school year. But the fact remains that demand continues to outpace supply and the rising diagnosis of autism, ADHD and complex needs have placed unprecedented pressure on the system. We also see that in the massive numbers struggling to access the Children's Disability Network teams and indeed I see that first-hand in my own constituency of Offaly. It's been a problem for years and it's unfair that parents have to fight all of the time and battle for vital access to basic services. The recent NCSE allocation review, although paused, and the additional 19 million euro in funding exposed the limitations of an outdated care needs criteria. Schools and families across Offaly and beyond did experience real anxiety at that time.