Ms Fidelma Brady:

I agree with what Deputy Funchion has said. Rather than getting wrapped up in the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act, which is a big issue of course, we need to remember that the right to inclusion has been enshrined in the convention regardless of whether the EPSEN Act is enacted. The convention lists the barriers to inclusion. As Deputy Catherine Martin has pointed out, we need the appropriate funding and the correct approaches. There is a list of approximately ten barriers to inclusion. If these barriers are not removed, not only will the convention not be enacted, but we would certainly be in trouble with the EPSEN Act. Inadequate funding mechanisms are listed. Without the incentives for the training to be provided, it will not be.

We talked a bit about the training provided for teachers. My background is as a primary teacher. I carry out a lot of training in schools as part of my job. I go to primary and post-primary schools giving teachers a bit of training and information to give them some kind of foothold as they have children with Down's syndrome in their mainstream schools. Very often that is the only option for schools. My colleague from the Department referred to the special education support services, SESS, courses.

As they would say in the country, they are like hens' teeth. People cannot get on a course. There could be a two-year waiting list to try to get somebody to come in and do a little bit of training on Lámh. We need to be realistic. We need adequate funding. Even before my time in the organisation, Down Syndrome Ireland has been calling for a roll-out of training and not just continuous professional development where teachers can do certain courses. We need to look at initial teacher training. What is going on in training colleges?

On my behalf and on behalf of Down Syndrome Ireland, I emphasise I am not coming down hard on teachers in this. I want to make that clear to all the unions. I find that teachers bend over backwards to work with these children, but in very difficult situations. It is impossible to find enough time in the day. For many years I was a teaching principal in a primary school and I found it impossible. If I was not given extra time I do not know where I would even start to do IEPs. We are looking at the training time, the non-contact time and the resources to be put in place. I would call for a national roll-out of training for teachers before setting unrealistic expectations for what they can produce.