In mid-February the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) wrote to schools informing them of cuts to Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) from next September. Following a backlash by parents, SNAs, teachers, opposition parties, and trade unions, the government backed down with a temporary package of €19 million which trade union FÓRSA called: ‘sticking plaster to be in place for 12months while the Government tries to get its act together’
Well, we won’t hold our breaths waiting for an Irish government ‘to get its act together’.
One of the great delusions in Irish politics is that general elections bring us new governments rather than just different varieties of coalitions between Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and other smaller parties such as Labour.
And while working class people can see through the charade, it seems government ministers swallow it wholesale. They forget that decisions they themselves made a few years ago are still in effect and can come back to bite them. The establishment of the NCSE under the Education for Persons with Special Education Needs Act by Fianna Fail in 2004 is an example of this.
Establishment makes a mess of education supports
The government abdicated responsibility for the provision of services to a bureaucratic quango who then followed their remit and made an unpopular decision, taking the government by surprise, and causing immense suffering to some of the most vulnerable people in society.
The anger, worry, and confusion that parents, teachers, and SNAs went through was immense. Parents had no idea if their children would have the supports they desperately needed; while SNAs wondered if they would have a job next September. So much so we had one vulnerable group being pitted against another with demands that the ‘free school meals’ scheme be abolished to fund SNAs.
The chronic underfunding and disregard for education as a whole and special needs education in particular by successive governments, has created this nightmare for parents and staff; and has left children in limbo. For decades establishment parties were happy to hand over responsibility for education to the churches – the Catholic Church, in particular – but now that membership of religious orders has dwindled bodies like the NCSE and other groups have been formed to provide a protective caul around the government to shield it from the consequences of its own policies.
Socialist approach
So, will the government ever ‘get its act together’? No, it won’t. What is needed is a root and branch change of society into one where everyone is valued and treated equally. All children will receive the education and services they need and no parent will have to worry about their child’s future because society as a whole will share the responsibility of care with them. Where teachers and childcare staff are paid well, have secure contracts and decent working conditions, and have all the resources they need to do their jobs. This is possible. Under a socialist system we can build this socialism but we need to organise and work together to fight for it.