Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the comments of the Minister of State but several issues and challenges would be ahead of us if there were to be any shift in terms of delivering for special needs students. The challenges I highlight are that it would be a phased process if it needed to happen. The number of students about whom we are speaking reflects approximately 2% of the school community. It is a small minority but they are the minority who have the greatest need. The questions we need to ask ourselves include whether a four-year-old or five-year-old child should be put into a special setting immediately or given the opportunity to interact with his or her peers first. Another question we need to ask ourselves is whether students with the most complex of needs can have those needs met in a mainstream environment. These are fundamental questions that we need to ask. Of course, a fundamental question is why students should have to travel 30, 40 or 50 miles to an appropriate setting under the current model. Those are the main issues that need to be addressed.

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