Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit for bringing forward an excellent, timely and powerful motion with so many meaningful suggestions. To enact even half of them would make a substantive difference to the lives of countless people the length and breadth of this country. I hope many of these measures will be reflected in the budget when it is presented to us early next month. At the heart of the motion is the struggle that so many families have to make every single day just to vindicate a basic need for their child and have it met by the State. At the heart of the motion, but not expressed, is the courage that is demonstrated by every family in the country, who have to travel to the Dáil time and again, send emails every day or get on to their schools seeking help from any and every person just to have a child's basic need met.

We are in many ways a wealthy country. That is not reflected in the services offered by the State, as motions like this every week reflect. The Tánaiste said on the radio recently that there are people in my party, Sinn Féin and People Before Profit who believe we live in a failed State. I do not think for one second any of us believe that. We believe we are living in a mismanaged state where opportunities for simple investment in urgently needed care have been not so much neglected but not achieved. That is all we ask. I appreciate that the Government might tell us that the wheels of State are difficult and so forth. However, the everyday lived reality of a child in need of an assessment of need and of follow-on care is assuredly more difficult. We would like to see a State that is willing to go beyond itself. That is at the heart of the calls not only in this motion but also that many of us will make in the coming weeks and months.

It does not feel right to attempt to summarise these shortcomings in eight minutes. Disability and special needs supports are in crisis and require dedication and long-term commitment from the Government, which we will advocate for as best we can in the time available.

In respect to assessment of need, the problems preventing families from accessing crucial assessments of need in a fair and timely manner are “systemic”. The term is deep and has meaning but it is not my word. They are the words of the disability appeals office, as well as the words of countless families around the country who are treated as an afterthought by the HSE. More than 10,000 children are waiting for an assessment of need and over 100,000 are on waiting lists for essential therapies. The HSE has an obligation to uphold the legal rights of children with disabilities, yet, out of 72 appeals the appeals office received last year, it only got around to processing 44. That is an extraordinary figure. No child should have to wait for a simple vindication of their rights. Under the Disability Act, the HSE must begin an assessment of needs within three months of a request and must conclude that assessment within another three months. From speaking to countless parents around the country and in my constituency of Dublin Central, it seems this is very rarely the case. Assessments of need are essential in denoting what any given child will require to thrive in their education and in all aspects of their life. The gross disregard of those children and their needs as a priority for the State is an insult to their families, who work night and day to give their kids the best. It is an insult to the kids to be cast aside as an afterthought for months and often years on end. That is an absolute disgrace.

Forget the Apple money and the massive recurring budget surpluses we are told about. These children deserve to be prioritised, even if the Exchequer were half empty. It is not half empty, however. It is in many ways, we are told, full to the brim, and it adds insult to injury when a wealthy country shows it does not care for its most vulnerable. I will repeat the phrase, "Show me your budget and I will show you your care." Some 22% of last year’s assessment of needs appeals were from families in north Dublin, many of whom live in my constituency of Dublin Central. They have run through brick walls for their kids, but their treatment shows the State is failing to meet its legal obligations to support children with disabilities on an ongoing basis.

The HSE claims to be under-resourced because this Government and successive governments have ignored the cries of medical professionals and health-focused NGOs. They hear the informed opinion and choose to look away anyway. There are no excuses for the sad state of the HSE when we are sitting on surpluses that could give our most vulnerable a better life. We hear about rainy day funds. I hear about putting money away for the future. Is there ever a day when these families are not experiencing unbelievable difficulties? We need massive investment of money in people who can go into the caring professions. That needs to be reflected in the urgency the State demonstrates and in innovation to bring people into these professions. We need staff. Children with disabilities deserve equal opportunities for inclusion and participation in their communities and in all facets of their lives, as mandated by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This mandate is, quite simply, not being upheld.

The appeals office for assessment of needs only had one member of staff working part-time for the majority of last year and had no disability appeals officer for eight months. Imagine being one of the countless parents who make that phone call for the first time and are made aware of that reality. It is not only farcical, it is cruel. The budget for the entire disability appeals office last year was €120,000. We are all knocking on doors at the moment and hearing people talk about the cost of the bicycle shed and all of that. When we see €120,000 being invested by the State in a disability appeals office, it brings the reality into stark focus. It highlights a lack of compassion that is grossly offensive to those who have to put their lives on hold due to the lack of care they receive.

Just over 1,000 out of 3,300 primary schools have autism classes, and only 410 out of 710 secondary schools have autism classes. More than 120 children were left without a school place at the beginning of September. Parents fear these delays will lead to the regression of their child’s development, a fear nobody should have to shoulder because the State is not sufficiently providing for them. It is incredible. I am sure all of us are getting calls from parents in the same position. It is not just a fear, it is a reality. This break in education leaves families hamstrung, often unable to work, left to provide full-time care and teaching in lieu of the Department of Education’s misgivings. The experience of applying for school after school and facing rejection over and over again is exhausting. This reality is not sustainable for families. The applications for special classes and schools are not streamlined, often requiring hundreds of pages of submissions, taking countless hours, often with no end in sight, the equivalent of pushing a rock up a hill forever. That is what many families face every day. This sort of treatment is not emblematic of the Republic that anybody strove for. Education should not be too much to ask for any child in this State. No child or family should have to make the journey to the Dáil to have a child's right to be educated in an environment that is safe and that caters to his or her needs vindicated.

In regard to the special education teacher and special needs assistants allocation, the insufficient number of SETs and SNAs only exacerbates this problem. Earlier this year, charities such as AslAm, Down Syndrome Ireland and Inclusion Ireland wrote to the Department of Education asking for the revised SET allocation model to be paused until those most affected are meaningfully consulted.

Later this month we will celebrate for the first time SNA appreciation day. SNAs play a vital role in the class, often offsetting the failures of the State. It is high time that those people who do such undervalued work in the classrooms were valued, both in their compensation and terms. There are so many areas in which the State has failed. We absolutely need to do better, starting in two weeks' time with the budget, or maybe it is too late for that.

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