Special needs assistant: 'For 18 years, I didn't know if I would have a job in September'

Carol McSherry: “It’s very hard to try to get a mortgage or a loan because we’re not really considered permanent, and it’s a 'last in, first out' type of system.”  Picture: Fintan Clarke

They often act as the voices of children with additional needs in the classroom, and without them, thousands of students could not access their constitutional right to an education.

Yet, every year, many special needs assistants (SNAs) around the country find out if they have a job for the following year from a spreadsheet published online.