Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Tá an An Comhaontas Glas sásta tacaíocht a thabhairt don rún seo.I thank Deputy Byrne for bringing this motion before the House. It outlines clearly how the State is failing so many students in this country. Many good and inclusive schools across the country welcome all children, regardless of educational need, socio-economic background or the financial situation of their parents. We still have a long way to go, however, to ensure our schools are as inclusive as they should be. DEIS schools teach a much higher proportion of students with special educational needs than non-DEIS schools, and many of them are hugely oversubscribed with students requiring special classes.We still have a long way to go to reach a stage where schools stop cherry-picking students because they are thinking only about the school league tables and not about the child.

It is appalling that there is no secondary school with special educational classes in the Dublin 2, 4, 6, 6W or 8 areas. The situation is not much better in my area of Dublin Rathdown. Many parents find it difficult to secure supports for their children in local secondary and primary schools. I received a letter from a parent in Dundrum before the summer. The person concerned stated that he was contacting me about his son who is five years old and has a diagnosis of autism. He stated:

He currently attends a special pre-school applied behavioural analysis, ABA, class in Shankill. He has a recommendation in writing for a placement in an autism unit in a mainstream school for 19 September. We have tried many schools in the area and cannot get him a place. Either the unit will not be ready for September or there are no vacancies. We are under huge pressure. If we do not get a place for him, we will have to break up the family. My son and myself will have to move to Laois during the week to access an autism unit while my wife and my teenage child stay in Dublin. As you will understand, this would be a huge problem for us in every way and living away from the rest of the family could cause him more trouble ultimately".

This is where things stand. A family is seriously considering separating and renting a house in Laois so that it will be possible to access an autism unit for their child. I spoke to that parent, who was in tears while telling me that they are actually considering emigration to keep the family together. They have endured sleepless nights and have been distraught, anxious and worried. That child will be six in January. He is still in a pre-school and the parents feel that if he stays here he will still be in a pre-school next year. He will turn seven the following January. It is wrong and shameful. A two-tier system is in place in our schooling for children with special education needs. That has to end. Schools are an essential part of shaping who we are and who we will be. We have an extraordinary duty of care as a State, not just legally and constitutionally but morally, to all children, whoever they are or wherever they are from, to provide them with full and fair education shaped around them and not something that forces them to be shaped around it.

It is awful for people to be made feel they are a burden, that it is a huge amount of hassle for them to be accommodated and that they should have to adapt because they learn in a different way. This is how it feels for many children and their parents and it is not right. The current situation is not fair on those children who are denied a full and fair education because there is no place for them at their local school. It is not fair on their parents who feel helpless, anxious and abandoned. This is not what our education system should be about. Our education system should welcome diversity. It should be based on inclusivity and be welcoming. For this to happen, the Government needs to properly resource the provision of education for children and students with special educational needs. I call particularly on the Minister for Education and Skills to use his powers under the recent Education (Admission to Schools) Act to ensure schools provide for the children in their areas with reasonable notice periods and the necessary levels of support.

In his opening statement, the Minister of State referred to home tuition being available. All Members of the Oireachtas are inundated with emails because this is not the case. I received an email from a home tutor still awaiting a return to work. The email states:

I was due to return to work on September 2nd but I am still waiting to receive confirmation from the Department of Education telling me that I can return. Without pointing out the obvious, we are now midway through the third week of September and Primary Schools have long returned for the new school [year] since the end of August.

What is happening here? The system is completely broken and needs to be fixed. As for telling parents not to worry because in the meantime they will have access to home tuition, that is not happening. The Minister was copied in on the email.

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