Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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It would have been far more appropriate if the Minister for Education and Science were here to take this matter on the Adjournment, because it is such a serious issue. I was glad to see the Minister for Social and Family Affairs take Deputy Catherine Byrne's matter. However, I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Wallace, has much experience in this area and I appreciate her coming here tonight.

During the debate on class sizes a few months ago, virtually every Deputy from the Government side began by saying that they came from classes with more than 30 pupils, and that it did them no harm. In fact, one Member stated that he came from a class of 42 pupils. We all know people who came out of those classes who did not quite make it because the type of supports were not there to ensure that they performed to the best of their ability. Today's announcement by the Minister for Education and Science — who considers himself to be one of the tough guys in the Cabinet — against a group of defenceless, vulnerable children is the most despicable cut of all. These children have a learning disability. This means that they cannot learn at the same rate as other children in school for which reason support teachers and special classes are put in place. We all know the children involved, because we meet them every day on the street, they are our neighbours' children, they are in school with our children or grandchildren. For an hour a day or an hour a week, they go to a class where they get intensive personalised teaching.

By giving these children support, it will ensure they at least have a chance to learn to read, write and be numerate. If that special support is removed, we will ensure they come out of school without any of those skills. These skills are necessary to survive in today's world.

We did not always have these children in mainstream schools. We used to have a bus that came into the community every morning, picked them up on each street and went to a special school when it was full. Those children were not seen anymore until they came back that night. The parents of those children campaigned, walked the streets and lobbied us until they got the type of support that was necessary in order to ensure their children could go into mainstream education. They knew what they were talking about, because it was not just about education, but about the socialisation of children with a learning disability. It was about ensuring that they made friends in school that lasted them through their lives. It was about ensuring that they mixed with their peers and that they were not ghettoised into special schools.

When these children moved into mainstream education, the structure of special schools was dismantled, because there no longer was any need for it. Therefore, there is no choice for these children. They are in mainstream education without the supports they need to stay there, but there is no way back for them because the special schools no longer exist. It is outrageous that this attack is occurring on the most vulnerable of our people. A republic is not about fine speeches, but about actions. If this action is what the Government will be judged on, it is an appalling action. The National Council for Special Education has commissioned a report on special classes, and it has not yet come back with it, but the structure has been destroyed. These children will now be left floundering next September. I am seriously disturbed at this action, and I hope that it can be overturned by next September. It is an appalling decision for any Government to make.

Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad the Deputy has raised this matter, because it provides us with an opportunity to clarify a few issues. I will take the Adjournment matter this evening on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, which is about the decision of the Department to suppress a number of mild general learning disability classes in primary schools.

A total of 128 classes are being suppressed in 119 schools, and a total of 534 children are enrolled in these classes at the moment. Allocations to schools typically increase or decrease depending on pupil enrolment. In the case of classes for mild general learning disability, the normal pupil-teacher ratio that applies is 11 to one. However, the Department allows for a small reduction in this number and permits schools to retain a teaching post where it has a minimum of nine pupils in the class. In the case of 128 classes in 119 schools, the number of pupils dropped below this minimum. Therefore, these schools are no longer entitled to the teaching posts in these classes. The 119 schools from whom the teaching posts are now being removed received allocations under the general allocation model of teaching support. These schools have therefore been resourced for the categories of pupils in question. I must point out that eight of these classes had no such pupils, ten had only one and more than half of them had five pupils or fewer.

Some 3,000 schools that do not have special classes for pupils with mild general learning disability still meet the needs of these children through mainstream classes and the use of their general allocation teaching resources. Furthermore, some schools in recent years voluntarily disbanded such classes and mainstreamed the pupils with the associated loss of the mild special class post. Some 80 of the 119 schools already have reduced class sizes under DEIS or previous disadvantage schemes. Some 17 of those schools will get an additional post when the pupils in question are divided among mainstream classes. Essentially, the loss of a teaching post from the mild class will be offset by the addition of a post to maintain the lower class size to which such schools are entitled as a consequence of their disadvantage categorisation. The pupils from the 128 classes in question will be placed in mainstream classes and will receive support from their class teacher. Those in disadvantaged schools with reduced pupil-teacher ratios will benefit from small class sizes. As Deputy Lynch suggested, all schools will benefit from the support that is available to them through the schools general allocation model. As I have already said, primary schools that do not have classes for children with mild general learning disabilities cater for such pupils from within the general allocation model.

In recent years, there has been an unprecedented investment in the provision of supports to children with special needs. In our schools, approximately 19,000 adults are working solely with children with special needs. There are over 8,000 resource and learning support teachers in our schools. There were just 2,000 such teachers in 1998. Over 1,000 other teachers support children in the special schools that continue to operate throughout the country. The 76 classes for children with mild general learning disabilities in which there are nine or more children are to be retained. I emphasise that priority will continue to be given to provision for children with special educational needs. As I said earlier, the establishment of classes for children with mild general learning disabilities predates many of the developments in special education policy over recent years. The general allocation model now offers us a system for supporting schools that have children with high incidence special needs. I hope my clarification has been of assistance to Deputy Lynch. I thank her for raising this issue on the Adjournment tonight.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State.