Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Could he clarify his previous response to Deputy Finian McGrath about the supports children with Down's syndrome can expect this September? As has been rightly pointed out, there was a High Court case in the past couple of weeks involving two families who challenged the Government because their children with Down's syndrome were not entitled to resource teaching hours. The High Court judge ruled that those children should get the full allocation of resource teaching hours.

The only way those children got those hours was because their families went to the High Court. As things stand, the only way other children with Down's syndrome will get the same supports is through their families having the financial wherewithal to go to the High Court. This is completely unacceptable. I believe we should see a situation whereby the Government allocates resource teaching hours in September 2014 to all those children diagnosed with Down's syndrome, not just to those whose families can afford to go to court to get the hours. Can the Minister give us absolute clarity about the situation facing children with Down's syndrome who are starting school and going back to school this September?

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