Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)

The new circular is very much about the review. It is not good enough. We have seen a lot of the special classes and the practice in primary school where the children may be able to be integrated into mainstream for a number of hours in the day.

In some of the schools I am familiar with there were children who started in special class but by the time they were leaving they were spending a lot of time in mainstream classes. It does not happen for every child because of the complexity of their needs. However, it is important that we keep it under review. There may be cases where it is the other way around. hat may be an appropriate place for a child when they are four-and-a-half or five-and-a-half-years old may not be the appropriate place for them when they are six, seven, eight or nine years of age. It is important that we have a holistic approach to it. As public representatives, the members would have parents contacting them who believe their child is not in an appropriate setting, that they have tried it for two or three years and they may need specialised education. Some of them might flourish and be able to return to mainstream education but it is important that we have a pathway for those who do not. The circular states that there will be a review, which is important.

To go back to the Boyle general learning, there are no changes whatsoever for this September. I hope we can clarify that. There are negotiations and consultations with the school communities to see how we can make it better for everyone.