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

I am glad to be able to speak on this motion. Let me start by saying clearly that I welcome it. I welcome it because every child in this country has the right to an education. That right is not something that should be up for debate. It is in our Constitution. It is in international law, and it is in the heart of every parent who wants the best for their son or daughter. However, what we have seen from Government is delay, excuses and an attitude that parents should be grateful for whatever crumbs are thrown their way. I am telling the Minister of State now that parents are not grateful. Parents are angry, and rightly so. They should not have to drag the State through the courts just to get their child a school place. That is a disgrace. We were told in June that there were 260 children with additional needs who had no offer of a school place. Another 168 had an offer but could not take it up because the building work was not finished. What good is an offer on paper when the classroom does not exist? That is not education. That is the Government spin. What is worse is that we know these numbers do not tell the full story. They do not include the children being homeschooled because there is no proper place for them. They do not include the children travelling hours every day to access a school miles from their community. They do not include the children dumped into inappropriate settings waiting for special classes or a special school. This is the hidden crisis, and it has been ignored for far too long.

This motion calls for the publication of county by county figures, and that is right because we need transparency. However, the Minister of State should not need to be dragged into publishing this. Parents deserve honesty upfront. If you cannot even tell families the truth about the numbers, how can you ever solve the problem? The motion also calls for a task force to deliver school buildings. That sounds good but let us not kid ourselves. We have seen task forces come and go. Parents do not want more committees and reviews. They want bricks and mortar. They want schools delivered on time. They want classrooms ready for their children when September comes, not promises that fall flat by Christmas. There is then the NCSE and the SENOs. The reality on the ground is that too many parents and teachers find them unhelpful and sometimes even obstructive. Families are sick of battling bureaucracy. They want support and not red tape. A review might help but only if it actually changes the culture from blocking to supporting.

Independent Ireland has been clear about where it stands. We more SNAs. We want smaller class sizes. We want schools given the resources upfront so they can actually meet the needs of children instead of begging for crumbs from the Department. We have said time and again that principals and teachers know their pupils best. They know better than an official in an office who never set foot in the classroom. That is why we support a needs-based model that puts trust back into the hands of school and parents. Let us not forget transport. For far too many families, the school places they fought tooth and nail to secure are miles away. Children with additional needs are being forced into punishing daily journeys. That is not fair on the child. It is not fair on the family, and it is something Independent Ireland has called out. We need a proper transport service so that no child is left exhausted before they even step into the classroom. We have that situation. I know the situation from Coomhola, Bantry, down into Schull was resolved, but that took nearly two years. There were exhaustive efforts by some parents out there, which was very unfair.

We also had the situation of the Ballinadee bus, which I think may be resolved tomorrow, but there are problems and a crisis. I know this is a slightly different issue than the transport service for schoolchildren, but it is connected in its own right. I refer to the right for children to get to school in Kilcoe and Ballinadee. We have a fight to get just the basic rights. They had a bus last year, but they are not going to have it this year. I am astonished by how this can happen without some kind of an explanation to parents out there, and they deserve that right, surely be to God. People have to go to work. This is a tough country to make a living in and the parents of Ballinadee and Kilcoe have been terribly wronged.

The over-70s issue is something the Minister of State really needs to sit up and look at to understand that drivers aged over 70 are well capable of driving and taking children to school. I have much more to say on this issue, but I will stop because my time is up.

See this speech in context