Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

I will start by referring to views expressed by the Labour Party when it was in opposition. According to the Labour Party, it believes "in the equal right of every person to realise their full potential" and regards investment in education as "the most important investment we can make in our own future". It is, it continues, "central to our longer term economic recovery – not something that can wait for that recovery to happen". The party is also "committed to protecting children's education from the kinds of austerity supported by other parties". It is small wonder the Labour Party is getting along so well with the Fine Gael Party when it has adopted the same measures as Fine Gael and taken a common approach, one in which it says one thing in opposition and does exactly the opposite in power.

I found it nauseating last week to observe the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, with children perched around him reading books, talk about improving numeracy and literacy when children with additional needs are being left to flounder as a result of the Government's failure to reverse the cuts introduced by its predecessor and its decision to add a few more cuts of its own. That it delayed the announcement of these measures until the last minute in the hope that it would derail justifiable opposition from parents and teachers is a mistake it makes it at its peril. Many of the Government's statements on education are characterised by disingenuous double-speak. While the Minister is correct to highlight the need to improve literacy - in that regard, I welcome the reduction in the number of subjects on the curriculum - the Minister's statement on numeracy and literacy is directly contradicted by his decision to stand over cuts in resource teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs.

The manner in which literacy is taught in the classroom is the problem. One example of the special and particular role special needs assistants have in the classroom is that they allow a division of labour which enables the teacher to concentrate on children who have a problem. Irrefutable evidence is available to show that the role played by special needs assistants has turned around the position in many inner city schools and improved the opportunities available to many of them. The report into special needs commissioned by the Government correctly highlighted that the role of special needs assistants has changed from the role originally envisaged for them, which was to provide support for a specific child with special needs. The role they play is similar in some respects to the role played by teaching assistants in the English education system. It is a vital role which must be recognised and for which there is a place because it benefits all children with special needs, as well as their classmates and society as a whole.

It is a crime and disgrace that it unofficial practice in recent times has been to approve SNA posts only in circumstances where a child is deemed to be danger to himself or others. Many children with autism are deemed to be insufficiently disruptive to require extra assistance. This means that by the time they negotiate the next layer of their education, for instance, entry to second level education, they lack the necessary social skills to deal with the transition. Every case is different and for this reason special needs assistants and resource teachers enhance the situation for everybody.

The Government has done the opposite of what it promised to do when in opposition. The measures it has proposed will cause great harm. It is creating an illusion because it will, on the one hand, save resources in education while, on the other, adding costs to the social welfare budget as special needs assistants lose their jobs. It will not get away with the choice it has made. It is indictment of the State that it spends €350,000 to keep one child in Oberstown remand centre but cannot deliver sufficient resources to allow children to develop to their full potential.

The Socialist Party calls for the reversal of the cap and cuts, including to resource teaching hours. We will stand full square with parents tomorrow and in September until the Government listens and does what it said it would do before it got into power.

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