Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 113:

In page 14, to delete lines 44 to 47 and substitute the following:

"10.—(1) The Council may——

(a) of its own volition, or

(b) at the request of a the parents of a child in respect of whom an education plan has been prepared under section 8(1),

designate the school which a child with special educational needs or, in the case of request under paragraph (b), the child referred to in that paragraph is to attend for the time being and that school shall admit the child as a student upon being directed by the Council do so".

It has been suggested that parents should have the power to consent to the designation of a school, or to appeal a failure or refusal to make such a designation. I favour the latter approach rather than the former.

Amendments Nos. 113 and 119 permit parents in these circumstances to request the council to designate a school and to appeal if it fails to do this. If a particular school has been sought it will be a party to this appeal. The council will be required to indicate whether if it were to designate a particular school it intends to make a recommendation to the Minister for additional resources for that school. That ensures that all parties will have all of the relevant information to present their cases fairly to the appeals board. Those two amendments cover the point made by the Deputies in their proposed amendments to the scheme. There was a strong feeling that there should be parental involvement and we have allowed for it here.

See this speech in context