DES:

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and Minister of State for Special Education and Inclusion Josepha Madigan TD have confirmed that a phased return for children with special educational needs to in-school learning on Thursday 21 January, will regrettably not be possible owing to a lack of co-operation by key staff unions in the primary sector.

After unprecedented engagement with primary and special education stakeholders it had been hoped that a shared objective to support children with special educational needs return to in-school learning, could be reached.

This included consistent, frequent and ongoing engagement at Ministerial and official level with education partners including teacher and SNA unions over the last two weeks, since the initial pause was requested by stakeholders. This built upon the very significant engagement which has taken place with stakeholders throughout this pandemic. Read press release