Mr. Andy Pike:

I thank Senator Flynn for her comments. All of our members who are SNAs, and there are many thousands in Fórsa, will recognise Senator Flynn as a friend. I am not going to make too many comments about the proposed SEN centres. There has been a lot of discussion around that. It is our policy to try to deliver and support an education system that is really inclusive but we do not see the establishment of SEN centres as being necessarily inclusive. The problem of children with additional educational needs not being able to find an appropriate school place is a very real one but we do not necessarily think that the SEN centre is the way to resolve that problem. While we would be critical of the Department of Education on a daily, if not hourly, basis from time to time, I am not at all certain that all of the fault lies with the Department. A lot of schools that do not want to accept students with additional needs should have a damned good look at their own policies and their consciences. It should not be the case that they worry that providing school places for students with different educational needs will lower the tone or the academic standing of the school. Senator Flynn used the term "mainstreaming equality".

It is the best way that I have ever found of looking at equality issues because every decision an organisation makes is viewed from the perspective of how we can increase equality and equity and what will be the consequences of what we do for disadvantaged groups. That is mainstreaming equality and it is central to everything we do. At the moment, many schools have to be given a wake-up call by the Minister, through the enactment of legislation, to get them to take seriously their responsibilities to provide school places to members of the Traveller community, students with additional education needs and anyone else who needs a place, rather than adopt a selective admissions policy which does so much damage.