Ciara Reilly: Power shift behind SNA U-turn exposes Government's weakness

The Government’s climbdown on SNA allocations reveals fragile leadership, weak reform planning, and deep mistrust in special education policy

Taoiseach Micheál Martin outside Government Buildings. Circular rewrites alone will not fix disability and education policy. A bit of old-fashioned political leadership might. File photo: Leah Farrell / © RollingNews.ie

It became clear early last week that the Government’s neck-breaking U-turn on Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations was always going to happen. 

The past week amounted to a brutal reading of the riot act. Spare a thought for your local Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael TD. There were emergency meetings, Ministers being dragged into rooms, and otherwise politically neutral principals suddenly mobilising entire school communities.