Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The majority of our debates are overshadowed by our financial predicament. The country was driven to bankruptcy and we have been bailed out by our near and generous neighbours. Certain people have been recorded on tape mocking other European countries but I want to be disassociated with such attitudes. We will work our way out of our current difficulties but while we as a country are unable to pay our way, we should be grateful to others when they give us a leg up. We are not living in normal times, whether in respect of education, health or any other area, and we have to change our systems.

I acknowledge the capacity of the Minister for Education and Skills for listening. I welcome that he was open to changing his original proposal of a 10% reduction in hours. He is a reforming Minister, although perhaps not as reforming as I would wish, and I recognise progress when progress is made.

We do not have equality in education in Ireland, whether at primary, secondary or tertiary level. Even in the area of special needs we should strive for fairness in how we invest resources. A child may be from a family which can access the financial resources to have him or her speedily diagnosed and included in the special needs category. Children should be put into the special needs category based on merit rather than because they happen to have the financial wherewithal. It is especially disheartening to those of us who represent strongly working class constituencies that parents who lack those financial resources have to wait for so long before their children are diagnosed.

I join other speakers of welcoming the review of the special needs assistants that is to be conducted under the chairmanship of Mr. Stack. I hope the outcome of that review will be the provision of resources to the children who need them the most. I congratulate the Department of Education Skills and the Minister for moving in that direction.

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