Michael Collins (Cork South-West, Independent Ireland Party)

We in Independent Ireland stand firmly behind the implementation of the EPSEN review report recommendations. The time has come for long overdue justice for our children with additional needs. We have seen two decades of delay since the EPSEN Act was passed in 2004, yet here we are with the core rights promised in law, like individual education plans and proper assessments, still unfulfilled. This is not just a legal technicality. It is a moral failing. It means thousands of families are still waiting for timely diagnoses, proper supports and an education system that recognises every child's potential.

The EPSEN review has laid out a clear and measured path. It tells us what parents, educators and, most of all, children have been saying for years. The current system is overstretched, overly bureaucratic and underdelivered. I agree completely with the line in the report that says simply commencing the Act as it stands is not enough. We need a system that works, is practical and rights-based and is centred on the needs of the child, not the convenience of the system. It is time to reduce the paperwork and red tape choking our schools. The teachers of Ireland did not stand up to spend their days filling out forms and chasing signatures. They want to teach and support every child, not just those who shout the loudest.

The report rightly demands a stronger voice for children and families in planning their education. We echo that call. Parents must be heard. Children must be seen not as burdens, but as citizens with rights. We as politicians see this daily in our clinics - parents fighting for every little thing. We have Michael in Clonakilty waiting seven years for an assessment of need, and he is still waiting. We have another young lad in Dunmanway waiting eight years for an assessment of need. His older brother, who is 12, was diagnosed with autism at two and a half. That was ten years ago. It is highly likely that this young lad also has autism but he is still waiting. We have a young lady aged 19 who was diagnosed with autism at two years of age but her family has had to fight for any services she got. It was recommended that she have speech and language therapy and occupational therapy over the years but she got very little. She fell behind academically as a result and is now being refused disability allowance. They are only three cases but there are thousands more.

Near my constituency, the Bishop Galvin Central School in Newcestown, Bandon, County Cork, is well known and highly respected for its commitment to all of its pupils in providing a welcoming and inclusive educational experience for children with additional needs. The school has a current enrolment of 230. An ASD special class was opened in September 2021 and six pupils are currently enrolled. A second ASD class will open in September 2025. Over 30% of pupils in the school receive some form of support for special or additional needs and almost 15% of the pupils have diagnoses and recommendations from registered occupational therapists. Many are awaiting services. Despite a growing number of children with complex functional challenges, the school does not have access to on-site occupational therapy services. Instead, the special needs team, led by Mr. Nicholas McCarthy, deputy principal, must navigate a complex web of service providers, including primary care, children's disability network teams and private practitioners, to gain access to appropriate supports for children.

The Newcestown school is collaborating with University College Cork and trying to secure on-site supports for pupils with special additional and complex needs. University College Cork offers a four-year undergraduate bachelor of science honours programme in occupational therapy. A core part of the four-year programme is 1,000 hours of supervised occupational therapy practice education for placement hours. The head of UCC's department of occupational science and occupational therapy, along with the practice education co-ordinator, visited the school on 4 April 2025. They were very impressed with the school's vision for a school-based occupational therapy service, which will allow occupational therapy students to complete practice education placements and provide a support for the staff and students of the school to benefit from an innovative school-based model. However, in order to establish this project, the school will require funding for the practice tutor role. This costs approximately €20,000 per annum, which is minimal when considering the huge benefits to the occupational therapy students, children and staff in Newcestown. This could become a blueprint for rolling out at national level. I ask the Government to please engage with the school on this particular subject, and I will send the Minister of State the details.

Independent Ireland welcomes the recommendation on how inclusive education should be progressively realised but let us be honest, we are not there yet. Rapid expansion of special classes, mostly for autism, has been a stopgap but not a long-term strategy. We cannot let inclusion become just another buzzword. It has to mean something real and that mainstream schools are properly resourced, teachers properly trained and therapies delivered on time.

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