Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Finian McGrath for his interest in this issue. I am not aware of specific complaints about children not being able to gain access to primary schools. Under section 29 of the Act, parents can appeal to the Department if their children are refused enrolment. Parents need to be aware of this provision because our aim is to ensure that those who want their children in mainstream education are facilitated. Resources have been available for this purpose, which is the reason that, in addition to the teachers to whom I have referred, we have 6,000 special needs assistants in the system. They will benefit the children in question and help them with their work.

The Deputy referred to bureaucracy. This arises from the requirement that children undergo individual psychological assessments, which is precisely what we are trying to avoid. Teachers will be in place before a child even attends school so that as soon as a need is identified a child can be referred to the learning support teacher or resource teacher. This will reduce bureaucracy, form filling and cost for teachers and parents who under the current arrangement must have an individual assessment carried out.

A further significant change has been the appointment of special education needs organisers, SENOs, who are already working with schools. In recent months parents have informed me that the SENOs are making a real difference by acting as a link between schools, parents and the other services. I am confident the Special Education Council will make even more progress in this respect. It will be part of its remit to evaluate progress, particularly in light of the allocations made for staffing, which are of major importance. All Deputies recognise that small class sizes are pointless unless linked to teaching methods.

As our understanding advances and various programmes are developed, the area of special needs will have to be constantly evaluated. This will be a task of the Special Education Council and its conclusions will feed into our understanding.

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