Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I note that the first part of the Minister's response was, essentially, verbatim to a parliamentary question reply given to my colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, last November. I welcome what the Minister mentioned about the SNA reviews and, let us be honest, an awful lot of school escorts are also SNAs but not all. I wish to draw the attention of the House to the reality. The education committee had the privilege and honour of visiting the Holy Family School for the Deaf Cabra recently. We had a very warm welcome from the school. The pupils out there are wonderful. One of the teachers pointed out that their school escorts who come with children from County Monaghan every morning to Cabra then spend the day, at their own cost, in Dublin. When we talk about school escorts, it is correct to review their pay because it is quite low. The Minister spoke about a pack that would go out. I ask her to give a definitive date for that. We also need to look at the conditions under which these vital people work.

See this speech in context