Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

First, I congratulate all four new Ministers, particularly Deputy Foley, who is taking on a very considerable Department, despite the creation of the new Department for higher education and research under the Minister, Deputy Harris. While this new Department will be equally as important as the Minister's last Department, I imagine it will be somewhat less frenetic. I wish him well in that.

We do not need to spend too much time talking about the profound impact of the events of recent months on the children of Ireland. It is really important to note the disruption to the education system, which has really challenged children in every county on the island. We have all learned, however, that there is strength in unity with regard to our response and what we can achieve when we work together. That is why it is important to note the remarks of a number of speakers with regard to a collaborative and co-operative approach with the Department of Education and Skills, and the new Department responsible for higher education, in respect of how we respond to the pandemic and how we improve the education of our children and young adults.

Of course, we are all aware that as a matter of urgency, the Department must provide parents and third level institution students with clarity as to how schools will be safely reopened. We are all aware the current situation as regards the virus is quite volatile. Indeed, we have already seen changes made to our roadmap. In a relatively short period, however, that could change back. We should not lose heart but, at the same time and has been said by a number of Members, it is incredibly important that we provide clarity to parents up and down the country in order that they can make the choices and decisions they need to make early in the month of August as regards the upcoming school year. The education system is, of course, of paramount importance to any functioning and progressive state. Education will be even more important than it was a decade ago in responding to the economic challenges that will arise as a result of Covid-19. We must ensure that no opportunities are lost in educating our children.

As we know, a child's development in the first 13 years of life will form lifelong habits and characteristics which will affect their later life profoundly. We owe the children of Ireland a coherent and practicable plan to deliver the quality education they deserve. As such, we really do need to seek to address all of the concerns of parents and professionals with regard to the guidelines on staggering of school drop-off times, locations, and analysis of existing school infrastructure with particular regard to bathroom and hand-washing facilities. Parents should be provided with information even on something as simple as alterations of sleeve lengths for younger students who will be using sanitiser or washing their hands more frequently so that they and the students themselves can get used to it.

As we learn more about the virus, it becomes clearer that interactions with others and sufficient air ventilation can prove the difference between preventing and facilitating its spread. Supporting schools in obtaining the necessary equipment to enhance air ventilation is important as we reopen schools.

Providing a clear and effective path in a timely manner will achieve the fundamental goal of giving confidence to parents and teachers. When a parent leaves a child at school, he or she will know that the child will be taken care of, as always, but will also be protected in a safe and healthy environment with regard to the eradication of Covid-19 from our society.

A number of issues have already been raised by Members with regard to the point the Minister has repeatedly made, that is, that parents will not have to pay for the preparation of schools to prevent the spread of Covid-19. I will also say on behalf of the teachers that it is important that they do not have to foot the bill for their own personal protective equipment in circumstances where it is appropriate or recommended by NPHET that they use it. That information needs to be put into the public domain in order that people will know precisely what is going to occur this coming September.

Covid-19 has transformed Irish society over recent months. Few would have thought possible the profound changes we have witnessed over such a short period. This crisis, however, has shown the strength of Irish people and the ability of our people and communities to pull together and to overcome significant challenges, hardships and heartbreak. This provides us with an opportunity to reimagine our approach to future crises and challenges, as we acted with clarity and confidence as a people. This extends to every Department and every policy and education is no exception.

It is my hope that we will embark on a serious attempt to improve a number of areas within the Irish education system in the lifetime of this Dáil, including reinvigorating our approach to special education, supporting gifted children and talented youth, expanding accessibility of the summer provision programme and improving aspects of higher education in Ireland. I was particularly heartened the day before yesterday to see the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, whom I congratulate on her new role, meeting Colm O'Reilly of the Centre for Talented Youth. We, as Parliament, and Ministers, as members of the Government, must evaluate on a more regular basis how we can support gifted children. It is often the case that gifted children have other educational needs and require educational supports. That is something we need to evaluate. I heard the Minister reference this area already. I appreciate that.

Delivering high-quality special needs education and supporting the children and families who rely on such services should be a priority of the Minister and the Department. Affording all children equal opportunity to obtain the support and education they need to excel in their later life is a moral responsibility of the State. I hope the Minister will pursue this goal and will engage with families, schools and experts as to how to achieve it. I also hope the voice of the children themselves will be listened to during such a process. On seven or eight occasions, I heard the former Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy McHugh, say that the voice of the child needs to be heard. As outgoing chair of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs, on which I worked with colleagues, I know that was a key aspect of the process emphasised by the Department of the former Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone, the committee and Tusla.

It is heartening to hear the Minister, the former Minister and the Department focus on what is an important aspect of the learning process the Department has to undertake on an annual basis. Listening to the child is an extremely important part of that process.

An increasing number of special needs assistants, 17,000 in total, are being provided for this coming September. That is welcome but there is a clear issue with regard to how the evaluation is made. Although great strides have been made, there is always room for improvement. As has been echoed by our colleague, having a Minister who is herself a former practitioner of education, may provide additional light as to how we can streamline the SNA allocation process to support both schools and children. By doing just that, we can achieve greater strengthening of special needs classes in mainstream schools and support the vital work carried out by special needs assistants. There has been significant progress in this field since 2011 and I hope the present Ministers will work to improve it further.

Gifted children should have the opportunity to reach their potential according to their talent and passion rather than their age. They should be encouraged and developed by the Department. For too many years Ireland has not met such students with the sort of support that is required. The system has been described as rigid and bureaucratic from time to time, which can lead to unintended consequences and lost opportunities when it comes to the progress of students. I believe we have a golden opportunity now to commence the process of creating a more flexible and adaptive system that supports students that can kick-start the sort of changes that were mentioned earlier in developing a child throughout his or her educational career.

Likewise, I am pleased that the July provision has been expanded to include students with Down's syndrome who were previously omitted from this programme. The programme is relied upon by approximately 10,000 students every year. However, the aspects of this programme can be of benefit to even more students. Expanding the accessibility of the programme to a greater number of students with different abilities can be achieved should the goal be adopted by the Minister. Any such review of the programme should consider the extensive paperwork burden placed on parents applying for the programme and the implementation of a streamlined user-friendly approach to accessing this hugely important and progressive programme. I cannot emphasise that enough. The sort of paperwork that parents are required to complete is burdensome. The Minister would know that, as would all of our colleagues in the Seanad who are approached to assist parents with filling out paperwork, in particular when it applies to the Department of Education and Skills. If we are being inundated, there is always more, and I believe we should attempt to do our best to streamline it. Moreover, the Minister may consider reviewing the process of schools that choose to opt out of the programme despite having children enrolled who would qualify and benefit from participation in it, as well as examining the creation of a more integrated system of registration for both parents and tutors. That is an issue. Every school in the country will have children who would ordinarily qualify, and while in this scenario there are home-based programmes available, it is not always possible to secure a tutor and, therefore, children miss out. We should use this process to evaluate that.

I have only 90 seconds remaining. I would very much appreciate a written response if that is possible. Many changes in Irish society have their roots in the opening up, accessibility and progression of our education system. This has led to economic, social and cultural benefits for our people. Enhancing this approach to our education system should be an important part of the Department's future policies. I am therefore pleased that the programme for Government has committed to a review of the national action plan on bullying, which will specifically aim to include guidelines for tackling gender-identity bullying. Recent surveys and studies of bullying in schools, highlight that LGBT students are disproportionately affected by bullying in Irish schools. While welcome, the review should form part of a wider review of how LGBT issues are approached in schools with the express aim of creating a safer and more welcoming environment for young people struggling with their orientation and identity.

I will conclude on those remarks. I will finish by reiterating what I said at the start, which is to wish all four new Ministers all the very best. I did not name the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, and I wish to do so. In the absence of the line committees this debate provides an opportunity for all of us to make constructive contributions to the Minister but it would be worthwhile for the Ministers to start pushing for the committee structures to be established so that we can get that process started. As the Minister for Education and Skills in particular would know, as the decisions are made perhaps towards the middle or end of this month when the Dáil might not be in session, there will no doubt be calls for the return of the Dáil so that the education system can be debated in this Chamber. We need to be wise to that. We have one to two weeks remaining of the Dáil sitting before our very short summer break and it is an opportunity for the Ministers to collectively call for those committees to be established.

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