Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the short time available I wish to give an example of a young man, a friend of mine, who spent eight years in national school. He got support at national school through the generosity of the Down's syndrome association and through private support from his family. The Department of Education and Skills did not support any form of special needs assistance or general allocation learning support hours. His significant memory of national school, which was a negative one, was on his tenth birthday when he was bullied, an issue we should be conscious of when speaking about children with disabilities, as that day he was told he was disabled. That was the day he found out he was disabled and it was the first time he had to deal consciously with the fact that he was different in other people's eyes, even though he felt he was, and is, no different today in his own head. Special needs support and general allocation learning support hours help children with disabilities to deal with their condition.

He spent four years in secondary school without any support. In his final year, leaving certificate year, he got a special needs assistant, SNA. He was fortunate to have a very good SNA with the skills not only to help him with the day-to-day ritual of packing school bags, getting to the next class, speeding up and help with language. In fact, he ended up studying German for his leaving certificate. This young man also had help from his parents. His mother spent four hours per night helping with his homework and his sister also helped. He had massive support outside the system. The reality is that not everybody is in the same position. For people coming up through the system his argument is that if support was inbuilt at an earlier stage, through primary and secondary school, life would be easier. All people want a level playing field. They want life to be easier. Parents of children with Down's syndrome are no different from parents of other children, they want the best for their children and to have the best opportunities and to be treated equally in society.

Today, this young man is in a full-time job. Having got his leaving certificate he is able to carry out his role as an Irish citizen in the same way as anybody else. His strong message to legislators and those who make decisions in the Department as to whether general allocation learning support hours should be provided for people with Down's syndrome, is an overwhelming "yes". He said he was fortunate in that he had family support. He had a mother who was able to sit down for four hours per night and a sister who helped him day in and day out. While he had all this support he is not naive enough to think that every family is in the same situation.

The example I gave is an anecdotal one. It was the journey of one man. Advocates and practitioners, as Deputy Michael Colreavy pointed out, are the people who know and they have put forward many proposals. I commend Deputy Finian McGrath for bringing the Bill forward. As a former máistir scoile he knows the story and has his own experience in this area and, obviously, that experience needs to be shared.

I thank Deputy Derek Keating for sharing time. I recall an advertisement logo may years ago, "all different, all equal". That is something of which all 166 Members are conscious. We know we are all different but we strive to ensure that people have a level playing field and are treated equally and in a just way. We need to persevere with this and to give support to children with Down's syndrome. They need help along the way and when they get it they rise to the opportunity and can strive, be it in the workplace or in the sporting arena, in the same way as any other person with different abilities.

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