Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has questioned if the Government is "buying time" with its pause of a review of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations to schools.
Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton announced the move yesterday following concerns raised by parents and schools.
A spokesperson for the minister said that all changes proposed under the review, including those already communicated to schools, will not go ahead pending further engagement.
In the Dáil, Deputy McDonald asked if schools that were due to lose SNAs can still expect to lose them.
"The actions of your Government have caused real concern, anxiety, anger and have the potential for chaos in school communities," Ms McDonald said.
In response, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said ministers will engage with schools and with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in relation to the review.
'Numbers on a spreadsheet'
Social Demcocrats leader Holly Cairns accused the Government of reducing the support that SNAs provide "down to numbers on a spreadsheet".
During Leaders' Questions in the Dáil, Ms Cairns said children being able to "communicate, being able to regulate, to participate is just as important as their physical needs".
Ms Cairns asked the Taoiseach if the current SNA policy will be scrapped, and accused the Government of missing the point.
She said schools "are in limbo" and have no idea if cuts or increases are still happening.
"All they know is, there is now going to be a review, into the original review.
"Nobody knows how long this second review is going to take, or what the criteria for it will be," she said.
Ms Cairns said an SNA's work is "not an optional extra", helping children with "medical needs, through their anxiety, through painful transitions through tough and difficult moments".
"Without SNAs, children would be excluded," she said.
'We need more therapists' - Taoiseach
In response, the Taoiseach said: "I am a parent as well. I was a teacher. My own fundamental objective in politics is to realise the potential of every child in this country."
"Fundamentally, we need more therapists and we need multi-disciplinary teams in our special schools and ultimately in our mainstream schools," he said.
He said SNAs have "key roles" in "facilitating the participation of children with intellectual disability and physical disability in our schools".
Mr Martin said taking therapists out of special schools was a "mistake". "That's why we are correcting it now," he added.
He said SNA numbers have expanded and there is a workforce plan "in terms of the SNA role". "That is not completed," he said.
Ms Cairns said the allocation of SNAs is based "almost exclusively on physical needs and not other needs".
"You neeed to put your policy where your mouth is," she said.
"You recognise there is a problem with this policy because it's been paused. It wouldn't be paused if you didn't recognise that."
Mr Martin welcomed "proper engagement" on the issue, but accused the Opposition of calling for "more, more, more".
"There has to be reviews. There are limits," he said.
