Sinn Féin to organise Waterford SNA protests; Government ministers call foul

Sinn Féin will organise two protests outside the constituency offices of Waterford’s two Government junior ministers, Mary Butler and John Cummins, following controversy around SNA job allocation.

The protests will take place outside of Minister John Cummins’ office on Parnell Street on Wednesday, February 25, at 4 pm, and Mary Butler’s Dungarvan office on Friday, February 27, at 4 pm.

The protests come after the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) undertook 584 reviews into SNA allocations.

While almost two-thirds of schools are set to maintain or grow their SNA allocation for 2026, 194 schools will have their allocation cut.

The Department of Education has said that SNA reallocation can take place due to changes in school numbers or changes in care needs.

Following complaints from schools bemoaning a lack of communication and SNAs left with scant detail over redeployments, political pressure led to Government freezing any further reviews into SNA allocations.

Trade union Fórsa has accused the Government of lacking confidence in its own review procedures.

“We need to know how many reviews took place and exactly how many jobs are at risk and why,” said Fórsa head of education Andy Pike.

“Asking SNAs to rely on a redeployment scheme that has not been finalised or published is simply not good enough. These cuts must be withdrawn.”

Mr Pike said that a short window for SNA redeployment could make it untenable for an SNA to find an alternative post.

Waterford Sinn Féin TD and party spokesperson for health David Cullinane, said: “Families in Waterford are furious with these SNA cuts.

“The last thing families need is cuts that will hit children and undermine the supports that families rely on.

“A strong turnout in Waterford City and Dungarvan will show that our communities won’t accept further cuts to children’s services.”

“Misinformation” 

A spokesperson for Minister Cummins accused Sinn Féin of spreading “misinformation” over the SNA cuts.

“It is unfortunate but not surprising that Sinn Fein have sought to promote misinformation about SNA provision across Waterford and exploit what is a highly emotive issue,” the spokesperson said.

“Put simply, there are no cuts to SNA provision in Waterford.”

Minister Cummins's spokesperson said that the number of SNA posts across Waterford schools has increased by 58% since the 2020/21 school year (354 to 560), and the number of special education teacher posts has increased by 30% (374 to 487).

“In the last two academic years alone, 28 additional special classes have been sanctioned across Waterford.” 

The spokesperson said ongoing engagement with school communities is taking place, with the priority in ensuring “pupils with special educational needs are fully supported in their school setting.” 

Minister Butler reaffirmed the same line and said no further SNA reviews will take place while the Department of Education consults with schools.

“I want to reiterate that there are no cuts to SNA numbers at present. It is important that politicians leading protests locally are clear and honest in their messaging in this respect,” Minister Butler said.

“I would also like to point out that for the next school year, we will be at 25,000 SNAs. That will be about 45% of an increase over five years.

“Any review conducted is about making sure that each school has the right level of SNAs for its needs.”