Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The message is the Department is reconfiguring the system which is correct. It is critically important, however, that those who need additional supports get them now. Twelve months without necessary supports is a significant time for such children when two to four years of age. The difficulty with the allocation of learning support hours and resource hours is that it is at the schools’ discretion. One parent stated to me in a letter:

These supports are provided as part of the school’s general allocation. [My son] is basically under a compliment to that system and we pray that some bureaucrat does not change the school’s budget which could take away these resources with the stroke of a pen.

These are the anxieties over this system. The simple truth is that Down’s syndrome is a condition diagnosed at birth that affects speech, co-ordination, hearing and cognitive skills. Children diagnosed with a mild degree of Down’s syndrome are being told they are not bad enough to qualify for educational supports. Essentially, they are being discriminated against. There are parents who have invested much time, effort and resources to support their children before these tests. However, as their children are diagnosed as mild, they are discriminated against. That needs to be reviewed in light of the evidence that is coming forward from parents.

One parent wrote to me:

Education, as we all know, is the building blocks that give all children, with or without a disability, the skills they need later in life, yet the current system is allowing a small section of children to be denied the extra resources they need to gain and develop these self-same skills. Give our children a fighting chance and leave them and us, their parents, with our dignity. Do not turn us into beggars, pleading with civil servants for what our children need. Let us enjoy our children, just as we do their siblings, without the constant worrying about their education. We know they have a disability, we live with it every day, you do not need to constantly remind us of their condition by making us grovel and stress.

I know the Minister of State is genuinely concerned about this matter. He must listen to the concerns of Down Syndrome Ireland. Deputy Finian McGrath introduced a Private Members Bill recognising Down’s syndrome as a low incidence disorder to ensure adequate provision of resource teaching hours. It was not opposed by the Government and was supported by all Members. We need to progress this legislation because every week of a delay is very difficult for the children in question.

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