Mr. Fergal O'Malley:

I apologise. I was referring to the school. The report was prepared to us. It showed nothing good. It did not show the progress made. I was able to show from the report that in a five-month period there had been 20 meltdowns. However, in the preceding 11 months, there had been nine meltdowns. However, all I was given back was that the severity of the meltdowns had not changed.

That happened on 29 September. We were devastated. We went to the board of management to appeal it. The board of management upheld the expulsion. We went to a section 29 meeting to fight our case there. It was stated that the decision had been made in May, but the school waited until 29 September to carry out the suspension and expulsion.

As for the impact that has had on Harry, imagine lying in bed at 3 a.m. and your ten-year-old son comes in to you crying because he is wondering when he can go back to school. I feel we had made progress and argued the case we had done so and that we were willing to work and do anything we could to keep Harry where he was. We have lost all that. Harry has regressed two or three years with regard to behaviours and everything else. It is not just Harry, because, as I have said, we have four other kids at home. They have suffered because of this. Everybody has suffered, but we just feel he was viewed as too much trouble so it is a case that he can be somebody else's problem. Harry was suspended on 29 September last. Home tuition was granted last week. That is the first bit of education Harry has received in the four months.