Dáil debates

Friday, 1 July 2022

Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022: Second Stage

 

1:10 pm

Photo of Mattie McGrathMattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to be able to speak on this legislation. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Business Committee and everybody involved in the House and the Bills Office, as well as everyone who organised, acquiesced to and supported today's sitting. It is important. I thank both the Minister for coming here and staying here, which is important to those of us in groups which normally speak at the end. We appreciate that. The Bill represents, in the Government's own words, emergency legislation that will be enacted and aims to ensure there will be school places for more than 100 children with special educational needs in the coming school year.

However, despite this Bill and the hype surrounding it, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, were unable to guarantee that all children who require an appropriate school place that meets their assessed needs will have one in time for September. The Irish Times addresses the subject, calling it a grave shortcoming, and points to a sloppy policy approach to a long-standing problem which is having an impact on Ireland's most vulnerable children. Sin rud uafásach. How could the Cabinet, in good conscience, approve this Bill last Tuesday? It aims to compel schools to open special classes within six to eight weeks, but it will only provide places for some of the children. How can schools with inadequate resources be compelled to open places?

While the Rural Independent Group will not stand in the way of the Bill, we believe its introduction underlines an utter lack of engagement by the Department, coupled with a lack of special educational resources for all schools. I have been on boards of management of different national schools and set up a naíonra, a childcare unit. The Department of Education is far behind. I salute a principal in Clonmel, Mr. Ryan, who set up two special needs classes in school. He led the way in Cluain Meala. It is a town the Minister of State knows well. That was at preschool level. There are no places at national school level, in the biggest inland town in the country. Thanks to the people in Caisleán Nua, my own village, the teaching staff, and the whole board, as well as in Burncourt, An Chúirt Dóite, units were set up, but people have to travel 15 or 20 miles. There is also a class in Clerihan, which is just down the road from Clonmel, but there is no service in the town. Such issues have to be looked at.

I believe in the old adage that a spoonful of honey is better than a barrel of vinegar. The Minister of State's rough, tough language during the week, with the naming and shaming, is not the way to go. There are many complex issues involved. As we heard from Deputies who know the area, those schools offer different aspects of special education. To give their names to the press and threaten them is a retrograde step. Ní neart go chur le chéile. We must bring people together and try to unite the communities. It is a daunting task for small rural schools. Thankfully, we are addressing that now and people understand the special needs requirements. They do not understand the minutiae but they understand the need and have accepted it, whereas maybe they did not ten years ago. We must work with campaigners in the area.

The process can be unwieldy. There is a long waiting list for children to be diagnosed. There are a plethora of different issues affecting the most vulnerable children. They, their parents, their siblings, seanmáthair and seanathair are affected, as is their whole family and the wider community. If a diagnosis can be made, it lessens the load. People know where they are going and what the requirements are. It lets them focus their attention on the diagnosis they have got. We must work with the schools and the special educational needs organisers. We need better engagement by the Department.

The school principal and board of management in Caisleán Nua and many other places have to face issues. My colleague Deputy Nolan, an iarpríomhoide scoile, would know much more about this than I do. They must become builders, designers, architects, foremen on sites and, above all, ag glaoch ar an nguthán. They are on the phone night and day to try to get builders, to engage with architects, to get extra sites and extra space, and to bring the school community, teachers, SNAs, colleagues and the whole board with them. It is a daunting task. I salute them all. It is not easy or simple. The architects need to step up to the plate. The Department of Education needs to loosen the shackles. We have a team of excellent architects in Tipperary and Thurles.

Writing letters to the Department is like writing to Disneyland, though at least you get a reply from Disneyland. There is no engagement. It might come back six months later to say it did not get the letter. All is not well in the building and design section of the Department. That needs to be sorted out. They are public officials. They have a job to do and should put the children with special needs first. Our children are entitled under the Constitution to proper education. The existing process can take up to 18 months, but any solution must be inclusive and equal for all children. This Bill is not fully inclusive. It does not offer the hope these families deserve. Campaigners continue to argue this. Many more children than the maximum number covered in this Bill are not included in its scope.

The Education (Provision in Respect of Children with Special Educational Needs) Bill 2022 will allow the Minister to direct the school to open a special class within six to eight weeks of receiving a report from the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, setting out in its opinion that there are insufficient school places in certain areas. Carrick-on-Suir is a great town but has no provision in its schools. I have raised it in the House. It is frustrating to raise it, then get a reply from the Taoiseach, Tánaiste or whoever is sitting in for them that everything is being done and the Minister is dealing with it, but that is not actually happening. People have to travel 30 km or 40 km to get to school. They may not have transport, as we have heard from other Deputies. It is a daunting task, a turas uafásach, for those daoine óga. It is awful. There should be something near them.

The current section 37A process can take between 12 and 18 months to get a school place. As I said, the short-term process set out in this Bill allows for two opportunities for schools and patrons to make representations to the Minister. They will make representations. They make them to all Teachtaí Dála, Seanadóirí agus daoine mar sin. We must get engagement. It is a two-way street. If the community, school board, principal and all the teachers decide to take this road, they should be welcomed with open arms. We must support and nurture them, not frustrate and delay them by obfuscating and making the process more difficult. This is about children with special needs. I hear a lot nowadays about different types of education and how we must be open and transparent.

Yet, we cannot deal with this first, the children who have special needs and who have been waiting for their diagnoses forever, and when they have a diagnosis they then have the challenge of a fight all the way. My late brother, Dr. Eddie McGrath, was a paediatrician of some renown. He fought like a tiger for children with many special needs so they would get their rightful place. He asked me to get elected to try to further the cause of these particularly challenged children. They are entitled to it and they deserve it. They deserve to be treated equally, rightfully and properly. I ask the Minister and the Minister of State to please look to the Department officials to see what can be done.

Mar fhocal scoir, perhaps the Acting Chairman, an Cathaoirleach Gníomhach, will allow me to wish well an Offaly man atá ina chónaí i dTiobraid Árann, Mr. Kevin Langton, a principal of the school, who is celebrating his 50th birthday today. He is an excellent, hard-working and diligent múinteoir.

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