Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. In fairness, extra SNAs have been appointed. All of us agree that, in general, they do a fantastic job. They build up a great relationship with the children and their parents. They give the children much care, love and attention.

In most circumstances, it works out well. My concern is the increasing number of cases being brought to my attention by parents. The number is greater than it has ever been in the time since I became a Deputy. I am dealing with five cases, two of which have progressed to appeal stage. The others will be a little more difficult to address. Often a child will have a SNA full time in primary school and progress well only for the goalposts to change when he or she moves on to secondary school. In one such case the child comes out of school crying, is unsettled and has difficulty in sleeping at night. Everybody does not fit into the same category. Circumstances can be different. In two of the cases with which I am dealing children received one-to-one attention in primary school, but they are not receiving it in secondary school and are as a result regressing. I hope that when this is pointed out in the appeals process, it can be rectified. As I said, parents of children with disabilities are struggling. As we all know, dealing with a child with autism is very trying. We need to provide every support we can. I acknowledge the role of school principals, teachers and SNAs.

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