Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I cannot understand how any human being can justify, in the middle of a school year, the withdrawal of a service which affects children with special needs. That kind of behaviour never ceases to amaze me. I dealt with this issue for 30 years in the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s and now in 2010, fighting for the rights of children who should have automatically received a proper education in order to fulfil their special talents and give them a chance in life. To this day we still do not have a situation whereby a parent can go with his or her child to have him or her assessed, a place found and the appropriate medical assistance given in addition to schooling, such as speech therapy.

I will use my time to give an example. In the 1980s two parents came to me about their son. They had gone everywhere to have the child properly assessed; he was four or five at the time. They were told their child was mentally handicapped, and to put him into a mental institution and have another baby. The parents concerned did not accept what they were told. Eventually, a unit in Donnybrook, through the good office of Deputy Kenny who was then a Minister of State at the Department of Education with responsibility for special needs, became available. The child concerned is now 33 years of age and is a qualified architectural technician. He has battled all his life, and unfortunately he is now unemployed as a result of the state of the building industry.

One can imagine how many children are now adults living in institutions today who should never have been in such places, simply because they were not given their constitutional right to proper assessment and education. I do not give a damn who is in government; this is an issue which should be dealt with once and for all. Parents should not have to march on the streets in every passing decade to demand rights for their children. It is bad enough to have a child with special needs. Let us make life simple for them. Their parents should be given rights in order that they do not have to go to court to fight for their children's rights. For goodness sake, the Minister should deal with the issues. The country is not so broke that we cannot look after a limited number of children with special needs.

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