Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I thank Deputy Kenny for sharing his time. I also thank Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion. In recent months not a week has gone by when my office has not received calls from worried parents looking for a special school place for their children. I am worried about the numbers the Minister of State has given us this evening. Like other colleagues, I am dealing with at least four families who do not have a place at present. This is half the number the Minister of State has spoken about. My biggest problem is the NCSE. I have been ringing it and emailing it since July, as has my office, and I get no response from it. This is simply not good enough. The parents are at the end of their tether looking for the special education places their loved ones so deserve. Something needs to happen. We are elected to represent these people. They come to us looking for assistance but the NCSE is simply not responding to me. I can send on the cases to the Minister of State. I have a litany of emails I can send on to him.

I am sure the Minister of State is familiar with St. Mark's Special School, which was recently built in Newbridge. It is a fabulous school. It shows the model of what can be done. It is a fabulous school and a fabulous community. It has moved into a new school building. We were promised a second special school for south Kildare but what we got was a school located in Naas, which is in north Kildare. When I spoke to the Minister for education previously, she told me Kildare South has the need for a special school but it was located in Naas. It is a fabulous school but, unfortunately, it is full. Parents are still coming to me looking for this.

I welcome the Minister of State's announcement today that he will put the NCSE on notice to come in four months earlier than last year. The question I have today is the same as the one I asked the Minister for education previously, which is whether this will mean that parents will not be ringing 40 or 50 schools looking for a special education place for their loved one. Will this mean the NCSE and the SENOs will do the work and take the burden off those parents who need a place for their children? We have people sitting in front of us who have made 40 or 50 calls and are at the end of their tether, and it is so disappointing for them and their loved ones. This is what we need from the Minister of State. If the Minister of State has this, and the NCSE will do this, it would be a massive step forward for us in special education. It would take the burden off the parents. I can give examples of 47 schools being contacted in one case involving a young family in Newbridge, 39 schools being contacted in another case, and 42 schools being contacted in another case. This involved an average of 40 to 50 phone calls looking for a special education place. It is not good enough. The NCSE and the SENOs should be doing this. I hope the Minister of State ensures this happens for everybody next year.

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