Ms Debbie O'Neill:

Given that we have given the committee a lot of factual information and statistics, I want to read a letter from a parent of a child in our school. We are going to call her "Aoife" just to keep the anonymity. You could replace "Scoil Eoin" with any of our four schools.

Dear committee members,

My daughter Aoife is 14. She has Mild General Learning Disability and her life revolves around Scoil Eoin. The plan to re-designate this school would leave children like her with nowhere to go. I'm heartbroken and deeply concerned.

Mainstream schools cannot give Aoife what she has at Scoil Eoin. Here, she plays soccer without being laughed at. If she scores into the wrong goal, she's still celebrated. She sings loudly in choir, off-key, and no one minds. She belongs.

At Scoil Eoin, Aoife is not falling behind. She is seen for who she is. She has friends. She is learning. She is confident. She is happy.

That wasn't always the case. In mainstream school, she cried every day. She called herself stupid. She couldn't keep up and was laughed at and excluded. Her self-worth disappeared. She was lost.

Now she thinks her school is like every other school. She doesn't realise the curriculum is adapted but here, she is finally learning. She is proud of herself.

Re-designating Scoil Eoin will remove the one place where children like Aoife are supported, understood and safe. Mainstream schools do not have the resources or expertise to support children like her. And the cost will be high; her mental health, her confidence, her future.

Scoil Eoin didn't just educate Aoife; it saved her. It gave her a sense of self-worth and belonging. Please don't take that away.