Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister, Deputy Zappone, for re-arranging her schedule to facilitate this discussion. The Minister will be aware that a decision has been taken to withdraw counselling grants to primary schools in particular. I received a letter from a principal of one of the schools in my constituency, some of the content of which I would like to bring to the attention of the Minister. The opening paragraph states that he has received correspondence from Tusla informing him that the counselling grants scheme is to be closed. It continues as follows:

I wish to object most strenuously to this development and to request that this decision be revoked. The Counselling grant enabled us [the school] to provide support to some of the most vulnerable children in our school, helping them through the considerable distress they are enduring and to deal with trauma in their lives. This support is now to be withdrawn without consideration for those benefiting from Counselling or without the offer of any alternative. This is regressive and will directly impact on those who could most benefit from support.

In the interests of vulnerable children, I urge that this decision be rescinded and that the Counselling Grant be immediately restored.

Neither I nor anybody else could make a stronger case than the person who is dealing with this issue at the coalface, who knows the state of minds of these children, their backgrounds and all of the social deprivation issues that they endure.

I am aware that Tusla has indicated that money will be redirected through some other programme but that is not enough to convince the person who is dealing with this issue at the coalface. If I have learned anything from my time as a public representative it is that it is important to speak to the people on the ground, those who are affected by decisions that are taken here and in Departments and State agencies. Often what looks good on paper or sounds good in theory in practice does not work. I put it to the Minister that the statement of the school principal is a clear indication that the theory behind the reallocation of this funding is not in the best interests of the children and, therefore, it will not have a positive outcome for the children we all seek to assist and protect to the greatest extent possible.

Will the Minister consider reinstating the grant, recognising the role that principals play? The service provided is a tried and trusted practice at this stage. In the past special needs assistant allocations were based on quotas and school numbers and so on. It became blatantly obvious at a later stage that the input of the school principal was most important in that regard and we moved towards that. It seems to me that the decision is being taken to withdraw this grant, remove the principal from the mix and move to a paper-based assessment or at a remove from the coalface. I appeal to the Minister to reconsider this decision and to give whatever direction is required to Tusla to reinstate these grants and to put the school principal back in the centre in terms of the allocation of the assistance to these vulnerable children.

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