Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I thank my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, for tabling this important motion. I thank and welcome all the parents and guardians who are in the Gallery today. If we cannot value the things that matter the most, like a right to education, how can we build a future for our children? Our Labour Party motion does exactly that. It highlights a right to education as a basic value of Irish society to truly deliver on the constitutional right of every child to an appropriate school place.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, in her speech said that she does not disagree with any part of our motion. The Minister of State acknowledged that. Yet the Government continues to oppose the motion with its amendment. Like my colleague, Deputy Smith, I ask the Minister of State to withdraw the amendment and give a bit of hope to the parents who came out today to support the Labour Party motion. The Minister of State can still do that.

Centralised applications are key to so many parents whom I deal with. My office, like those of many Members of this House, is inundated with calls from parents who cannot get school places for their loved ones. Centralised applications were mentioned by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in her speech. She spoke about waiting on a report and about hopefully rolling it out. That is simply not good enough. We need centralised applications now. Too many parents are making 40, 50 or, as my colleague has just said, 83 calls. It is happening day in, day out. It is simply not good enough. We also have parents putting their loved ones into transport each morning, crisscrossing other parents because there is no cohesion as to where the school places are being offered. We need a centralised application system and we need it now. It is too late to be waiting for more reports. In my constituency, in Newbridge, the average waiting time is 32 families. I acknowledge, as all my colleagues have done, the great work the SNAs do and acknowledge the work that my colleague, Senator Laura Harmon, has done along with the campaigner, Sophie Cole. I hope the Minister of State will be able to support the assault leave Bill the Senator brings forward.

Again I raise the need for a special school in south Kildare. The special school was opened in Craddockstown, Naas, in north Kildare. We have had promises that the school would open in south Kildare. It needs to open in south Kildare. The school in north Kildare that was opened is already full and parents are crying out for places. It is simply not good enough that we have no school in south Kildare.

I also raise once again the Sensational Kids project in Kildare. A new national child development centre lies in blocks in Kildare town. We spoke about the need for therapists. One of the key reasons for bringing this forward was to train therapists so they can help the children, yet we have a school that can provide 18,000 therapist hours per year lying in blocks in Kildare town. The Government needs to act on this. I acknowledge the work that has been done by my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny. I take the Minister of State's bona fides but we need action now.

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