Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to debate the following urgent matter: the need to address the situation whereby up to €20 million has been spent over the past three years jointly by the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children and the Office of the Chief State Solicitor defending cases where parents have taken legal action in an effort to get appropriate education for their children who have special educational needs. The €20 million was mainly spent on legal fees rather than settlements, which indicates those taking cases seek educational rather than monetary settlements. The courts, in effect, decide policy and require delivery of services. There is an obvious need to put the services in place to deal with the queues of children waiting for assessments for school places or speech and language or occupational therapy, rather than spending taxpayers' money defending what is often the indefensible.

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