Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome change in this area, but it really needs to be highlighted because this is an issue affecting both mainstream and special schools. The idea that a child with special needs would be expelled from a special school is a cause for shame for our society. The difficulty with section 29 is that it is not the correct system. Schools are put in difficult positions and adversarial relationships are created. Lawyers are appointed by schools in many cases, and it is not often possible for parents to follow suit. I have come across a case, which I raised with the Minister's officials recently, where a child with severe special needs was left with no education whatsoever because of expulsion. That is not right. Children are suspended at first and then expelled. In this particular case the child has effectively been deprived of his or her education for the last year.

In 2014 there were 225 appeals under section 29, and 58 involved children with special needs.

In 2015 there were 231 appeals, of which 64 involved children with special needs. In 2016, out of 218 section 29 appeals, 65 of the applicants indicated that the child had special educational needs. It is a disgrace to our society that those families and those children are put through this, whether it is because of a refusal to enrol, a suspension or an expulsion. It is just not the way we should be treating children with special educational needs. This is a small number of children in the overall scheme of things. The devastation it causes families is absolutely horrendous.

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