Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak today in support of the Government's amendment to the motion. There is no doubt that we have made significant progress in recent years in investing in the education of young people with special needs and educational difficulties. As a country, we will probably never reach the stage where we can say we have done absolutely everything we can and provided every single resource possible for people with learning difficulties. However, we must always strive to provide every resource that our means will allow and introduce the best educational policies possible.

Disability is extremely diverse and a one size to fit all approach does not apply. Over the past number of years the Government's investment in special needs education has increased dramatically and this year alone, the budget for special needs will exceed €1 billion. This is a doubling of the level of investment in special needs education just five years ago.

The range of resources being provided to special needs education has also expanded greatly over recent years and important supports, such as the resource teaching support, special needs assistants, special transport arrangements and increased capital funding for the purchase of special equipment, are now available to allow schools meet the requirements of pupils with educational needs, allowing these children to access a level of education appropriate to their needs. There are now in excess of 8,000 learning support and resource teacher posts in primary and secondary schools and these provide additional support to pupils with learning difficulties. When the Government entered office in 1997, there were only 2,000 such positions in the country. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and his predecessors have overseen a significant increase in the number of posts available. In addition, there are now more than 10,000 special needs assistants in our schools. An increase of 33% in funding in 2009 will allow for the recruitment of up to 50 extra psychologists under the National Education Psychological Service.

This debate centres on whether we should aim to integrate pupils with mild learning difficulties into mainstream classes and provide them with the most inclusive educational and social experience possible. It is widely accepted in educational fields internationally that integrating children with mild learning disabilities with others in their age group and allowing them to have a fully inclusive educational experience is the most desirable approach for a society to take. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities agrees with this approach and advocates that children with mild learning disabilities should be integrated into the mainstream education system. The European Union, in a resolution adopted in 1990, also believes that full integration should be considered as a first option wherever possible. Many of our European partners take this approach in their education systems.

Integrating children with mild learning difficulties into an inclusive educational system does not just revolve around meeting their educational needs, it is also about giving them a place in society and giving them confidence among their peers. Segregating people with any form of disability, including learning difficulties, isolates them from society. In a school system, removing these children from mainstream education marks them out as different from their peers and creates a barrier that extends far beyond the school yard.

I had my accident during the summer holidays between first and second year in secondary school. As a result, I missed nine months of second year. One of the most important decisions my parents and the principal of my school in New Ross made at the time was to allow me to continue my education with my classmates. If I had been held back a year, I would not have been happy. The last thing I would have wanted would have been to be placed in a special needs class. I did not have special needs assistants and I did not require them.

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