Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. I advise visitors and people watching the debate that it is not usual for a Minister to come here and say she does not disagree with anything in the motion and then oppose it. What is the difference between the Government motion and the Labour Party motion, which is similar to the Sinn Féin motion that was tabled in recent weeks?

The first call on the Government by the Labour Party is to "ensure the right of every child to an appropriate school place in their general locality is fulfilled in September 2025". What is the first call of the Minister? It is to "take any necessary steps to ensure that every child with SEN who needs an appropriate school place has access to one in a timely manner". What is the difference? The Labour Party motion refers to "September 2025" and the Government motion refers to "location". The Government's position is that it is providing enough school places. That is the Minister's position. It was the Taoiseach's position yesterday that 3,900 places will be provided for a demand of 3,275. That is the Government position.

Anyone watching who represents a community or who works with parents and children knows that the reality is very different. The number of children who were notified that they did not have a school place last September was 126. If we factor in the number of children who are in receipt of home tuition, the children who must take inordinately long bus trips every single day, the number of children who are on reduced school days or the children who are in inappropriate settings, we know that it is a very different picture. The Minister should withdraw her amendment. To be frank, that is what she should do if she does not disagree with the Labour Party motion.

A number of factors need to be expedited. The Minister touched on buildings and teaching hours. We must invest in teachers to ensure they are adequately trained and that there are enough of them. It is the same with special needs assistants. We will have a session at 12 noon on injury leave. We must look at the 72 hours and the July work. We must deal with the cap. The Minister and I share the same constituency. I have been talking to the parents of 15 children in St. Patrick's National School in Stamullen who have had their SNA support withdrawn because of the arbitrary cap that is in place. That needs to change following the new interpretation of the 2024 toolkit and guidelines.

See this speech in context