Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am surprised the Minister for Education and Skills is not aware of the case to which I referred, given that I wrote to him about it some weeks ago, as did others. Perhaps he will check that correspondence. The situation is very well known in the Department and in the National Council for Special Education. Rather than go public on this issue initially, I wrote about it. I just could not believe it was happening despite all the official rhetoric.

That rhetoric is part of the problem. I have listened to what the Tánaiste said, but when one talks to parents, teachers and school principals one hears a different story. A few nights ago in Cork a young resource teacher called me into her kitchen at 8.45 p.m. to tell me about the work she is doing and how low she is in spirit as a consequence of the cuts being imposed in resource teaching in her school in the past year or so.

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