'The State will be failing her': Parents wrote to Government over 'deeply distressing' SNA cuts

Correspondence followed a controversy in February over possible reductions in special needs assistant supports in schools countrywide.

Parents of children with autism, epilepsy, and severe anxiety begged the Department of Education not to strip away classroom supports they said were essential to keep their sons and daughters in school.

The department received more than 150 messages from families, special needs assistants (SNAs), and school staff warning of how vulnerable children would be left distressed and excluded.