Parents: The right supports are not in place

While politicians argued the figures inside Leinster House, parents made clear on the streets of Ireland that they reject Government insistence that special needs pupils are getting the right supports in school.

Protests in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and six other towns went ahead despite the rowback on Tuesday over a proposed additional 12% cut to resource teaching hours for children with disabilities.

The main subject of anger was the sharing of the same 10,500 SNAs as this year in schools among 22,000 children in September. That is 10% more pupils than had their help in the past school year.