Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Chomhairle as deis a thabhairt an cheist seo a phlé. The decision of the Department of Education and Science to axe the jobs of more than 70 special needs assistants has caused shock throughout the State, especially to those working in the special needs area. I compliment the trade union IMPACT, which represents special needs assistants, on bringing this matter to public attention.

These assistants provide invaluable support in schools to children with special needs. In many cases, children simply could not attend school without their help. They operate in both special and mainstream schools and assist children with both physical and intellectual disabilities. The assistants are part of the infrastructure of care and education in this State. We know how inadequate that support structure is for children with special educational needs and for people with disabilities, although I acknowledge improvements have been made in recent years.

One of those improvements was the recruitment of the assistants in the first place. There are now more than 5,000 of them linked to individual pupils rather than to schools or localities. In that overall context, the decision to cut more than 70 of these posts is seen as incredible. As my colleague, the Sinn Féin education spokesperson, Deputy Crowe, stated yesterday, it beggars belief. It is even more incredible considering the review carried out by the National Council for Special Education, which advises the Minister for Education and Science, has identified a shortfall of 175 special needs assistants in the State.

IMPACT has called on the Department of Education and Science to agree a mechanism that would keep experienced special needs assistants in the system and avoid these sackings. I fully support that call. The Department has informed the union, however, that the special needs assistants are allocated to individual pupils and that when they move on or are no longer in need of a special needs assistant, the post must go. The Department has said that there is no system of reallocation and it would be too complex to create one. I do not accept that. Compared with the complexities faced by parents, teachers and assistants in looking after children with special needs, this is a minor bureaucratic hurdle that could easily be crossed if the will existed.

I urge the Minister of State to agree with IMPACT a panel system for special needs assistants similar to that operated for teachers. I understand there will be talks next week and I urge the Minister of State to approach those talks with flexibility and generosity. As IMPACT has stated, it is utter madness to show dedicated, experienced staff the door when children in other schools are crying out for a special needs assistant. This will hit the most vulnerable children in the education system. There is a suspicion this is being done so the Department can avoid its responsibilities under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act. The Act outlaws discrimination against temporary staff and restricts employers' ability to avoid their responsibilities by hiring staff on a series of short-term contracts. I hope that is not the case. Special needs assistants have only been in the system for four or five years so it makes no sense to make more than 70 of them redundant.

This issue must also be related to the continuing failure of the Minister for Education and Science to issue her review of the revised system of allocation for special needs teachers. We were promised that review earlier this year and then in April. We are now in the month of May and parents of children with special needs, school principals and teachers who are trying to plan for the coming school year are still in the dark. This is no way to treat the most vulnerable children in the education system and I appeal to the Minister of State to inform the House where we stand on the review of the special needs teachers allocation and to do all he can to ensure it is published speedily.

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