Following the government's late evening announcement that there will be no SNA cuts in September, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education and Youth and Meath-East TD, Darren O’Rourke TD, has said it is a reprieve for schools, families and SNAs, but warned that the fundamental issues at the heart of the policy remain unaddressed.
Speaking in advance of Tuesday’s Dáil debate on Sinn Féin’s Dáil motion, Deputy O’Rourke said that while the reversal is necessary, it does not fix the broken system that put children with additional needs in jeopardy in the first place.
He said the government’s actions over the past fortnight had caused enormous upset, and showed a total lack of respect for SNAs, schools, students and their families. He also questioned whether the €19m extra funding the government pledged tonight is new money or a reallocation from the existing education budget.
Deputy O’Rourke joined us on The Agena this morning to talk to us some more about this.
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