Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

While the Minister's reply is interesting, it did not answer my question. Are the 128 special classes to be abolished from 1 September next? A "Yes" or "No" answer will do.

The Minister first said he was going to suppress all of the classes. Within a week of that he said he would consider amalgamating some of them and has today refused to answer my question in regard to whether these classes will continue. I put it to the Minister that he is making this up as he goes along and that the impact of his decisions in terms of special needs education is effectively terrorising parents in this country. Further, there are no sound educational arguments for the decision taken two weeks ago. The National Council for Special Education is currently compiling research in this area. The Minister chose to make this savage cutback for financial rather than educational reasons.

Will the Minister tell the House if he is going to row back on this latest savage cutback?

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