Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Despite the denials by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, Sinn Féin believes social and economic rights are human rights. These rights include the right to education which is not adequately protected in the Constitution of 1937 or in Irish law. It is, however, a right enshrined in international instruments. Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone, without discrimination, has an equal right to education. This right is also recognised in article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The new draft international convention on the protection and promotion of the rights and dignities of persons with disability develops this further at draft article 17 which recognises "the right of all persons with disabilities to education". It states that the aim must be:

c. the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential;

d. take into account the best interests of the child, in particular by individualising education plans;

2. In realising this right, States Parties shall ensure:

a. that all persons with disabilities can choose inclusive and accessible education in their own community (including access to early childhood and pre-school education);

b. the provision of required support, including the specialised training of teachers, school counsellors and psychologists, an accessible curriculum, an accessible teaching medium and technologies, alternative and augmentative communication modes, alternative learning strategies, accessible physical environment, or other reasonable accommodations to ensure the full participation of students with disabilities;

c. that no child with disabilities is excluded from free and compulsory primary education on account of their disability.

3. States Parties shall ensure that where the general education system does not adequately meet the needs of persons with disabilities special and alternative forms of learning should be made available. Any such special and alternative forms of learning should:

a. reflect the same standards and objectives provided in the general education system;

b. be provided in such a manner to allow children with disabilities to participate in the general education system to the maximum extent possible;

c. allow a free and informed choice between general and special systems;

in no way limit the duty of States Parties to continue to strive to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the general education system.

This draft convention sets the standard. We welcome this and have called for it and hope that eventually Ireland will ratify it.

Despite Government rhetoric, children with special needs do not receive the education which is theirs by right. Families find it difficult but necessary to seek redress through the courts for the State's failure to meet the educational needs and ensure the equal rights of their children.

Deployment of teachers is not based on the right of individual pupils to have their special educational needs assessed, and the right of each pupil to the resources required to ensure that he or she can reach his or her full potential. When education is not provided on the basis of equal rights for everyone the vulnerable are left behind. That happens every day. For example, yesterday in my constituency, the mother of a four year old with special needs, who attends a school in Ballyfermot, contacted me. The child is sent home from school early each day because a special needs assistant is not available to him, despite the recommendations made at his needs assessment in September 2004. This is unfair, puts the child at a further disadvantage and is an act of neglect on the part of this State, in denying the child's right to education.

The 1916 Proclamation commits republicans to ensure that all children of the nation are cherished equally. This is a core task for republicans and the source of our equality agenda. Sinn Féin believes in building a rights-based society, an Ireland of equals in which social and economic rights are fully protected in the context of human rights-based governance. This is why we recently recommended constitutional amendments, including a new article on the rights of the child and a stronger article on the right to education. I also commend the leadership and initiative of the former Minister for Education in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Martin McGuinness, who made education for people with special needs a priority under his tenure.

I call on Deputies to put aside their politics of condemnation for one night because there is a significant consensus among us on the rights of children with special needs to education. I commend this motion, not because it concerns the rivalry of political parties but because it concerns children and our future. Let us move forward together.

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