Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and her officials for coming before us today. She touched on a lot of key issues across many important areas, including special education, transport, STEM subjects and the school building unit. I will ask about a few issues.

The Minister mentioned the RSE programme. The women's caucus here in the Oireachtas has decided that this year it will like to focus on the areas of reproductive health, endometriosis and areas such as that because we feel that many young girls might suffer in silence from some of these diseases or conditions, which may have difficult consequences for them when they try to conceive at a later stage. We are trying to develop awareness and education, and I am sure the Minister would be supportive of that. We have obviously missed this cycle of the RSE, but it is something that would be of interest to the Minister.

In terms of special education, it is great to have the new schools and one of them will be on the border of north and south Kildare. That will open in September and we are looking forward to that. There have been delays in respect of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units in my area. St. Patrick's National School in Morristown, Newbridge, and St. Patrick's Boys National School, Rathangan, are two that come to mind. I will take the opportunity to raise these issues while I can. The schools are doing an excellent job and provide a welcoming atmosphere to students with special needs, which is important. We must celebrate the work they are doing. However, as we know, the lists are getting longer in respect of what those schools need.

On Monday, the Joint Committee on Disability Matters heard from 25 people with lived experience of acquired disability. There were a few cross-cutting issues in respect of education, two of which I will address. A fine young man, a 13-year-old, was before the committee. He is in secondary school and has a prosthesis. He made the point that schools are not prepared in any way to deal with somebody like him who may have issues with his prosthesis. In situations where there are pupils in need, there should be some support, such as the provision of a wheelchair or extra crutches if they are required. Mr. Adam Harris spoke to the committee about the fact that reduced timetables are still ongoing. I ask the Minister about that.

I followed the Minister's coverage as she attended the teachers' conferences and I met her at the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, conference in Wexford. In respect of supporting teachers, there were requests around the restoration of middle management, which is important, and the recognition of teachers' service abroad. I would appreciate it if the Minister commented on that matter. I thank her for being here and am grateful for the opportunity to ask her about these areas.