Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

If parents are being terrorised, it is on the basis of the misinformation disseminated. The first report stated that 900 pupils were involved. I want now to deal with the Deputy's question, which is important.

One must first take into account the manner in which we have dealt down through the years with general mild learning disability. Special classes were established in 1989. In 2005, we introduced the general allocation model which provided for resource and class teachers. Mainstreaming of children with mild general learning disability has been ongoing in 3,000 schools around the country since 2005 and it has been successful. The whole purpose of the exercise was to examine whether children with this disability would be better off if integrated with their peers. The EPSEN Act and UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities espouse that children with a mild learning disability be integrated and educated with their peers.

Deputy Hayes asked what will happen to these classes. We examined the whole situation. The general rule since 1989 has been that there must be an 11:1 ratio in such classes. We became aware earlier in the year that these ratios were not being fulfilled.

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