James Breen (Clare, Independent)

I welcome the progress that has been made in the area of special needs education, including the passage of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. I strongly believe that it is our place to stand by children and vulnerable adults who are sometimes unable to speak up for themselves, to demand equality of opportunity and adequate resources for a first class service, which is their right.

I am deeply concerned that families who have no choice but to depend on the system still find it necessary to seek redress in the courts for the failure of our State to meet the educational needs of their children. We cannot just give equality to some, we must guarantee it to all and that includes the people with special needs seeking education and a reasonable quality of life.

A shared society will not be achieved by irrelevant words. We need real action backed up by adequate resources. I urge the Government to guarantee more development in the delivery of promised improvements. I demand stronger legislation and that the Government address the isolation felt by many in our society.

There needs to be more awareness of this condition. Teachers and health professionals must be given training to make more specialists available for the treatment of these individuals. Where are the necessary resources to meet the special needs and equal rights of all pupils and reduce the pupil-teacher ratio in our primary schools? We all have a right to choose in this society. I strongly believe that the right to choose is vital to each and every one of us.

The integration and inclusion of children with special needs is part and parcel of every mainstream school, large and small, and is welcomed as a positive development. What is not so positive is the lack of co-ordinated support that many principals and teachers face every day in providing for all children in our schools. Will our school principals continue to be faced with the dilemma of having to let special needs assistants go? Will they lose teaching posts or be in a position to employ a new teacher? We cannot afford the loss of teachers in our schools especially in disadvantaged and rural areas because it would result in the loss of support to many pupils with special needs.

I call on the Minister for Education and Science to immediately conclude her Department's review of the proposed weighted system, to publish the outcome of the review and to initiate a revised and improved system for deployment of special needs teachers at once. I also urge that such deployment of teachers be based on the right of each individual pupil to have his or her special educational needs assessed and on the right of each pupil to the resources required to ensure that each can reach his or her full potential.

I urge the Minister to immediately approve the enhanced support and investment essential for existing schools catering exclusively for pupils with special needs and to recruit the additional 650 teachers needed to implement the programme of improved education in our society.

I call for urgent action to be taken in the full implementation of the recommendations of the report on educational provision and support for persons with autistic spectrum disorders and to start a process which will allow smaller schools to respond to changes in society and be a thriving force in the educational landscape in the future.

Smaller schools have a crucial role to play in the educational and community life of Ireland. Research has shown that standards are as high in such schools as in larger schools. In many isolated rural areas we are already faced with the loss of valued services such as post offices and banks, without further losses becoming a burden. The aim should be to provide support for these areas of special needs that are marginalised due to lack of resources. Every child is of equal worth and has something positive and unique to contribute. Teachers have a responsibility to enable children to explore and fulfil their potential and the Government should stand 100% behind them in providing the sufficient resources.

Every child sitting in a classroom today deserves the best learning experience that we can provide. In determining what resources and staffing a school needs, it must be taken into account that children are individuals with individual needs and not simply part of some statistical formula.

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