David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)

The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, told the House last night he was commissioning research from the National Council for Special Education on this issue. I draw the attention of the House to the report published four years ago on that matter which evaluates special classes for pupils with specific speech and language disorders. It states that the Department of Education and Science held a seminar for professionals on 28 May 2002 in Kildare. The seminar concerned an important element of the review of education provision in classes with children with special speech and language disorders. If any Minister or Deputy opposite spent the time to research this with all his or her background staff - nobody has mentioned it so far - he or she would find short paragraphs such as that it is recommended that the SENOs investigate the need for establishing additional special classes for pupils with SSLD of primary school age. Yet, the Minister is abolishing such classes, which does not surprise me.

In debate many Deputies cited international researchers but did not state who they are. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, told us a number of years ago that, according to the international experts, larger classes are better. I challenged him on it and he eventually cited the expert. It was a person from Texas who has been discredited and with whom nobody else agreed. This is disastrous. It is an insult to the House and it is an insult to the children. The research has already been done. It contradicts completely everything that the Deputies opposite have parroted this morning and last night. They are completely wrong.

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