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

With all due respect, if I go back to the parents with this answer, they will not be very impressed. They will not be impressed with an indication of the overall economic situation, which they have been told of to death, and they will not necessarily be impressed by a review group. The situation is that a senior speech and language therapy position is not being filled. Reviews are wonderful, but the problem is there are 12 children on the autism spectrum who are being told to go back to class. They are being told, "Here is some work you can do in your classroom with your class teacher". It is completely unfair, not just to the children and their parents, but also to the teacher, who is completely incapable of dealing with the situation presented to him or her.

I would ask for a more sympathetic and more realistic answer from the Minister. These are very needy and vulnerable children who have fantastic capabilities and potential. This school received a letter from Beechpark on 20 December stating that the senior speech and language position at the school cannot be filled and that it would not have any service in the first term of 2013 and possibly in the term after that. That is an unsustainable position. A school has to plan for an entire year. The Minister of State will probably agree with me that it is far from an ideal position. I would ask for more than a commitment to a review because a review does not take account of the specific situation in which we find ourselves, where the children are being left without the services they need.

See this speech in context