Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this. I am sure the Minister is aware that if you are a parent of a child with additional needs, sometimes it can be exhausting. It is not the child that exhausts you, but fighting against the system over and over again. Over the last number of weeks and indeed in the last number of days, with a huge number of people coming to us, I have heard first-hand from parents about that exhaustion and about how they have been beaten down by the system because their children do not have a place to go in September or indeed at this point in time.

In Donegal, we now have a full-blown crisis. I am sure the Minister is aware of the situation and I invite her to Donegal to look at it. We have a school, Little Angels School, which is the only school in the county dedicated to children with severe and profound learning disabilities. It is a fantastic school. It recently had a brand new state-of-the-art building constructed. It should be a moment of celebration for everybody but it is too small. Countless families have sat across from me, some of them in tears, who cannot get a place for their child, son or daughter, despite all the reports, some of which I have, telling them that they need to be in Little Angels. It is not fair on the staff, the principal or the board of management. The school is too small. These children are not newborns. The State should know that these children have additional needs and need to be supported in a classroom.

I have another family originally from Donegal. They live in Dublin now. Their file is so thick. They have been applying for the last three years to every single school and have been refused. They have been number one, six or eight on the list. That child is now transitioning into secondary school and has nowhere to go despite having additional needs. The primary school that she attends is telling her that it is not suitable for her needs. She went through the whole primary system knowing that she was in the wrong school. There is nowhere to go as she transitions to secondary school. The family has letter after letter refusing them. This is about cherishing the children of the nation equally. There is a clear sign. This is not the first time that we have had a debate on this. If you have children with additional needs, this Government is not looking after your needs. I ask the Minister to take action to make sure that all the stops are pulled out to accommodate these children.

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