Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday during Leaders' Questions, I raised specific questions about the provision of special school places for children. I asked how many children are waiting on a place and whether every child will be guaranteed one. Eighty children in Dublin alone are waiting for a special class, with many more in the rest of the country. I got no acceptable answer yesterday from the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, even with the Minister of State with responsibility for special education in the Chamber, speaking into his ear during Leaders’ Questions.

Overnight, we learned from leaks to The Irish Timesof new plans to create emergency special school centres. We do not have any detailed public information about what is planned but the Minister of State hastily confirmed the proposal last night in a series of response tweets. This is no way to make major public announcements, specifically on areas so sensitive and important. We do not know whether these are school buildings or prefabs or what type of facility is proposed. This is causing significant concern and distress for parents fighting for a place for their child. They know all too well that these short-term, segregated solutions will quickly become the accepted norm. There has been no consultation with advocacy groups about these plans, although I understand consultation has been hastily arranged.

What was reported in The Irish Timesis that this is an interim, emergency solution for five special educational needs centres to be created in Dublin as a stopgap measure. The language is appalling. They will open in September and there will be four special classes, with a total of 24 pupils in each. They are to be managed by the education and training board, ETB, working with the Department of Education and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, for children without a place in a mainstream school. This is totally at odds with what the Minister of State announced last week when she said would use section 37A powers to increase the number of places in schools for children who have additional needs. Her statement of last Thursday said clearly that the preferred solution was that schools would proactively open special classes. In a tweet posted last Tuesday, she stated:

At this point in time, I am of the view that I have no other option but to issue Section 37a notices to schools in areas which desperately require additional SEN school places across the country.

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This new policy direction is a necessary step to try and ensure that every child gets the supports they need and access to a school placement.

Now we are being told of a totally different, emergency approach that allows schools that do not get their act together to get off the hook. For a child with additional or complex needs, it is completely unacceptable that an emergency solution like this will be the fallback position when it will have such far-reaching consequences. As Adam Harris of AsIAm has highlighted, these emergency centres may end up as special schools without the opportunity for children to integrate with their peers, and he has questioned whether there will even be pathways into special classes.

It is time to tell parents awaiting places for their children what is really going on. Has the Government abandoned plans to secure places in mainstream schools through section 37A orders? Why was there no consultation in advance of leaking this? Will the Tánaiste confirm the details of these emergency centres?

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