Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for bringing forward the motion. I want to take time to mention something that is nearly working in my own constituency. I am referring to a little boy by the name of Rory Kilduff. Rory has a place in Gaelscoil Ros Eo. He is five years of age and is very much looking forward to being able to go to school. However, he has a condition known as Vacterl syndrome. I will not go into all the details but it means that he needs a thing called a bowel wash. It must happen at 6 a.m. and he needs home-care support to get that. The staff in Gaelscoil Ros Eo have been fantastic so they are ready to take him into school but this is a little boy who will not be able to go to school on time and will miss out and fall behind. We have talked tonight about how being different marks children out and makes their lives more difficult. It makes it difficult for them to fit in.

Steps have to be taken to ensure children with additional physical or mental needs can be included and can live their full lives. To be fair to the HSE, it has been working on this case. The child in question needs someone to come to his house at 6 a.m. to provide home care support. I know this does not strictly fall within the Minister's remit. If this little boy cannot get the intervention he needs, he cannot go to school. He already has home help. This is just about changing the time. Like all the kids on his road, he wants to be able to go to school. His mother, Shona, has been advocating on his behalf. I have been advocating on his behalf. To be fair, the HSE has been advocating on his behalf. All we want is for this little boy to be able to go to school in September, to join his peers and siblings and to live a full life.

That is the purpose behind this motion. Nobody is disagreeing with it. A child should not lose out on his or her schooling or fall behind in school just because he or she has additional needs. In this case, we need a small administrative block to be removed to ensure this child can access an education and can live his best life. I am a mother. There are mothers and fathers in the Chamber tonight. We do not want our kids to grow up to be millionaires or whatever else. We just want our kids to be able to live their best lives. That is all Shona wants in Rory's case. I want to help her to achieve that. I know this is not strictly within the Minister's remit. I implore him to use any influence he might have to get us over this logjam.

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