Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

Over the past four and a half years, we sat on the disability matters committee. I know the passion the Deputy brings to the issue of special education in Louth. In many of the discussions we had at that committee, she brought forward the challenges that are there, not only at primary school but post-primary as well and, indeed, in preschool and the AIM programme. In one of the long debates that we had in the Joint Committee on Disability Matters, the Deputy raised the correlating of information from the AIM programme onward to ensure that the education system was better prepared. We are doing that in the Department. I thank the Deputy for her commitment to special education and for the work she did on that committee and in Seanad Éireann, as well as the work that she continues to do, in relation to special education.

As the Deputy outlined in her contribution, a huge amount of money is being spent and 400 extra classes are being opened this year alone.

We need to look at some communities - the Deputy mentioned County Louth - and we will be working hard. Extra SENOs have been put in place and more people have been working to this end. We are far ahead of where we were this day 12 months ago in relation to providing special education places for children with additional needs but it is not good enough. We simply need to do better at both primary and post-primary levels. We need the information from very early on to make sure the State is properly empowered to make sure there are no gaps within the education system.

The Deputy mentioned post-primary education. It is one of the areas that we are having a particular difficulty with in some communities in respect of children who are leaving primary school but have nowhere to go come 1 September. As I mentioned in the previous debate, I met parents at school gates whose children were leaving primary school education in the last week of June and they did not know where they were taking up education the first week of September. I do not mind sharing with the House that as a public representative, I felt totally inadequate when meeting those parents on that day. In the role I have now, I will work as hard as I can to make sure that is not the plight of any parent or any children in my time in office.

The Deputy mentioned County Louth. The Department of Education, the NCSE and all the officials will work to ensure that places are provided, both at primary school and at post-primary, in a timely manner and that families are not completely stressed out for six, seven or eight months not knowing what will happen.

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We need to respect the children who have additional needs and we need to respect the families, parents and communities by having this done in a timely manner.

I will work with the Deputy regarding County Louth and specific schools, areas or even policies she would like to raise. I know she is passionate about this issue. She has always shown that when we have worked together in the past. If there are specific schools, communities or policies Deputy McGreehan would like to raise in terms of County Louth, I have no difficulty in meeting her and working my way through them.

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