Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Mar gheall go bhfuil srian ar mo chuid ama, iarraim ar an Aire na freagraí a thabhairt i bhfoirm scríofa.

It is not often that a meeting is so emotional that it reduces me to tears, but two weeks ago I had just such a meeting with the parents' association of Rosedale School, a school for children with severe or profound intellectual disability in Galway city which was featured on RTÉ news last week. These parents are exhausted and heartbroken. Many of their children require 24-7 care which means the parents need to take shifts overnight to mind the children. The children in this school represent a tiny percentage of children with special educational needs, yet they are the most vulnerable and at risk. They feel completely ignored and isolated by the Government. Rosedale is not simply a school for these children, but their only social setting outside of their family home. They receive supports such as speech and language therapy and occupational therapy and they learn life skills and independence. The children have received no support from these services since Rosedale closed and the parents can see the detrimental effect this is having on their children's development and their children are regressing. They told me very clearly that their lifeline is gone. One parent said: “It has taken years of dedicated hard work and consultation with many multidisciplinary professionals to help my son regulate and engage to this level, and as is probably clear by now since March 12th my son's whole world has fallen apart.” Another parent said: “When I look at him now my heart breaks, I think he has regressed by about five years in the last number of weeks and it is unbearable for me to consider the implications any further delay in returning to his beloved Rosedale will have for him.”

The parents have told me they need a school-based summer programme and that an online programme will not work for their children. They need to know first when it will run and second what staff are available. Some SNAs have had their contracts moved to the HSE to enable them to work in children's homes. Will their contracts need to be reverted prior to the commencement of the summer programme? If the programme is delayed into August, what provision will be made for the required nurses who take their leave in August? These are not just schools for these children and families - they are their hospitals and their social settings, and they bring so much joy to these kids. One father said to me that while he knows his daughter has a life-limiting condition and does not like to say it, all he wants is for her to be as happy as possible while she is with them.

These parents are deeply concerned that if a second wave hits Ireland, these schools will be closed again. Can this service be reclassified as an essential service, given that the children's needs are more complex and their conditions are far more profound than children in other schools? The class sizes are limited to between four and six pupils, with many of the children having limited movement. The teachers have control over hygiene and are fully versed in infection control. Given the hardship on families, along with the regression of the physical, social and mental development of these children, can these schools reopen immediately? One mother described the big smile on her little daughter’s face when she sees the school bus coming. The Minister can put that smile back on that child's face and I urge him to do so.

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