Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that more resources overall are being put into special education but unless that results in support on the ground, they are meaningless. The larger point remains that decisions are being made by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, on behalf of schools and not with them. We all know staff and parents are the experts on local conditions and the needs of children and they should be at the centre of the process, or at least part of it, and currently they are not.

I will ask the questions again if that is okay. Will the Minister commit to changing that process? Is there a move from the NCSE and the Department of Education to phase out early intervention classes in favour of the access and inclusion model, AIM? Is that the report that is currently under way? The question has not been answered. I put in questions to the Department and the NCSE but I do not get a reply. The disability committee has asked the question but still has not received a reply. The only time we see a response is when the media put in the question but the answer is avoided in this case and Kilbrittain school is referenced on its own. That is very important but people need to know if this is a national policy. Was there prejudgment of the AIM report in deciding to close the resource at Kilbrittain? The Minister has stated this is based on need in an area but how could that happen in Kilbrittain when students were enrolled, staff were in place and accommodation was there for the following year? It does not make sense. This is the reality that parents are experiencing.

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