Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

Unfortunately, this is like rinse and repeat. Earlier, the Minister of State spoke about the fact that the number of children who do not have appropriate places is in single digits. In fairness Equality in Education has the number at 168. That is the number that the Minister of State could not provide. He has promised to come back with those numbers. If we could have a real conversation in relation to what the numbers are, or what the actual need is, and how we can actually address this particular issue, it would be helpful. It is all well and good talking about a single point of application but we know that this is only going to be piloted in a number of schools next year. We all welcome the fact that in October people will be able to make an application to the NCSE. We also accept that all that information should be available, particularly for kids going into secondary school. It is not that they dropped from Mars. These kids are known about. This information is there and none of this makes any sense whatsoever. What we need to see is that we have the correct information and then ensure that these kids are dealt with properly. I brought up the issue of Rampark National School earlier. It relates to a child who does not have an SNA and who is severely impaired visually. Teachers and others are speaking about the health and safety issue that has arisen. They came from a childcare setting where they have a greater level of supervision and protection. They are now in the class. The school is actually saying at this stage there are health and safety issues. The child has tripped and there are issues relating to bones. I also brought up the issue of school transport and I will be following that up.

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