Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the considered way in which she raised this complex issue. We must deal sensitively with the genuine worries of parents about how their children's needs will be catered for in the education system.

My Department employs approximately 12,500 resource and learning support teachers who are allocated annually to mainstream schools. This is a significant investment, one which increased throughout the difficult period we endured, which is as it should be. Approximately 7,500 of these teachers are allocated annually by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, in response to applications from schools in respect of children with diagnosed conditions, including emotional behaviour disturbance and severe emotional behaviour disturbance. The remaining posts are allocated using the general allocation model.

The Deputy raises the concern that the current model is no longer fit for purpose because it is over-reliant on diagnosis. This was the view adopted by one of my predecessors in the Department, the former Minister, Ruairí Quinn, who requested that the NCSE review the model. The review which has been published found a number of defects in the current model, including the danger that diagnosis is occurring simply for resource allocation purposes. The Deputy alluded to this danger. Other defects identified include the long delay in some cases in accessing diagnostic assessments and differences in accessing resources, which mean that people who have much money can access assessments.

For these reasons, the NCSE recommended changes in the current model. We have acted on this advice and taken steps to address the concerns raised about the current model by developing a new model for allocating teaching supports. Once implemented, this model will remove the need for a diagnosis of disability to ground the allocation of resources and will focus primarily on the educational needs of the relevant cohort of children.

As the Deputy will be aware, we have piloted the new model in 47 schools. In the budget funding was provided to roll out the model nationwide, starting in September 2017. I am optimistic that this change will provide assurance for parents who have been unable to access the diagnostic route that their child will be identified early and have his or her educational needs assessed and that the assignment of resources to schools will be based on educational needs. The allocation will be provided across the school and reflect a more holistic approach to the needs of children. This will mean that children will not have labels attached to them that may not be necessary and are certainly not perfectly connected to the educational needs we are trying to address.

See this speech in context