Ms Derval McDonagh:

The Deputy asked how we should move forward and develop a better system for all children which is what is clearly needed here. It is not just Inclusion Ireland saying this; there are other advocacy organisations also saying it. The UN is also telling the State about it. Currently, we do not have any data about the educational outcomes for disabled children in Ireland. We have an overall league table which places us very high and indicates our educational system is doing very well compared with other countries. However, we know that kids are falling through the cracks every day of the week within that.

We need to start measuring the educational outcomes for children who are receiving this investment from the State, as the State sees it, and examining what they are coming out with at the end of their educational experience. We do not have data on that.

This speaks to a deeper question of how we value children. Do we value all children equally? We are setting them up for failure every day of the week. That is not just down to the resource allocation models, but also to how we train and support schools, including educators and SNAs, in valuing and understanding difference. We live in an ableist world, which has been well documented by advocacy organisations. We need to unpick a lot of that and understand how we value difference in our education system. I will provide an example. A couple of weeks ago, I spoke to a family member whose daughter used a high-tech AAC device to communicate. Every day, she travels an hour and a half in a taxi to go to school. She travels past her local school, which is missing out on the benefit of having that kid, who communicates in a fabulous way through using a high-tech device. All of the students in that class are missing out on the experience of being educated alongside her. Instead, she is travelling to another environment. Why can we not support that child to attend her local school? Why can we not value her place in that school environment? Why can we not see that inclusive education is good for every child – the disabled child, but also every other child in the classroom? There are fundamental principles that we need to address as a society as well as the practical steps that need to be taken to make inclusion work.