Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

There is a major crisis in respect of school places coming down the line again. I hear words but I do not see action to avert that crisis. In 24 hours last week, I was contacted by four different families all in a panic. I was told by Elliot's parents in Celbridge that they had applied for the six relevant schools in their area with special classes and had received rejections from all six. They are in a panic because Elliot is currently in a special preschool and they can see the benefit of that to him and they worry about what will happen if he does not have that. Stephanie's daughter, Myla, is currently in Sacred Heart Junior National School, which has a special class. She can see the benefit of that, but she is looking ahead to going into the senior side where there is no special class. What is going to happen to Myla in that scenario? Michelle's son, Charlie, is in precisely that situation. He is in Sacred Heart Senior National School where there is no special class or special teacher and only one SNA who is effectively playing the role of teacher. I have raised Charlotte's daughter, Cyra, multiple times in the previous Dáil term. This time she has applied for 25 schools, of which 22 have rejected her application and she is waiting on a response from three. I met with Anita this evening, who is in the Public Gallery with many other parents, whose son, Leighton, needs a special school place but does not currently have one. He is, therefore, in a mainstream school. Anita is called regularly into the school to change her son's nappy on the floor. I met with Erika, whose son, Marley, has Down's syndrome and autism. She has applied for 12 different schools and has received no acceptances or places for September. I met with Sarah whose daughter, Abi-Leigh, was first down for an assessment of need when she was one and a half. She is now almost five. She has applied to schools and is being told that without the assessment of needs, she is not going to get a place. The assessment of needs is coming, but it is going to be too late for the application process. We could go on and on. There are literally thousands of other parents in a panic because the applications are happening right now and they do not know whether they are going to get an appropriate place for their children.

While it is welcome that the Minister and the Minister of State are here and are staying for the whole debate, I wish to ask, and it was asked multiple times, whether they will meet these parents. Will they hear their stories, actual experiences and what their problems actually are?

While it is welcome to hear the Government saying there will be 400 extra special classes in September, I do not see it. I do not hear the plan to make that happen. I do not hear where the teachers, the 800 SNAs or the buildings for some of these special classes are going to come from. The reality on the ground does not suggest a different approach in actually putting the necessary resources in.

There is one special school, which I will not name, that both the Minister and the Minister of State have been contacted about. The Department has been contacted about it repeatedly. The conditions in the school are nothing short of shameful. While the teachers are very devoted, as of course are the parents, the conditions in the school are horrendous. There are no proper toilets in reality, concrete is coming up from the floor and there is no accessibility or sensory room in what is a special class. These are horrendous conditions and the teachers are doing their best. The Department has refused invitations by the principal and the board of management to meet with them and is not providing them with resources.

The Government is very clearly in breach of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD. The right of children to an education equal to others in their community is spelled out in it. The Government is in breach of it because it refuses to provide the resources or show the political will. We know what the answers are. The buck stops with the Government. If we are still in this situation in September, there is no shirking it. I ask the Minister and Minister of State to please meet with the parents.

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