Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute on this very important issue. As the previous speaker said, we should not be here talking about it because we should have had solutions in place many years ago so the resources would be there.

I acknowledge the role of the Department and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, in the past two and a half years. I acknowledge the amount of investment that has been announced and the amount of work that is being done to try to improve services. In my own town of Tuam, we opened a new special needs school, St. Oliver's, which is a fine, state-of-the-art building and is great for the children who have use of it. I know the Minister of State has great plans for investment. However, having been in a ministerial role in government, I understand that the process by which things get done and physically get built on the ground is gruesome and arduous, and it saps a lot of the money from what that money is supposed to be for. It goes on consultants, reports and all of that kind of thing before we actually see construction on the ground.

The other part is that if we are going to set out a plan for what is going to happen over the next four to five years with special needs education, the first thing we need to do is to get the data right as to what we are dealing with, including the numbers, where people are located and how the issues are being addressed, and we need a programme that lists how works will commence and how they will be finished. Parents find that the cruellest part of their whole existence is the fact they do not know when and they cannot find out when. With this lack of implementation of the plans, it is the children who suffer most, as well as their families, who are under severe pressure. They then find themselves under even more pressure because the whole process is very slow and very cumbersome and many years pass by before they actually see the infrastructure in place.

There is also the issue of resources to teach children and to offer every child the opportunity to progress in life, to gain employment and to realise their full potential. In my constituency, there is a group called PALS, which is a group of parents of autistic people in Loughrea and surrounding areas, which represents more than 150 families. Loughrea does not have any ASD room in any of the national schools in the town. Next year or the year after, St. Raphael’s secondary school will have an ASD room but, in the meantime, the families of children have to seek out education in the surrounding towns and villages and in schools in rural areas. That is causing serious problems where brothers and sisters are going to a mainstream school and another child has to go to a different school, which is creating segregation in its own right. When we think about it, the schools that are there have a limited supply as well.

The teacher training programmes need to be updated to ensure a ready supply of special needs teachers who also have the opportunity to advance in their careers. This is to ensure special needs education becomes a very important and integrated part of our total education system.

The summer school programme this year is causing problems, with people trying to get places. It is important that this is addressed and corrected as a matter of urgency.

The Department needs to provide guidance and recommendations on apps for children who cannot follow the standard curriculum or the adapted curriculum. That choice and recommendation is being left to parents.

As a member of the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, I find that a recurring theme from parents is that services are not available and they are under-resourced, and parents are left fighting a daily battle for their children. AsIAm and Autism Ireland are doing so much work in this fight for people with autism and we need to listen to them before it is too late. Joined-up thinking is required from the assessment and through the education process, from primary school to secondary school and on to third level education, in a manner that all parents can follow and understand from day one.

A child's right to education is enshrined in our Constitution. Under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, it must be accessible on an equal basis with others in the community in which they live. It is incumbent on us, as elected representatives, to make sure that happens.

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