Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. I acknowledge the work he has done to date since his appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for special education. I know from talking to him that he genuinely has a commitment and passion for the portfolio.

I wish to discuss general learning needs and will probably give my full time to that because of the importance of this topic to the people I represent in north Tipperary and particularly in Nenagh. Last March the Minister of State visited Nenagh CBS primary school with me and he met the principal, Mr. William Greene, who is an excellent, progressive and dedicated principal in the area. It is great news that the school will get another special class in September. We are also getting the new special school in Nenagh under the patronage of Tipperary ETB. The secondary school next door, Nenagh CBS secondary school, is also opening special classes.

However, the CBS primary school is losing its mild general learning disability class which has been in place since 1970. It is the only option available to parents in north Tipperary for children with a mild general learning disability diagnosis. The next closest school is in Cashel which is more than 50 km from Nenagh. This year in the MGLD class in Nenagh CBS primary school there are four students and three of them will be going to secondary school next door in the CBS secondary school from September. That class is full every year. One of those children is now moving to Birr, which is the next closest school to them because the MGLD class is closing.

I raised this with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, last week but did not go into specific details of the school and I wanted to do so with the Minister of State here today. Last week, I was contacted by the parent of a child with Down's syndrome who thought they were going to send their child to this class. It is their closest school and just down the road from where they live. Their child does not have an autism diagnosis and so does not qualify for the new special classes in the CBS primary school or indeed the new special school in Nenagh. The only option for them now is to go to Cashel which is about 42 km away.

I recognise the great work that has been done for complex needs in the country and particularly across north Tipperary with the number of special classes opening in September, but an ASD diagnosis is needed to get in there. In my view we cannot rob Peter to pay Paul when it comes to this issue. Down Syndrome Ireland is raising this issue and children with Down's syndrome who do not have an ASD diagnosis are struggling to find the most appropriate education close to them. I have discussed this with the family and mainstream schooling is not an option for them because they would not get the allocation of SNA hours needed, which would be at the discretion of a principal and that would depend on the resources the school is getting.

When it comes to inclusion in education for this young child, they cannot go to the most local school that now fits their needs, nor can they go to the same school as their siblings could be enrolled in because they are going to a special school farther away that can accommodate their needs. They also have escorts to bring them 40 km to and from their school every day. The parent, with whom I discussed this again today, is concerned about the inclusion for their child when it comes to their primary education.

I believe the solution is to restore the mild general learning class in Nenagh CBS primary school, given that it has been there since the 1970s. There is time to act now and get it back in before September. There is clearly demand in the area. The numbers do not reflect that because children may not be sent there from other schools or there is not awareness of it. If the secondary school next-door has 13 students enrolled in its class for September, how can the only primary school in the area not have a similar demand? There is time to reverse it and it should be done. It would allow more inclusive education for children without an ASD diagnosis but in need of special education from September.