Charles Ward (Donegal, 100% Redress Party)

We welcome this motion from Labour. There has been a complete failure on the part of the Government to adequately plan for school places for children with special and additional educational needs. This comes up every year without fail. It is across the whole country and yet the Government fails to plan for it. Every year, there is no change.

Parents should not be forced to try to ensure that their children are not denied an education. Schools should not be forced to turn any child away on foot of a lack of places. This has been happening across the entire country, but especially at Little Angels in Letterkenny. I am very grateful for the Minister's intervention there. Little Angels, the children and their parents should never have been forced into this situation in the first place. It should never have got to the point where parents had to start the Don't Forget Our Little Angels for September 2025 group to take a stand in respect of the education and the future of their children. It should never have got to the stage where mothers had to sleep outside the Houses, as we all have been saying, constantly campaigning and bringing it forward. As children go to their beds every night, their distraught parents are crying down the phone for help. We have done our utmost and I acknowledge the Minister's contribution to that too.

No child should ever be left behind. I would encourage the Minister, during her term, to make sure that this does not happen year after year and get children their right - their place to an education.

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