Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

These are under-pressure, slow and incremental moves by the Government. We are in a very serious situation, however, and we need a bit of bold and radical thinking. Take, for example, the area of special needs which I and others have been campaigning on, particularly over recent times because of such a dire situation there. There is a lack of teachers, special education teachers, psychologists and almost all of the allied health professionals. As a result, vulnerable children do not have special education resources, teaching, or classes, and they are on waiting lists for assessments and services. Why? Because we do not have the trained professionals in them. Then you talk to the people who are trying to study those things and they say the fees are crippling. Many people drop out. It is too expensive to get qualified in these areas. It makes no sense to put financial barriers in the way of getting people educated to the highest level in areas like this when our society is crying out for them.

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