Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I would like to highlight a major issue which has arisen in Drogheda. It was recently announced that the special needs unit attached to Marymount national school in the Ballsgrove area of the town will be unable to take new students from the end of this year. For a number of years the unit's teachers and special needs assistants have looked after extremely well five young people with special needs — there were six pupils there until quite recently. As the children move into the secondary system, their parents are becoming concerned. The special needs unit was established with the aim of integrating children with special needs into the ordinary environment in which all students are taught. It has worked extremely well. Five of the special needs students will be making their confirmation shortly. They are participating fully in the celebrations, for example by participating in music and mime. The parents of these children, as well as representatives of various organisations involved in this sector, are outraged that other young people in the Drogheda area and the surrounding districts in counties Meath and Louth will be unable to avail of the services of the unit.

Who is responsible for this closure? I have been informed that the powers that be, who are not necessarily based in the Department of Education and Science, do not intend to continue with the experiment of integrating special needs students in the local primary school. A great deal of concern has been expressed about this decision at local level. It has been the subject of an editorial in the Drogheda Independent. I await the Minister of State's response. I hope it will be as good as the response I would give him if the position were reversed. In other words, I would make sure that the unit would stay open.

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