Dáil debates

Tuesday, 26 June 2007

10:00 pm

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

This gives me hope that we may make progress because there is interest on both sides of the House in this issue. I share Deputy O'Rourke's concern that a blockage is preventing the approval and expansion of ABA schools and that needs to be unblocked. I am disappointed the programme for Government has not provided as much for education as I had hoped. The Minister would have invested as much in the sector without any new partner in Government. I expected more from the Green Party, given the emphasis it put on education in the election campaign and the Government negotiations. I am particularly disappointed the second tranche of 12 ABA schools has not been given any comfort in the programme for Government.

My motion acknowledges that the 12 schools in the current pilot scheme will gain full recognition in time and I hope that will be the case. Deputy O'Rourke has sought clarification on this, given that there are several caveats. I am concerned about the next 12 schools and other schools throughout the State that are experiencing a demand for the ABA method of teaching. Deputy O'Rourke is correct that parents are hugely committed to this method. I do not cast aspersions on the Minister but one has to see ABA in practice to believe it, as I did when I visited the Bluebell school in Limerick city. I accept other methods are available to teach autistic children and the ABA method does not work for all of them but it suits a percentage of children. Parents are willing to go to the ends of the earth to raise money to keep ABA schools going. The school in my constituency receives no Government funding apart from home tuition grants, which are given to most of the children. Their parents will do anything from shaving their heads to holding duck races to raise funds. A local philanthropist who is very kind has also donated money to the school. Parents will do anything for their children, particularly if they have a special need, and they deserve support.

In the long term, these ABA schools will save the State money because approximately 40% of the children who pass through them can enter mainstream schools after a few years of education through the ABA method. One child who attended the Bluebell school in Limerick will enter a mainstream school in September. The child will receive support for the first few months but will be then fully integrated into the school population. ABA is a scientifically based system that has proven its worth. As Deputy O'Rourke stated, it helps children to deal with the world around them because they cannot relate to the world in the way most other children do. They need to learn the behaviour that will allow them to sit in a normal classroom. I have seen children who were taken out of mainstream schools and put into an ABA school before returning to the mainstream school with their behaviour totally changed.

A wide variety of initiatives are in place in the education system and it is argued they are working effectively but they do not provide an adequate solution because we need to understand why parents are willing to fight so hard for ABA schools. This also raises an equality issue. If the 12 schools on the pilot scheme are recognised, why should children in other parts of the State not have the same opportunity and rights as the children attending these schools? I hope minds will be open to this. I am particularly concerned about schools that have been waiting for more than two years for recognition. Every year those involved must raise sufficient funds to keep the schools going. It is all very well if parents can afford to fund the schools but if they cannot, their children are denied their rights. ABA schools facilitate people who cannot afford the fees but, in the long term, affordability is an issue. Whatever about what was just debated regarding a two-tier health service, we cannot allow a two-tier education service to develop, particularly with autistic children, who are so vulnerable. I hope we will have a positive response from the Minister.

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