Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

I do not take comfort in the response that the Minister of State has read out. Expanding the designation will break schools, such as Scoil Eoin, that are not currently broken. They are not failing; they are succeeding. That success is rooted in the fact that these are specialist environments led by professionals who have committed their lives to special education. I saw it myself. I met the staff and the children. There are real stories and real lives, and there is real progress being made in schools such as Scoil Eoin.

Inclusion must not be used as a cover for rationalisation or as a reason to take something away from children who need it most. I urge the Minister of State to respect parental choice, to listen to the voices of educators, such as Ms O'Neill and Mr. Doran, and to halt any plans that would dismantle the essential part of the education system.

We need more settings like Scoil Eoin, not fewer. This is not about moving resources around. This is about building a system that truly supports all our children, including children with acute learning disabilities and those with moderate learning disabilities. Let us not allow these children to become invisible. Let us protect spaces, such as Scoil Eoin, because we know they are thriving.

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