Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

First, I have already passed the details of the three cases I mentioned to the Minister for Education and Skills and I was not impressed with his response.

I am going to be very blunt. If the Taoiseach goes down the road of cutting a service to children with special needs, not only are the children with special needs being damaged but when the special needs assistants lose their jobs, they will go back on the dole and will be in receipt of welfare payments. In addition, some will qualify for a medical card or rent allowance and that will cost the State more. From an economic point of view, will the Taoiseach accept that cuts in this service will damage the local community and the local economy?

In regard to his comments on special needs assistants, 8,000 to 10,000 children come into the system every year and a certain percentage of them, 400 to 500 children at least, will have a special needs requirement. Putting a cap on the number of SNAs will not work; it will be a disaster. Does the Taoiseach wish Ireland to be in breach of Article 28.1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which states that every child has the right to equal opportunity through education? Is that the Ireland the Taoiseach wants? Does he and the Minister for public expenditure and reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, want to be in breach of the EPSEN Act 2004 when the State has promised to assist children with special needs to leave schools with the skills necessary to participate in society? Does the Taoiseach want to end up in the courts again, at a cost of €20 million in legal costs, like previous Governments? Half of such legal costs would resolve the current SNA issue. Is that what the Taoiseach wants to do to children with special needs?

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