Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

People with disabilities remain at a disadvantage in this country in spite of our having signed up to the UNCRPD. The state of footpaths in west Cork that facilitate access for disabled people is shocking. It is very unfair on them. As late as yesterday, a person with a disability and a motorised unit rang me to say he cannot go through one of the towns in west Cork because of the state of the footpaths, specifically because of the height of the steps. This is an issue that local authorities should have dealt with long before now.

"Early intervention" is a buzzword in early education, especially where children with a disability are concerned. I have been made aware in the past week of the planned closure of the early intervention unit in Kilbrittain, County Cork. It is to close at the end of this academic year. The unit is attached to the autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit in Kilbrittain National School and plays a vital role in providing early support to children with ASD before they start school. Some children will progress from the early intervention unit to mainstream classes but the vast majority will continue their education in the ASD unit.

I am well aware of the outstanding performance of this unit and what its loss will mean to the children, especially those with ASD, and their parents. They will come into school with no early intervention, which targets issues such as speech and language problems, emotional regulation, the need for occupational therapy and the development of a routine. The early intervention unit in Kilbrittain was opened in 2019 and has been an enormous asset to the school community. The special class teacher has just qualified with a master's in special education, more specifically early intervention. This illustrates the high level of expertise of the staff in the unit and the dedication of this teacher to the concept of early intervention. The community has fundraised to have a new play area built and the board of management has recently spent €40,000 on this project, which they believed to be a long-term investment in the school.

I ask the Minister of State to look into the closure of this ASD unit in Kilbrittain. I ask her, as Minister of State, to review this decision, not to close the unit and to help in any way to keep it open.

See this speech in context