Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and their supporters are being urged to contact their local TDs and Senators in the coming days to demand political support for long-overdue reform of the State’s leave arrangements in schools. 

In December 2025, Laura Harmon introduced the Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill 2025 in the Seanad. The Bill seeks to amend the Department of Education’s existing Leave of Absence Following Assault circular, which has been widely criticised by unions and frontline staff as being totally out of step with the realities of school workplaces. 

The Bill will be debated in the Seanad on Wednesday 18th February, and Fórsa is calling on members to email both Senators and TDs to ensure their party supports its passage. 

The current ‘assault’ leave scheme was introduced in 2017 to provide additional leave for teachers and SNAs injured in the workplace. However, unions have consistently highlighted serious flaws. Leave is capped, the terminology around ‘assault’ is stigmatising, and the scheme fails to account for delayed, recurring, or non-physical injuries such as trauma and stress.

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike said “Our members have kept pushing this issue for some time now, steadily building pressure and refusing to let it slip off the agenda. Our approach has always been shaped by the lived experience and input of workers on the ground - the people dealing with the inadequacies of the current system every day. Now the Bill is at a critical juncture.” 

Assistant general secretary Shane Lambert underlined the need for legislative change as previous attempts to advance this issue industrially were not been successful.  He said: “Despite the union lodging several claims to seek improvements and specifying how that could be achieved, they have not been agreed by the Department and ended up in lengthy processes, failing to deliver any meaningful change.” 

The urgency of reform was underlined by figures published in February 2025 obtained under Freedom of Information legislation and reported by 7 Lá on TG4. The data revealed a 64% increase in assault-related leave among teachers and SNAs since 2022. In 2023 alone, 412 staff took leave following assaults, with SNAs in primary schools accounting for the majority of cases. 

Following the programme, Fórsa launched its own large-scale survey of education workers to gather detailed evidence on assaults, injuries, stress, and burnout across the education sector.  The figures that came back confirmed the stark reality reported on the ground. 

More than half of respondents (55%) have experienced assault at work, rising to 69% among SNAs, with nearly half of those injured requiring medical treatment and over a third needing hospital care. Yet support structures are weak: only 9% were offered counselling, just a third even knew about assault leave policies, and half receive no regular safety training. The human cost is clear, with 89% reporting workplace stress and 47% of participants citing they considered leaving due to burnout. 

 Fórsa has argued that, crucially, this new Bill also moves away from language that deters staff from using the scheme out of concern for stigmatising children, while still ensuring incidents are properly recorded and addressed. 

“The current setup frames children as perpetrators rather than students needing support. That’s not right. The Education (Leave for Injuries) Bill 2025 would fundamentally reform the current system. We developed it in consultation with the INTO and campaigner and teacher Sophie Cole. The Bill would guarantee paid leave for the full duration of a medically certified injury, cover immediate medical and related costs, and provide access to psychological and specialist supports. It would also allow for early retirement in cases of permanent incapacity and ensure equal treatment for teachers and SNAs.” 

Fórsa representatives will attend the first reading of the Bill on Wednesday 18th February. In advance of that the Education division is calling for members to pour on the political pressure in the background. 

“We’re asking members to email Senators seeking support for the Bill, and to contact their TDs to ensure party backing as the legislation progresses. SNAs and school secretaries are being explicitly encouraged to get involved so we can reform a system totally out of step with workplace realities,” appealed Andy. 

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