Ulick Burke (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I commend Deputy Brian Hayes on bringing this timely motion before the House. I wish the Tánaiste well in her new portfolio as Minister for Education and Skills. This is the first test of her support for children with special needs. The appointment of special needs assistants to meet a child's care needs has been a significant development in education and a great benefit for children with special needs.

While the role of a special needs assistant is clearly defined in the Department's circular, 17/02, as it relates to the child's care needs, it also relates to the child's educational needs. Special needs assistants are recruited specifically to assist in the care of children with special needs in the educational context. Only when the child's care needs are properly addressed can the learning process take place. I urge the Minister to consider the damage already done by her predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and to stop the review process now taking place as a result of which children are being denied their basic rights. Neither the Minister nor his Department were aware of the disruption caused within schools as a consequence of the reviews and cuts which followed. Special needs assistants play an indispensable role in meeting such needs as mobility, communications and medical procedures so that children can get the maximum benefit from education in their school.

If a child with special needs does not receive an appropriate education he or she will be marginalised within the school community and in society later. For a child, his or her school and parents, the loss of a special needs assistant in such an arbitrary fashion is fundamentally unfair. The loss of a special needs assistant could hamper the right of parents of children with special needs to fully participate in their child's education. Will the Minister adhere to the demands of the EPSEN Act 2004 which clearly identifies "that people with special educational needs shall have the same right to avail of, benefit from an appropriate education as do their peers who do not have such needs, to assist children with special educational needs and to leave school with the skills necessary to participate to the level of their capacity in an inclusive way in the social and economic activities of society and to live independent and fulfilled lives"?

Investment in the special education sector must remain a priority. I urge the Tánaiste to immediately freeze the review process. The people who carry out the reviews are seen as departmental hit-squads denying children with special needs their entitlement to an appropriate education. The Irish Primary Schools Network suggests that approximately 10% or 1,200, special needs assistants will be made redundant for the sake of saving the Department approximately €30 million a year in response to the demands of an bord snip. Let us measure that sum against the development of a child with special needs, his or her improved confidence, ability to integrate into society and to be respected. Let us also measure the peace of mind given to the parents and families of such children. Let us compare the sum of money in question with those mentioned in yesterday's debate on the banking system. A total of 1,200 loans were brought into NAMA yesterday and 1,200 special needs assistants were made redundant by the Department. Will the Tánaiste reconsider what has been done? I urge her to instruct the NCSE to cease the reviews.

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