Proposed cuts to SNAs in Kildare school, 'Inconceivable and indefensible' - senator

A Kildare senator has said in the Seanad it is “inconceivable and indefensible” that the number of SNAs in a Newbridge secondary school be cut as proposed.

Speaking in the Seanad this week, Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O'Loughlin said that while Patrician Catholic Secondary School in Newbridge is an “excellent” school, there are plans to cut the number of SNA posts there.

The school, she stated, has a strong reputation in the Newbridge community for inclusion and supporting a diverse student population, yet now its SNA allocation was being called into question.

According to Senator O'Loughlin, Patrician Catholic Secondary School had an allocation of 6.75 SNAs since the school population was 820 pupils.

However, she pointed out, the school population has now grown to 930 and is rising, with a school extension planned to cater for 1,000 pupils.

“One can imagine”, she said, the impact on the school community when it heard over the weekend that its allocation of 6.75 SNAs was going to be reduced to four next September.

“The whole school community is absolutely devastated”, Senator O'Loughlin told Minister of State at the Department of Education and Youth, Michael Moynihan TD.

“The SNAs are a really important feature of school life in terms of students who are vulnerable and need to have those extra needs met. In the last budget, 16,000 SNAs were accounted for in terms of extra funding.

“For 2026, there was an increased allocation of, I believe, 1,717. That is more than double the number of SNAs ten years ago. That is really great and a lot of the extra allocation is down to the Minister of State and his support for this area.

“I appreciate that it is not him who makes these allocations but, rather, the NCSE (National Council for Special Education), working through the special educational needs organisers, SENOs. However, considering the increase in SNA allocation, I cannot at any level understand how this school, which has grown, has received a proposed allocation of 40% instead of more SNAs.”

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Senator O'Loughlin said the school is making an appeal to the NCSE against the reduction in SNA allocation.

“Just the mere suggestion of the cut is inconceivable and indefensible”, she said, adding she hoped the Minister of State will support this call to have the cut reversed and, “at the very minimum”, retain the current number in the school.

“That is needed for those children who have those extra needs and are vulnerable”, she concluded.

Responding to Senator O'Loughlin, Deputy Moynihan agreed that a student population growth from 820 to 930 pupils was “a huge increase.”

There are almost 25,000 SNAs within the education system at the moment, he stated, and a review was currently underway to see where best these SNAs could be placed.

However, he noted, it was important that Patrician Catholic Secondary School appeal the decision “and put its best foot forward in that regard.”

“Senator O'Loughlin and I have worked together very carefully over many years since she came into the Oireachtas and even before that. She has a fantastic grasp and understanding of education.”, he said.

“We will certainly work together to try to get the best possible outcomes. She will appreciate that I cannot give any cast iron guarantees. There is a process there that needs to be done. We will work on that process. I have no difficulty working with Senator O'Loughlin on this or any other issue.”