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IMPACT official Philip Mullen addressed the committee, and expressed the union’s concerns that the current round of cuts to the Special Needs Assistants service is not driven by a reasoned approach to the needs of children.

He added that jobs are being shed from the system despite a continuing need for the service, meaning that vulnerable children will lose out on continuing access to education, despite existing legislation to facilitate access to education for children with special education needs.

Mr Mullen told the committee, “We believe that the cuts are driven more by crude - and ultimately bogus - financial considerations. That is, more by the McCarty report than by any attempt to meet the rights of children with special educational needs in a fair and efficient manner.

“All of the stakeholders in this issue accept that while there is an obvious need to ensure that the service delivers in a cost effective and transparently accountable way, it must continue to be a needs-based service, with the best interests of children at its heart.

“Special Needs Assistants are committed to finding better ways to provide for the children they work with, so long as the rights and needs of these children are protected. They also need to have confidence that their entitlements as employees are similarly respected” he said.

Mr Mullen explained that the union made a submission to the Value for Money and Policy Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme in November 2008, with suggestions on more efficient use of resources, clarifying the role of SNAs, professional qualifications, and the basis of employment which would best facilitate redeployment of staff as required.

“Our contention is that the outcome of this review would have provided a better and more reasoned approach to ensuring that the rights of these vulnerable children are protected” he said.

He added that the failure to implement the 2004 EPSEN (Education for Persons with Special Education Needs) Act is at the root of the current difficulties, “There is inadequate provision for an independent appeals procedure, and ultimately, we do not feel that the rights of children with special needs can be fully vindicated.

“The appeals procedures introduced by the NCSE from 22nd February this year, are too late to address the bulk of the recent cuts, and fail to meet the standards of natural justice we would hope for.

“The independent review is restricted to looking at the process applied rather than the decisions actually made in relation to the child’s needs. In its current form, the appeals procedure merely reviews the NCSE’s own internal decisions” he said.

Mr Mullen concluded by saying that the outcome, ultimately, is that jobs are shed from the system despite a continuing need for the service. And while the procedure is drawn out, vulnerable children will lose out on continuing access to education, which the EPSEN act is supposed to facilitate.

Note to Editor:

From the Oireachtas order of business today:

Committees Meeting in Public Session

The Joint Committee on Education and Science will meet at 10 am in Committee Room 2, Leinster House 2000

Agenda: (i) Effects of the proposed reductions in the number of teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) [St. Joseph’s Special National School, Balrothery, Co. Dublin; Scoil Íosagain, Buncrana,Co. Donegal; St Anthony’s Special School, Castlebar, Co. Mayo; Scoil Caitríona, Renmore, Co. Galway; Scoil Aonghusa, Cashel, Co. Tipperary and IMPACT]; and

(ii) (a) An overview of the nature of the review on SNAs by the National Council for Special Education and its impact on the wider education sector; (b) why the provision of SNAs has been reduced in Special Needs Schools; and (c) whether this review conflicts with the full implementation of the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 [National Council for Special Education (NCSE)]

(iii) Current and future policy proposals for SNAs [Officials from the Department of Education & Science]