Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State. He was passionate about this area prior to having the honour of being elected to this House. I am confident he is familiar with the details of a report which reveals the number of children being left behind within the system. Schools have been forced to implement ad hocarrangements for children who need adequate supports, particularly resource teaching hours.

The report presented evidence of a growing crisis in the system. It referred to successive cuts, deteriorating staffing ratios, shrinking resources, unqualified staff and cuts to essential one-to-one interventions, and concluded that the SEN population is growing with no corresponding increase in resources. I am particularly disturbed by the report's conclusions about the current system, which perhaps unintentionally discriminates against children from poorer backgrounds, particularly those in DEIS schools. The report states that students with special educational needs in DEIS schools mostly come from chaotic families. When a child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, for example, he or she will only get access to resources when receiving child and adolescent mental health services and can show evidence of an ongoing treatment plan. Poorer families do not co-operate with these services as fully as they might and thus when a school applies for resources, it is turned down. The rules are far too strict for families in DEIS schools. I appeal to the Minister of State to examine this issue, about which I know he is passionate.

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