Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I hope the Minister of State will pass on my concerns in relation to the Beechpark services of the HSE. Since a school in my constituency - Scoil Chiaráin in Donnycarney - contacted me about this service, I have been contacted by other schools about it. The authorities at Scoil Chiaráin have been told that Beechpark will not provide any more speech and language therapy services to children of primary school age in this term. No guarantees have been received with regard to the next term. There are 18 children in the unit at the school in question. According to the letter I received from the school, "twelve children will now rely solely on their class teacher for SLT support". This is an untenable situation. Beechpark has provided work for the children to do within their mainstream classes, which is not the best way to proceed with children who are so vulnerable and needy. According to a letter I have received from a parent at the same school:

Our son is on the ASD spectrum and is currently attending an outreach ASD class in Scoil Chiaráin C.B.S. on Collins Avenue. We were recently informed that our son will not be receiving any in-school Speech and Language support during this new school term. The reason being that Beechpark, the HSE providers, are unable to fill a senior SLT position due to the on-going embargo on recruitment. Therefore their current SLTs are being stretched to the limit, resulting in our son losing out on crucial language therapy. It is imperative that our son has every opportunity to continue to develop his social and communicative skills. We are very concerned as to how this loss in support will hinder his development, going forward.

The letter I have received from the school states:

Twelve children will now rely solely on their class teacher for SLT support. Our children are enrolled in our outreach classes with the hope that they will be able to integrate full time with mainstream. How can this happen when their supports are being withdrawn? Communication is an essential area of development for children with autism.

Essentially, I am asking why there does not seem to be any co-ordination with regard to special education between the Department of Health and the Department of Education and Skills. It is needed if we are to tackle this issue.

Everyone understands the economic situation, but that is cold comfort for parents whose children desperately need these services. We are faced with the prospect of saying to the parent of a child on the ASD spectrum that he or she will have to stay within his or her mainstream class for this term, and possibly the next term, because one of the senior speech and language therapy positions within this service cannot be filled as a result of the recruitment embargo. If we believe in education as a great liberator and if we believe in the potential of every child, regardless of his or her learning difficulties, surely we cannot stand over this position. I have been told by the representatives of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged schools in my constituency - the school in this case is a disadvantaged school - that they know of children who have been waiting for two years to access the services they need, including occupational therapy services and the speech and language therapy services that are provided by Beechpark. When they finally get those services, it is a great thing for the school. In this case, Coláiste Chiaráin has been told some of its pupils will have to do without certain services because of the recruitment embargo. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that the children in this unit deserve an awful lot better. I will be interested to hear his response.

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