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

I welcome the changes that are coming in the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill 2016. That Bill will hopefully be before the Dáil next week. We have pushed for it to be passed for quite some time and I really hope that it offers some of these families what they need, which is an entitlement to an education without having to go through bureaucratic hula hoops. It is outrageous. We look forward to change in this area but in the case of children with special educational needs, it is not a question of having to be fair to both sides. The child is entitled to a free primary education under the Constitution. As such, there is no issue of fairness to the school. The State has an obligation to educate that child, and in cases of which I am aware, the child is effectively being refused their constitutional right to education because of these procedures. I will certainly work with the Minister to change this but I want to see the changes make a difference in practice. Rather than trying to be fair to both sides, the State needs to protect the constitutional right to primary education, which for a lot of children with special needs applies up to the age of 18. We need to protect, defend and vindicate that right by giving these children their education.

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