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

Like everyone else, I have been contacted by schools on this issue, including a member of staff at Scoil Naomh Lorcan. I have already read her words into the record but I do so again because she put it better than I ever could:

The new model is based on academic results and does not take into account [complex needs]. The Department will say it is up to the principal to give out SET hours but they do not have enough hours allocated so they either help the children with special or additional needs or they just help those children below the tenth percentile with maths and English. The new model has not enough hours allocated for both.

Representatives from Scoil Mhuire na nGael in Bay Estate, the estate I am from, were in Leinster House today. They said it looks like their school might lose two special education teacher positions. They believe they might be able to pull one back, but we are talking about not being able to deliver for pupils with complex needs. We cannot do so based on academic data alone. Some of the people making the grade will do so on the basis of the supports being provided to them. We need to look at those anomalies.

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