Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I move:

"That Dáil Éireann:

deplores:

— the manner in which the Government has withdrawn educational supports from schools in the middle of a school year, without adequate consultation with schools or parents and the negative impact this has had on special needs children being taught in mainstream and special schools; and the Government's failure to implement the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004;

considering:

— the Government review has been fundamentally flawed from the beginning as it has not incorporated an independent appeals mechanism for parents and schools; and

— the Government decision to abolish over 100 special needs classes last year has been recently called into question by expert research on special education published by the National Council for Special Education;

calls on the Government to:

— freeze the current review of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) in schools;

— publish the National Council for Special Education's report on this issue without further delay;

— implement the relevant sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to give the independent Special Education Appeals Board the power to consider appeals of decisions taken by the Government review, effectively allowing a look back at decisions that have been taken to date;

— review the Special Education Review Committee criteria for the allocation of SNAs in schools, which dates from 1993;

— review the role of the SNA in schools in light of the experience of schools; and immediately publish a costed multi-annual plan for the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 as committed to in the Renewed Programme for Government."

I wish to share time with Deputies Stanton, Burke, O'Mahony, McHugh, Bannon, Clune, Mitchell and O'Donnell.

See this speech in context