Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As the Minister well knows, two sections of our community have paid the greatest price in terms of safeguarding the public in the face of Covid-19. I am referring to the elderly and our special needs children. Some of the toughest calls that many Deputies in the House have taken in the past three months have been from parents who are despairing as their children flounder and regress academically. The House has reflected much in terms of the future care plans for the elderly, in particular those in the nursing home sector, but we have heard little on how we intend to address the imbalance and regression in special needs education during the past three months. I have had calls from parents of special needs children in Longford who feel abandoned, forgotten and bewildered. We urgently need a total recalibration of special needs education and sustained targeted investment in the sector.

It falls for me to tell the Minister that Longford parents are worried. We have seen a scaled-back return of respite services for special needs children in the county. We will be demanding a full and expanded programme of respite support in the county. I know the Minister is aware of the deficit in the special needs programme in County Longford.

I wish to draw the attention of the Minister to another aspect. I am referring to the situation at Gaelscoil Longfoirt where despite DEIS status the school does not have a home school community liaison co-ordinator to work with the disadvantaged pupils and parents there.

I know the Minister is very passionate about the sector and I admire some of the work he has done in the area. I appeal to him on behalf of the parents and pupils at Gaelscoil Longfoirt to intervene and address this situation for the new term.

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