Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Last Friday evening, the parents of five families were informed that their children, who were disabled and some of whom were suffering from autism, would no longer be allowed to attend the primary school at Marymount, Ballsgrove, Drogheda. They were given no notice and told their children could not attend on Monday morning. They are very concerned and deeply upset by this decision of the board of management.

Yesterday morning, in the freezing cold, the parents and children were in protest outside the school. They are very worried about what has happened and feel they have been treated appallingly and abysmally. I rang the school and asked to speak to the principal, who was unavailable. My call was never returned. I rang the Minister's office and explained the problem fully but that call was not returned either. It is a disgrace that the Minister's office did not see fit to update me on a meeting that took place in the school yesterday afternoon between the local education inspector, the school principal and the health board.

The parents and their children have been excluded from consultation and were excluded from the aforementioned meeting. I understand there may be a meeting tomorrow morning at which they will be informed about what took place at the other meeting. Given the Government's so-called commitment to disability and the money it has committed to disabled persons' services, it is a shame that the people in question have been treated in such a disgraceful manner. It is absolutely unacceptable.

I have been informed by parents today that the unit just may be opened again after Easter. How are they to care for their special needs children in the meantime? There is no way the Department and the school authorities should be let away with this. The reality is that if a proper Minister for Education and Science were running a proper system, this would never happen. If there were a difficulty, it would be discussed fully and transparently. Communications would be much better than they are at present.

I do not know what is in the Minister of State's reply and I can only guess it is waffle from the office of the Minister. I regret that is the case. The parents have told me they will continue to protest publicly and in the strongest possible manner until their children are treated like decent, proper human beings. What has occurred is creating much stress for everybody concerned.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy O'Dowd for raising this matter. I assume he is referring to the special class for pupils with multiple disabilities at Marymount national school, Ballsgrove, Drogheda, County Louth. The school does not have a special class for pupils with autism.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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With respect, there is a special class, a special unit, for these children within the building.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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For pupils with multiple disabilities.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Yes, they are specifically——

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I only say this because the Deputy referred to autism.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The parents who spoke to me have autistic children.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Education and Science became aware of the proposed closure of this class on 4 March 2005 in a telephone call from the chairperson of the board of management of the school. The chairperson indicated that the class would be closed for a week and that this was necessitated by health and safety concerns.

The board arranged a meeting for 9 March to discuss this matter and a representative from the Department was invited to attend, as Deputy O'Dowd indicated. A report on the outcome of the meeting is still awaited by the Department. The Department understands that the chairperson of the board of management will be in touch with the parents of the children in the special class shortly to convey the outcome of the meeting.

On the school's accommodation, I understand the school has made an application for a permanent extension, which is currently in architectural planning. The Department recently issued a letter to the school authority approving the rental of three prefabricated classrooms for September 2005.

I thank the Deputy for affording me an opportunity to set out the position of the Department of Education and Science.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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That is an appalling reply from the Department of Education and Science. It is an absolute disgrace. That matter was brought to the attention of the Minister's office yesterday and it is doing nothing about it. It could not care less.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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There is no provision for that kind of debate.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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That is definitely not the case and I am not letting that pass.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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It is an absolutely disgraceful reply.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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It is not a disgraceful reply because——

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State's script only contained 20 lines.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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——the fact that the issue was in the knowledge of the Minister has been disclosed to the House.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The Minister knew the position yesterday.

Pat Carey (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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That concludes business.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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That concludes business but not for the families concerned.