Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on this motion. I commend the Fianna Fáil Party on its introduction. Nelson Mandela once said that "education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world". According to the Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, "The State shall, however, as guardian of the common good, require in view of actual conditions that the children receive a certain minimum education". A significant number of children in Ireland are not receiving this minimum education. In some cases, they are receiving no education at all. These are some of the most vulnerable children in the State. Many children with special or additional needs remain unassessed and undiagnosed. They have minimal supports. In many cases they have no supports at all.

It has been said in this House on many occasions that the education system for children with special needs is broken. It is not working. We are failing these children, their families and their educators. We know very well from research that the earlier an intervention can be made in a child's life through multidisciplinary therapies, the higher the chance that he or she can develop his or her intellect and skills and realise his or her potential on a whole-of-life basis. I have attended many meetings with parents of children with additional needs who are simply beaten by the system. They are frustrated and hopeless because they have been unable to secure a supported school place for their children who desperately need such places. It has been pointed out to me that parents who wilfully prevent their children from going to school are pursued through the courts system, whereas parents in these cases who absolutely wish and hope to have their children educated in an appropriate and supported setting are left to wither. The State has a direct responsibility for the impact such circumstances have on these children, whose physical, social, emotional and mental development is stunted. This motion outlines that 3,568 children were awaiting an assessment of need at the end of March 2019. I received this figure recently in response to a parliamentary question I tabled. There are no figures available for the second quarter of 2019. The only legislative guarantee that is enshrined under the Disability Act 2005 is that a child must be provided with an assessment of his or her needs as a result of his or her disability, in addition to a statement of the services he or she requires. The existence of lengthy waiting lists makes it clear that we cannot get the assessment process right.

The recruitment of an additional 100 therapists was announced as part of budget 2019. At the time, Sinn Féin criticised this measure on the basis that it did not come close to addressing the crisis we were experiencing. In our alternative budget, we called for the recruitment of 600 additional therapists across all disciplines to assess, intervene and end the waiting lists and the exclusion of these children from their best chance in life. I understand from the reply I received to my parliamentary question that just 40 therapists have been recruited. The recruitment process is still ongoing. This is simply not good enough. We are now in the second half of 2019. The failure to deliver what was promised is contributing to a worsening situation. Many of the children who are languishing on these waiting lists - they are locked out of education and having their development inhibited because of lack of supports and services - have autism spectrum disorder.

As my colleague has mentioned, on April 3 last, Deputy Funchion and I marked World Autism Day on behalf of Sinn Féin by introducing a Private Members' motion calling for the establishment of an all-party Oireachtas committee tasked with developing an autism empowerment strategy. The Government made it known that night that it did not agree with such an approach. With support from the campaigning non-governmental sector, the will of the Dáil ensured the motion was passed. Why, three months later, are we still waiting for the establishment of this committee? It is most disappointing for me, for the advocacy groups, for the families and, most distressingly, for the children and adults living with autism that this proposition has not been advanced. It is not good enough. We have given the Minister and his colleagues a framework on which the lives of autistic children can be transformed. It takes the politics out of it and gets us all working together for the better good. I urge the Minister to put his weight behind it and get on with it. Time is of the essence for these children. Every day that is lost is crucial time squandered. I ask the Minister not to let them down again.

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