An SNA has called for a living allowance to be introduced for school staff who face impossible living costs.
Linda O'Sullivan is a special needs assistant and representative of trade union Forsa. She explained that special needs assistants, alongside caretakers and school secretaries, are amongst the lower paid workers in schools who are feeling the pinch as bills spike.
The lifting of the eviction ban is also putting further strain on Forsa members, Linda said. She argued that the Department of Education needs to introduce a living allowance in order to entice staff to work and stay in Dublin.
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She told Dublin Live: "People can't afford to rent and buy here yet it's where most of the school postings are. There are SNAs in my own school who are travelling outside of their counties to get to work - the cost of travel is eating up their money, alongside food and childcare bills."
Equally, special needs assistants face job insecurities annually as the sector relies on allocations from individual schools. Linda said that staff contend with an anxious wait each year before hearing if they have a job in September, which is particularly insulting in the context of a cost of living crisis.
The policy operates on a "last in, first out" format for staff members based on their hiring date. Linda said she has been inundated with calls from worried special needs assistants, who face the double threat of job uncertainty coupled with the looming eviction ban.
She added: "We have no idea how many members could be affected by the lifting of the eviction ban. I'm getting calls from members who want to continue in their jobs but are being pinched by bills, heating costs and rent - they don't know how to survive."
The Forsa representative also stressed that many professionals in the city centre are finding themselves in similar predicaments as rents escalate. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Dublin stands roughly between €1,700 - €2,000 per month as of early 2023.
Linda said that many Forsa members will participate in a cost of living protest scheduled on April 1. The demonstration is being organised by the Cost of Living Coalition to demand the reinstatement of the eviction ban. It will take place outside the Dail at 1pm.
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