Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)

St. Joseph's School, Parnell Street, Waterford, which caters for children with a mild learning disability, and St. Martin's Special School, Ballytruckle, Waterford, which caters for children with a moderate learning disability, effectively have had no speech and language therapy service since May 2009. The schools had been sharing a speech and language therapist who spent two days in St. Joseph's, two days in St. Martin's and one day on administration. I understand that the therapist who had been supplying the service has been on sick leave since May of last year, but the HSE has failed to provide a replacement service for the pupils of both schools. This means that the children with mild and moderate learning disability attending these schools are deprived of this essential service. Individual crisis cases can be referred to the speech and language therapy service at Waterford Regional Hospital, but this is of little use because the children need regular weekly therapy services.

Some pupils attending St. Joseph's School who needing speech and language therapy can come from some distance away, making it all the more essential that a regular service be provided in their school. The children of St. Joseph's and St. Martin's are not receiving the quality of education to which they are entitled and their ability to achieve their learning potential is being seriously compromised.

It shows the hollowness of the undertakings given by this Government to protect the most vulnerable sections of society when those with a learning disability are so shamefully neglected.

Children are now being enrolled in these schools for September 2010. New pupils requiring speech and language therapy will need to be screened by the speech and language therapist in order that appropriate programmes can be put in place. I call on the Minister to ensure the deprivation of these children in this essential service is put right forthwith. The effect of not providing this therapy is that the overall educational service provided for these children will continue to deteriorate, and the net effect of not having badly needed speech and language therapy will be to compound the difficulties of these vulnerable children who need every possible support and assistance in aspiring to the optimum quality of life. It is a measure of how uncaring the HSE, the Department of Health and Children and the Department of Education and Skills have become if they can live with a situation where the vital needs of these children are being so shamefully abandoned.

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