Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Ruane. I will make a few brief comments before I come back to the Minister.

I will taking up on that issue. Many parents have difficulties with their children having shorter school days. People have asked me on occasion what does "reduced timetables" mean. It means reduced hours within a school. Children are not in school for the recommended level of hours. Many parents, because of different issues, and possibly because of challenging behaviour and intellectual disability, are exhausted trying to deal with the system. I would agree that they need to have an advocate, such as a guardian ad litem, GAL, who would help support them with it.

It is important, no matter what, to remember that schools are not only a place for academic learning. They are a place where children grow socially and develop social skills. It is a place where they also develop emotional skills. Children who are not in school for full days are losing out on that. I am aware of a school in my own area where eight children did not have any school for six months and then got a second-level placement. These are children with intellectual disabilities. Last year, they only started school in November. They straight away went onto a reduced timetable for every single day. When they started this year, in September, they were told that there would be a reduced timetable for the next two years, that is, for each one of the 167 days of the school year. That is not good enough.

The Minister spoke of the financial investment in special education, the number of the special teachers and the number of special needs assistants, SNAs. While that is acknowledged, it is not only about the funding that is invested. It is about the outcomes for the children. That is the most important part of it.

In the draft recommendations the Minister has made, I note that the Department will have full consultation with educational stakeholders. I would ask that the Minister ensure that a copy of the interim report that we have made is sent with that consultation request. It is important that we as a committee have the opportunity for our voices to be heard. This was a cross-party committee. We were all shocked by what we learned. We acknowledge that the topic is multifaceted but we feel strongly that it has to be taken out of the shadows. We intend to have further engagement. That is why we brought out the interim report.

We appreciate the Minister coming today to engage with us on this issue. We wanted that to be part of where we as committee need to go next with this. Education is the constitutional right of all children and cannot be undermined at any level in terms of unregulated practice. I call the Minister. I am conscious of his time.