Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The two reports, the report of the Ombudsman for Children and the report of special rapporteur on child protection, emphasised the point about all children being impacted but the ones who were most impacted were those who were disadvantaged and marginalised. Where did that come into the thinking on what has been presented? Where are they specifically represented? What about the parent who contacted me this morning about their child who did not get resource hours and who will never get those hours back? That is about charting a course for a student to get to leaving certificate who may not have an ambition to go to college. It is an achievement to get the leaving certificate. Where is that factored in? There is a significant issue in terms of the assessment for those children and for students who did not have, for example, access to broadband or a tablet. We all remember the discussions we had on families who were relying on accessing information on a mobile phone and people sharing devices. That was this cohort as well. Where will that be recognised specifically in this? Where is the choice for that cohort?

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