Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As we come to the end of this Dáil term and this parliamentary year, I am pleased that regardless of how late it is in the evening, the plight, the difficulties, the challenges, the possibilities and the potential of children and adults with special needs are being discussed again in this Chamber, with a specific emphasis on children and adults, particularly young adults, who are affected by autism and are perhaps on the autism spectrum. Before I make a political point about the economics of this issue, I thank the Minister, Deputy McHugh, for his kind references to Deputy Funchion and me. We have been raising these issues consistently over recent times. The point I would like to make at the outset relates to the budget. The capacity of the Minister for Education and Skills to do the many things the Members of this House are urging him to do ultimately depends on having a sufficient budget to carry out such things. The Minister's colleague and party leader, the Taoiseach, has said on a number of occasions he would like to see tax cuts in the budget that is coming up in October. I am not being party political when I say I think tax cuts would make no sense at this time. The amount that is available for tax cuts is so small that we would not even see the jam or butter being spread on the bread because it would be so thin. Many of us in the House would support the Minister if he were to decide that the best way to make a great leap forward in addressing the issues of children and families affected by special needs and autism would be to agree collectively that the money which could be used for tax cuts, which could be €500 million, should be used instead to fund services for such children. That would allow us, as a society, to make the great leap forward on which we all fundamentally agree.

In recent years, and especially this year, I have been struck by the massive increase in the population of children in my constituency of Dublin West. An increasing number of children is a wonderful thing for any country to have. We are the envy of Europe for this reason. However, we have an increasing number of children with special needs, as well as an increasing number of children affected by autism, partly because of this population increase.

We have an increasing number of children with special needs, as well as an increasing number affected by autism. There is nothing as heartbreaking as sitting, as I have at times, with parents of six, seven, eight and nine year olds who have been excluded from school. Last week, the parents of a six year old contacted me because their precious daughter is basically on a two-hour regime in her school, one of the best in Dublin 15, because the additional facilities, be it an individual special needs assistant, SNA, or some other special facility, are simply not available to the school.

I pay tribute to our teachers, patrons and boards of management. People involved in the governance and running of schools have been genuinely open. I am learning more about, for example, people affected by autism and children with special needs. As a society, 30 years ago we moved from a model of large institutions in which children often ended up and were then institutionalised for their adulthood. We rightly broke with that particular model for a long time. That was the right thing to do.

We have reached another crossroads. In the Dublin West constituency, hundreds of parents have been at a series of meetings attended by Deputies Jack Chambers and Coppinger, as well as the Taoiseach, and most local councillors. We have listened to personal presentations by parents whose hearts are often breaking. Their physical capacity to facilitate their precious children is also almost at a breaking point. I can think of few things as heart breaking as the parents who told me that their six, seven and eight year olds were either excluded from school - effectively expelled - or whose hours were cut to just a couple of hours a day. What does it mean to parents who are told that their child will only get two hours?

I commend the WhatsApp groups that parents have set up, as well as the AsIAm organisation. These have been tremendously helpful to many Members. The latter is an organisation of young adults and students who, in many cases, are on the autism spectrum. Their wisdom, their thoughtfulness and the way they have set out what they have to say about their experience has been a learning experience for everybody.

Early intervention does make a difference. During my long time teaching at third level in the DIT, Dublin Institute of Technology, now Technological University Dublin, I encountered many adults who as children were diagnosed as being on the spectrum. Through resourcing, education and other supports, however, they were able to go on through the education system. In many cases, their superb intelligence then became available to the rest of us. I know that this is not everybody affected by special needs. However, it is some people and it is important that society should be in a position to celebrate, acknowledge and recognise this.

I am pleased the special school in Dublin 15 will go ahead. There has been tremendous co-operation from the school which will host this special facility. We need to look at our language again. “Special classes” is the right way to describe a facility which a child may use for a period. However, that should be alongside an inclusive model where the child is a full participating member of the broader school society.

I heard about the trek that many parents had to make, some to as many as 14 schools. I am glad we are putting that behind us. What does one say to any parent who has to go to 14 different schools, finding the answer in all of them is “No”? It is difficult if it is their first child. For many younger parents, the last time they were in a primary school was when they went to school themselves.

I welcome the positives and thank Fianna Fáil for raising this issue. The Labour Party will fully support this motion.

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