Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Similarly, I am not going to put a question. I am going to thank the witnesses for their bravery in putting across their personal experience as parents, service providers and teachers. The point of this session is that it is a public hearing in a very literal sense. We hear about these matters privately all the time. People come to us all of the time because they are struggling to access services or are seeking a place in a school come September and they are at their wits' end and tired of that daily struggle. I have three kids at home myself. I will fight to the last to get what they need but it is a lot easier for me because their needs are not as great as some of those I have heard outlined today. It is not fair to ask parents to go to the well again and again. Neither is it fair to ask teachers - I acknowledge Mr. Devereux's contribution - to go the well and act as gatekeepers of a broken system and a broken service, as Deputy Buckley put it. I thank the witnesses very much. Everybody here has heard these stories privately but the witnesses have come before the committee and contributed publicly.

Members are used to being here. We walk around this building every day of the week. It is difficult to walk into a chamber and give personal details. We felt as a committee that it was so important that the report we produce at the end of this process is not just about professionals or people used to walking through these corridors. The witnesses' voices and experience are central to the recommendations we will produce at the end. I have no questions for them, just heartfelt thanks for their contributions.