Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I commend Fine Gael on introducing this Private Members' motion on the failure of the Government to properly resource the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, so as to address the needs of all children. I condemn the Government's amendment in that it is totally misleading and untrue to state "all schools have access to psychological assessments for their students." The very fact that the Society of St. Vincent de Paul had to pay for 1,000 private assessments for children last year is adequate proof that this bald statement is misleading and therefore the Minister cannot expect us to believe it.

Today's newspapers refer to the case of a youth of 16 whose parents are concerned about his strong suicidal tendencies. He is falling between two stools in that he cannot avail of child psychological services because he is too old and cannot avail of adult services because he is too young. This is bizarre and the needs of the child should be taken into consideration. Sufficient flexibility should exist to allow this to happen.

I have previously asked the Minister about the special school in the Phoenix Park and have tabled another question thereon. The school did not open in September because it did not have four teachers. Articles in the newspapers indicate that some of the students are receiving no schooling or the special educational supports they require so badly. We clearly do not have an adequate psychological service.

This is a question of human rights in the first instance. It is not only the case that the rights of the child are not being vindicated but they are also being infringed upon. The Government, including the Minister, has failed the children of this nation in that respect. It has failed to staff and resource NEPS, leaving the most vulnerable children, namely, those with special needs, without the intervention and supports necessary for them to develop and continue to benefit from their education. Consequently, the lives and career prospects of many children are destroyed. Further problems develop during the course of their childhood, often leading to disruptive behaviour, early school leaving, drug abuse and self-harm, sometimes resulting in suicide.

The importance of early intervention cannot be overstated. The Government has appointed just seven additional psychologists to NEPS this year despite a firm commitment from the Minister to appoint an additional 31. The psychological service is in decline in many schools. Where schools lose their disadvantaged status, they also lose access to the NEPS programme, as happened ten post-primary schools this year. The picture painted by teachers and those at the coalface is altogether different from that painted by the Minister. An ASTI survey in 2006 found that 89% of schools have students with special needs. These students have not been formally assessed but were considered by the teaching staff as having such needs. Some 74% of principals are reporting unacceptable delays in obtaining assessments and 42% stated it took an average of three months, or more, to secure an appointment with NEPS. Some 35% of principals reported a two-month delay.

The Minister's claim that schools can have access to private assessments raises two issues. First, the number is strictly limited to 2% and therefore a school of 400 pupils with ten or 15 pupils in need of assistance must exclude a considerable number rather than ensure that all children at risk have access to an assessment. In this case, it is the children who suffer. No amount of bluster from the Minister will change the fact that the Government has failed to vindicate the rights of children.

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