Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for all the work she has been doing on this issue. Classes have opened across my constituency and there are more to come. What in her perception or experience brought her to the point where she believed there is a need for the legislation she is introducing? What was the genesis of the legislation? What is the need for it? Having gone through a collaborative process with many schools and seen the output from that, I know many schools have been able to provide classes. Other schools in my constituency face challenges in doing so. What is the need for the legislation?

I refer to a particular issue relating to the legislation. I am aware of a child in fifth class in a school in my area who has been told that his needs are such that the school will not be able to provide support next year. The school is working hard to provide support to the child but it does not have enough SNAs or resources. There is a conflict that does not need to be there. I hope it can be resolved. The child does not need to be moved at this point. It may be that the school needs more support. The child has fewer SNA hours available to him as he gets older because, as more children come in, there are more children with a diagnosis. He has gone from, say, a one-to-one situation in the early part of his schooling to a one-to-five or one-to-six situation now. What will happen to that child and others like him who I worry are caught up in the difficulties faced by schools? The schools do not have space to open extra classes just yet and have to operate on their existing resources. The child to whom I refer is getting older and does not need to be moved. What will happen there? What effect will the legislation have for him and other children like him whose parents are worried they may need to move schools? That is my main question.

I note the comments of the Minister of State regarding the document published in April in respect of departmental support for schools that have opened additional classes. A secondary school in my area has opened two additional classes. I congratulate the school, St. Laurence College, on that, but it needs more support from the Department in terms of implementation. The Department has published a document. Is there someone in the Department whom a school can telephone between now and the opening of the classes in September in order to work out some of the practicalities? Some of the school's questions are simple ones. Is that something the Department can provide?

As regards teacher education, it is great that CPD and extra classes are available but what I am hearing from teachers and schools is that they can be difficult to access. It can be difficult to get places on the weekend or shorter courses. There is a question in respect of whether teachers can take time off to do more intensive courses. It is all very well opening classes, but which teachers will teach those classes? What training have they received? The current teacher training gives students two weeks in a special school where they do not even have an obligation to prepare a lesson plan. What preparation is available to teachers who want to do that? Schools are asking if the Department can consider facilitating structured time away for existing and experienced teachers who may have very good teaching and social skills but want to get better at this to do the appropriate training?