Minister attacked SNA cuts in opposition

A junior minister who described the last government’s cuts to special needs supports in schools as immoral has defended his own Government for doing the same.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s cap on numbers of resource teachers and special needs assistants (SNAs) meant schools were told this week to cut extra support teaching by another 12% in September because 4,000 more children than this year qualified.

Brian Hayes, the minister of state at the Department of Finance, said Mr Quinn should be commended for maintaining a €1.3bn special needs budget.