Ms Breda Corr:

It is amazing how special educational needs are never the subject of a question.. However, I will address a couple of issues.

My submission was not about tinkering. There are specific things that happen in special education that need to be addressed. We have had good discussions with the Department which sees from where we are coming. We wrote to the Minister in 2015. We have had some very good meetings and it is very clear that there are certain things that need to be changed. I hope that when the issue does come up for debate in the Dáil, if there are amendments in that regard, they will be supported.

Our key message is that the approach adopted must be in the best interests of the child. A total of 35% of our 200 members are in mainstream schools with units. There are more than 700 schools with units. There is choice. Sometimes parents transfer children in a certain period between a unit and a special school because things happen at age 12 or 13 years such that pupils cannot cope in post-primary education. Anyone who has teenagers knows that it is hard enough to cope in general. Our approach is what is in the best interests of a child. In fairness to the NCSE, it tries to ensure a child can access a suitable school in his or her locality. Some parents choose to have their children placed in mainstream schools without a unit, while others prefer to have access to a unit into which a child can go, if an issue arises. The best examples are where children spend time in a unit – I hate that term and should use the word "class" – and are included in mainstream education. About a week ago I was in a wonderful school in Dublin. There are, in fact, two schools on the one campus and the unit is for boys and girls. There is also a boys' and girls' senior school on the campus. It is a wonderful example.