James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me time to debate this important issue, namely, the need for the Minister for Education and Skills to reverse cutbacks which are impacting adversely on young adults with special needs at St. Brigid's school, Mullingar, County Westmeath. This school is suffering from changes of services, coupled with staff reductions, which have directly affected the quality of education available for students. The valuable work carried out by the teachers and pupils is being further undermined by the refusal of the Department of Education and Skills to upgrade current substandard facilities, especially in the built environment. The dreaded word in education is "cutbacks". For St. Brigid's school it is especially heartbreaking as the work they carry out with children and young adults with special needs is, by its very nature, dependent on a reasonable level of staffing and adequate resources.

It says it all that an educational establishment should tell me that it feels as though its pupils are less valued than their mainstream peers. Should pupils with special needs not be entitled to special care and provision by the Department of Education and Skills? Dedicated, extremely talented and hard working staff can only do so much, and, believe me, the personnel at St. Brigid's give above and beyond the call of duty. However, if the official backup and support is missing, it makes for an uphill struggle. At present, 80% of the pupils at St. Brigid's have not had their much-needed psychological assessments which are essential to access the appropriate response and resources needed. These reviews are sourced through the Department of Education and Skills and, owing to the lack of such assessment, the school is receiving services on a crisis basis only. This fails to meet the ever-growing and complex needs of the pupils. St. Brigid's has nine classes with nine class teachers, 12 special needs assistants, SNAs, and 81 students who need much greater provision, especially in terms of special assistance. Pupils at the school include those with mild or moderate general learning difficulties, severe behavioural difficulties, sensory impairments, both visual and hearing, physical disabilities and autism. These diverse educational needs cannot be met without enhanced support by the Department. A high level of professional frustration is felt by the staff as they struggle to meet these needs with limited resources.

St. Brigid's primarily serves students from Longford and Westmeath, with some travelling from counties Meath, Roscommon and Offaly. The school's motto is "to learn, to love, to live", with student successes celebrated by fellow students, parents, teachers, principal, staff and the board of management. If pride in achievement were the only requirement, St. Brigid's would have no problems. Unfortunately, practical resources are essential to the continued success of this school. This school is an integral part of Mullingar and the surrounding areas. Its pupils are part of the community, which gives them great support. It is time, however, that the Government matched that support and goodwill. Apparently, in the view of the Department of Education and Skills, a school cannot be both special and disadvantaged at the same time. However, both descriptions are equally relevant to St. Brigid's. This fails to be realised in terms of funding and resources.

The school has been told it is to lose further resources, including two more SNAs, both of whom have worked in the school for seven years, an extra quota woodwork teacher who has been with the school for two years and one resource teacher who worked in the school for five years. The reality is that if the pupils at St. Brigid's were enrolled in mainstream schools, their support needs would total in excess of 54 SNAs and 11 resource teachers, compared with an allocation, as previously mentioned, of nine class teachers and 12 SNAs.

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