Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are discussing special needs and disability and I agree with many previous speakers that it is all about delivering for our citizens as regards their rights and entitlements in education and any other area. They should not be discriminated against on the basis of their special need or disability.

Let us reverse this and deal with the issues parents face in an awful lot of cases. Whether it is financial supports, housing, supports inside and outside school, speech and language therapy or occupational therapy, we know the difficulties and we know there is not one single place where these parents can go. Many Deputies noted that parents are forced into becoming activists. Sometimes they are lucky and there are already groups up and running and people have already taken this hard road beforehand. This is not the way it should be. As previous speakers said, we need a one-stop shop for parents to know where and what they can access. Many Deputies are probably already doing a haphazard job in that regard. It is just not the way the system should be.

If we are talking about special education and ensuring we can offer what people need, the answer is fairly obvious on some levels. First, we must have information. We have insufficient information on what the need is. We must be able to model into the future what the requirements are. It is as simple as that. Beyond that, we must ensure we have the resourcing, particularly in personnel, to deliver. This applies to SNAs, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists or psychologists. Members have spoken of the difficulties with individual job specifications and in workforce planning or the bits of work that have not been done in relation to that. We know there is a difficulty for psychologists around training and the obstacles set in their way in the context of costs. It is no wonder we have ended up in this situation.

All Members deal with parents who are frustrated about SENOs and the NCSE. I do not want to come down too hard on the individuals who work in these organisations because it is very difficult to offer parents what they need for their child or to offer the supports children require. They cannot offer a place if a class is full or an SNA service if none is available. The NCSE is, therefore, set up to fail at this point in time.

I agree with everything that has been said on modelling and planning, especially as regards streamlining section 37A to ensure we can offer places and classes. At this point, many parents and children will not be facilitated unless we can up with a proper solution that works straight away.

AsIAm has found that 267 children with autism will not be able to get places in September. Deputies have dealt with many parents. We are over and back with the NCSE and we are dealing with SENOs but we are not getting the places that are needed. We are spending a huge amount of their time and our time failing to get the results we need. We must deal with diagnoses and ensure diagnoses are available in order that we have information on needs and assessments do not take two, three or more years. We must be able to offer interventions, particularly early interventions, which might mean that later interventions are required less often.

My son would fall into this bracket. We had him at St. Joseph's National School in Dundalk. I can only commend the work the school has done. I imagine he will go to Ó Fiaich College next year and I expect the service he will get there will be up to scratch. I must also commend the school that has probably made up for many of the services that are not necessarily available at this point. We need to ensure that all kids get this experience, while accepting that some children have more complex needs than others.

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