Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaím buíochas leis na haíonna go léir as a gcuid ráiteas agus as an bhfianaise atá tugtha dúinn acu.

The AsIAm written submission to the committee refers to the fact that trust between parents and children with special educational needs and the Department has been very severely damaged by the revelations on "RTÉ Investigates" of an adversarial approach and the fact that there is a daily battle for rights and entitlements, school places and so forth. The point is made in the submission that there is an opportunity, with the review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, not just to change the debate but to change the culture. We need to see the Department and the bodies under its aegis move from an attitude of being gatekeepers to being collaborators with the families represented by the organisations here today.

I will pose a number of questions now. Unfortunately, I will not be able to stay until the end of the meeting so I will not be able to come in again. My first question is directed to Dr. Muldoon, but if others also wish to respond, they are welcome to do so. It occurs to me that there is no way this issue is going to be solved by education alone. We can invest as much as we want in special education teachers, SNAs, special units and so on, which will make a significant difference but if we do not invest in clinicians and in ensuring that there are enough educational psychologists, speech and language therapists and so on, to ensure that children are getting supports in a timely fashion and with the frequency needed, this will all fall down. I ask Dr. Muldoon to comment on that.

My next question is for Mr. Harris. There has been a lot of discussion recently about the so-called New Brunswick or full integration model. It seems to me that balance and discretion are crucial here. People will have differing opinions on this and we must continue to explore the issues involved. It is my view that at this point in time we still need to have special schools for those parents who want them. Some parents will not want that option for their children but a lot will and we must continue to proactively plan for that demand.

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked an important question of Dr. Muldoon earlier and I ask the representatives of Inclusion Ireland to respond on whether we are getting the most out of our SENOs and the NCSE. How can we ensure that under a new or revised Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act they play the most constructive role possible?

Finally, to the representatives of Down Syndrome Ireland, there has been a lot of discussion, rightly, about expanding the summer programme to all of those with Down's syndrome. That is essential and a lot must be done in that regard.

We need to be looking at September and the next school year to ensure there are adequate supports on an ongoing basis. We are not going to make up all that lost ground by the start of the new school year. Accordingly, we need to invest on a longer term basis as well.

I thank everyone for attending and responding.