Conor D McGuinness calls out gaslighting over SNA cuts
Conor D McGuinness warned that proposed cuts to special needs assistants (SNAs) have caused widespread anxiety among parents, SNAs and school leaders and accused the government of 'gaslighting' the sector. He demanded solid guarantees that no child will lose SNA support in September and called for an updated framework to reflect the full range of SNA work beyond the 2014 circular.
Allegations of gaslighting
But what have they been met with over the last two and a half to three weeks is it's gaslighting that there's no other word for what they have been met with, McGuinness said, describing mixed government messages that left families confused and alarmed. He highlighted that representatives gave three different messages in one day and said the messaging included denial of cuts, then pauses, then promises to stop cuts.
Impact on families and school staff
McGuinness reported raw, moving testimonies from parents, special needs assistants and school leaders at a Sinn Féin public meeting and elsewhere, saying the depth of anger and anxiety was striking. He warned trust has been shattered, protests were planned across the state and parents remain unsure whether any child will lose SNA support in September.
Government responsibility and policy critique
He argued the chaos did not come from nowhere but from government decisions and policy, saying late-night reversals by leaders are the hallmark of bad policy. While a review has paused immediate damage, McGuinness cautioned that the sector needs more than a temporary reprieve and that the review is not the reset schools require.
Demands for guarantees and reform
McGuinness urged solid guarantees that no child will lose SNA support in September and a review of the 2014 circular to properly value SNAs and reflect the real daily work they do. He warned that parents will continue to fight for every therapy and support for their children and said the battle to hold the minister and government to recent promises is not over.
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over the past number of weeks i've listened very intently to parents who are sick with worry i've listened to special needs assistants who are lying awake at night wondering if they'll have a job come september jobs that they love vocations that they do with every fiber of their being and i've listened to uh to children and their voices as well and the voice voices that are really important in this debate who simply want to feel safe and supported included in their own classrooms but what have they been met with over the last two and a half to three weeks is it's gaslighting that there's no other word for what they have been met with and they've been told that there's no crisis they've been told that there'd be no cuts then they were told that would be paused in waterford and our government representatives were out in the space of one day with three different messages first well it's all a conspiracy crafted by the opposition next couple of hours there are no cuts what are you talking about after that oh yeah those cuts well we're going to stop them now so we need to uh government needs to listen to parents snas and school leaders and and if if you had done that you would have heard what we heard in sinn fein when we had our public meeting and i know that other parties in the opposition have been engaging with parents and snas as well the depth of anger was absolutely striking it was really astounding the testimonies were raw they were moving and the level of anxiety was was was so uh so sharp and there's a real determination amongst these parents and these s and az school leaders to uh to ensure that children have access to an appropriate and proper education but we have to also be clear that there's a context here and the chaos didn't come from nowhere it came from government decisions government policy and no matter how government tries to throw ministers ministers the state the ncsc schools anybody everybody anybody they can under the bus over this this is government decision making this is policy writ large and policy that has to be changed late at night by government leaders is never good policy it is actually the hallmark of bad policy schools have been told of impending cuts and now what we have is a reprieve and it's not the reset that the sector desperately needs the review while it stopped the damage has already been done trust has been shattered there's going to be protests outside this place this evening there will be protests right across the state uh today tomorrow and friday and trust is gone parents are still anxious they don't believe government they don't believe what they've been told snas don't believe you um and we still don't know what september is going to look like in schools for these children so will any child lose their sna in september that is the question and we need solid guarantees that that won't happen should never have been a question in the first place one parent highlighted uh to me the difficulties with the circular um and how it doesn't reflect the real daily work that they see done by snas for their child and other children in that class it goes far beyond the narrow definition in the 2014 circular and this moment should be about properly valuing snas for understanding their work and updating the framework to reflect what they actually do so here we have a broken system that needs to be changed we have parents who are used to fighting for every therapy every support every uh every piece of access that they have for their child and they they're going to continue fighting minister and mark my words this battle isn't over uh people are going to hold you and this government uh to what you have promised and what you've said in the last number of days to ensure that no child is left without the support they need to secure an education
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