Michael Conaghan (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Stack. Historically, many children were lost, not only to the educational system but also during their entire adult lives to employment and being able to meet the ordinary needs of living because of lack of literacy. I was involved in teaching for 35 years. In that time there were no appropriate interventions designed or provided for. Teachers would go to Eason & Son Limited and buy books or cardboard and make up what they wanted to teach because there were no other resources. All that has changed. I realise the NCSE has played a major part in the provision of adequate resources. Its name is well established as an innovator in this area. Things have changed so much. I pay tribute to the foresight and years of hard work of the NCSE in this regard.

Certainly there is more to do. However, a firm platform has been established. Teachers can be ambitious about the levels of support. There have been big changes. The NCSE and many teachers have been very much to the fore. If we lose a child at an early age, the child is lost for life, perhaps not literally but metaphorically. We have to prevent human loss in all its forms and we must tackle what contributes to it.