Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Harkin and the Independent Group for bringing forward this motion. I have a speech prepared but I received an email from a principal in a school in my constituency at 10.05 a.m. which I would like to put on record because it relates to funding challenges for the provision of autism classes, which is within the broader scope of this motion.

There is a school in my constituency which is one of the leaders in providing special classes for children with autism. In 2021 the school was granted €590,000 for an additional autism class and ancillary accommodation. The class was opened in September 2021 in the school library as a temporary measure, given the demand that existed for places. The school appointed an architect to commence works on planning for the extension and prepared the necessary reports and kept in touch with the Department all along the way. Planning permission was granted in March 2023 but, as the school chased up the Department, seeking a final email of confirmation in respect of the funding, it was advised that the grant aid had been reduced by €200,000, to €380,000, with no explanation as to why. The school is extremely frustrated and feels defeated. It has housed six autistic children for three years in an upstairs library as an interim measure on the understanding that a new multisensory classroom, a para-education room, would soon be ready for these children. Obviously, their being temporarily housed in the library has a knock-on impact for other pupils and learning in the school.

Unfortunately, following yesterday’s email from the Department of Education, the project is untenable and the school faces having to close the class which has been open for the past three years. This is a school that has done much of the heavy lifting in autism class provision in my constituency. From speaking to other TDs and representatives across the country, I know there are some schools that have three or four classes, while other schools have none. That cannot continue. We need to ensure there is provision in all schools for special education, regardless of the school size or patron body. Parents of autistic children or children with additional needs do not have the same choices as other parents if they are lucky enough to live in an area that has a number of different school options with different patron bodies. For the parents of an autistic child, that choice is automatically reduced because they are unable to choose between their child going to the Catholic, Protestant, Educate Together or community national school or the Gaelscoil. Instead they must choose whichever school has the autism classes and that is not within the spirit of diversity of choice and of patronage. I will give the Minister a little pack on this and I ask that she look at it and request her senior officials to look at this case and ensure that the initial funding that was promised by her Department, for which the school - which is delivering a service and education for children who need it - had planned, is delivered in order that its education provision can continue.

The substance of the motion is wonderful. It is has come from what we heard in the audiovisual room last week. The pupil-teacher ratio remains far too high. With Deputy Ó Ríordáin, our education spokesperson, all the Labour Party's alternative budgets in the lifetime of this Government have included a costed reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio. In our alternative budget for 2024 that would have been a two-point reduction, which would have brought it down to 20.8 from the 22.8 now. That would still be 0.8 over the EU average but it would bring us closer. Obviously, we do not want to meet the average. Ultimately we want to be best in class on the pupil-teacher ratio but we are still miles away from that.

The capitation grant of €1 per pupil per school per day to cover the running costs at primary level, and almost double that at secondary level, needs to be re-examined. As the parent of a child who is just finishing their first year in junior infants, I am benefiting from the free books scheme and the hot school meals programme which is funded from the Department of Social Protection. These are great schemes that help parents. I am passionate about the school meals scheme. I think it is a wonderful scheme and want to see it evolve, and I am sure it will, to ensure that every child gets it in every school. No matter which school, one does not know the circumstances of the children arriving at the school gate in the morning and whether they are coming from a direct provision centre or homeless accommodation. They may be coming from a household that is poor or there may be illness or disability and they may not be able to get a hot meal at home. For that hot meal to be provided in a uniform, egalitarian manner in the school classroom is a wonderful thing. While the scheme needs to be improved, the basis is good and it should be supported. Children get excited to know they are sharing the same experience as their classmates. It cuts through any socioeconomic gap or privilege and ensures that every kid has the same experience, albeit with different options. It helps kids who might be fussy eaters to be inspired by children who are getting different things every day. There are many benefits to it. However, if a school is unable to afford heating, basic maintenance work or a caretaker to empty the bins every day, then things like the hot school meals programme and the free schoolbooks seem like added extras when they should be the basics. Those other basics of light, heat, cleanliness and hygiene need to be delivered but they are not being delivered. We need to do away with the pressure that is being put on parents to fill that funding gap and do away with the pressure on principals, in particular, but also on all other staff - teaching and ancillary staff – to work extra hard to meet the basic costs it takes to run a school. That is the job of the State and the Department. That is what this motion calls for and we support it fully.

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