Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Let me give an example based on the predicament of a family in a certain school. The child in question is being dismissed from school because, from 21 February to 11 March, there was an unmet requirement to supply psychological support, psychiatric support, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and social worker support. The family is supposed to come up with the goods in the knowledge that the child will be dismissed from the school if it fails. That is the pressure families are being put under owing to the lack of resources. What does one say to a family whose child faces dismissal from school? The chances of having the child enrolled in another school are nigh on impossible. That is the pressure that has been placed on just one family in recent weeks. This is crazy. I do not know how the State can respond. I outline but one example; I do not know how many others there are. What I have outlined is a microcosm of what is happening to other families. I may revert to the Minister on this case.

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