Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the response, although it sheds no more light on the issue. Indeed, I can provide more information than she has provided. For example, the Minister of State said the NCSE would provide the policy advice in the near future.

It will do so directly to the Minister for Education and Skills at 11.30 a.m. on Friday at a public launch event.

The key question is about the rights of children with Down's syndrome. Until 2005 all children with Down's syndrome were allocated additional resource hours or resource hours on a one-to-one basis as a matter of priority. The Minister today could sit in his office and with the stroke of a pen could grant the 24 children per year the resource service as an automatic right allowing the parents to get on with caring for their children and not have to take on the State or the Government to get their children's rights.

Given that this would cost approximately €5,000 per child, when will the Minister act on the recommendations of the National Council for Special Education? Will he ensure that by September all Down's syndrome children classified with a mild learning disability will be allocated resource hours? Why must we wait almost two years for a report from the NCSE to do something when it should be a matter of fact and right? A cross-party group has been established in the House to advocate on behalf of parents of children with Down's syndrome. We are speaking about a small group of children who face many other difficulties in life. This is just one uphill battle they face. It is a small amount of money. This should happen as a matter of course and it should not have been as protracted as it has been. When will the Minister act on the advice of the NCSE? Will he assure parents that by September these resource hours will be in place? Schools must make arrangements in this regard.

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