John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Smith for sharing his time with me. This is the second time in the past few weeks that I have got up to speak about the needs of children with special needs, particularly with regard to County Wexford. I note the Minister is not present, but I am happy to see the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Sherlock, here as, having listened to him over a number of years while he was on this side of the House, I know he is caring and concerned about the less well off in society and am sure he will have the interests of those with special needs at heart.

The Minister of State has said that the Government will not revisit the previous Government's decision to place a cap on the number of SNAs. Perhaps it should not do that, but it should revisit the decisions made by some of the SENOs around the country. Some of the decisions they have made in recent weeks are not in the best interests of children attending our schools. Deputy Smith and Deputies on the far side of the House have alluded to the fact that there is no consistency in how children are being assessed for special needs assistance. Recently, I was made aware of a case where a SENO decided that a child who required a zimmer frame was not entitled to a special needs assistant. This caused great concern for the parents and I am sure similar situations are occurring throughout the country.

I have often referred to St. Senan's primary school in Enniscorthy, which is set to lose six SNAs this year. This school has 600 children, over 50 of whom have various disabilities. The principal excludes no-one from the school. The school is very inclusive and also contains an autism centre which previous Ministers consider the gold-plated autism centre of this country. I am sure the current Minister, Deputy Quinn, would do the same. Officials from the Department of Education and Skills always hold up the autism section of St. Senan's school as an example of the way forward for dealing with children with autism. Unfortunately, in recent weeks the school has received word that it will lose six SNAs. Deputy Wallace and I raised this matter in the Dáil previously and, in fairness, the Minister and Department have sent the senior SENO to revisit and re-examine some of the decisions taken. Hopefully, the school will get back some of the SNAs. I do not intend to engage in Minister bashing. However, I feel strongly that the decision to withdraw SNAs from children entitled to them should be revisited. Hopefully, such a caring Minister of State as Deputy Sherlock will ensure this happens within the Department.

I am the parent of a child with a disability. When she attended Enniscorthy vocational school 13 years ago, there was only one special needs assistant for the four children in wheelchairs at that time. We have come a long way from that and now have 10,500 SNAs in the country. That is only right. It is important that young people with disabilities are given an opportunity to attend mainstream education. This is what it is all about, particularly in St. Senan's where Mr. Goff and the teachers try to ensure the children move on to mainstream education as quickly as possible. This must continue.

While it is right to point out that money is scarce, the Minister of State pointed out that the overall expenditure of the Department is €1.3 billion, a significant amount of money. It is important to prioritise and look after the vulnerable and less well-off in society. I have received numerous letters in the past few weeks from parents of children in different schools in Wexford and I am sure other Deputies have received similar letters from parents in other parts of the country. I would like to quote from one particular letter. It states:

I implore you [and your fellow TDs from Wexford] to please stand up for those of us who have not the energy for this fight. I fight my sons into their clothes every morning, from their socks to their coats, and I fight to keep from becoming bitter. That is very difficult when you are up EVERY morning at 4.30 a.m. with both boys. My brightest ray of hope after my sons' smiles has been St. Senans school where they have been respected and provided with a completely appropriate education both academically and socially. I once thought such enlightened places only existed in the USA. Don't let these cuts bring us back to the dark days of the past.

This parent went on to say that her children were being assessed within the school to see whether they could continue to have an SNA. This letter sums up the plight of parents of children with special needs in schools around the country who are concerned about losing SNAs. I urge the Minister of State to ensure that such children do not lose their SNAs.

This debate is good in that it discusses broadly based education and, in particular, the needs of people with disabilities. As Deputy Smith said, it is important that we continue to fund schools that provide excellent services for people with disabilities. I am sure the Minister of State will bring the message to the Minister that he must prioritise children with disabilities in our schools.

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