Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle's office for the opportunity to raise this matter. I was shocked by the content of the announcement early last week and the way in which it was made. It was wheeled out in the midst of the hot debate on the economic climate, almost as if it were being buried beneath it. It would have escaped under the radar were it not for the teachers, parents and pupils who will be most seriously affected by the unilateral decision. There was no debate, consultation or reference.

Approximately 120 classes throughout the country will be affected. When I analysed the figures more closely, I found that 20 of the 77 classes in the greater Dublin area are in my constituency of Dublin South-Central. It is a considerable depletion of resources in an area that badly needs all of the resources and educational supports that it can get. Most significantly, nine of the 20 classes are in Ballyfermot. As far as I can see, only one primary school in Ballyfermot has not been affected by the decision.

Other schools in the Dublin 8, 10 and 12 areas will also lose classes, including Crumlin, Inchicore, Drimnagh and the south inner city. Overall, the total area has been disproportionately hit by the Minister's decision. That there was no consultation or discussion with teachers or parents prior to the announcement is unforgivable. Given that no reference was made to an appeals procedure, there seems to be no way back, no moratorium and no possibility of combining classes with other schools that might be located within the area.

Having spoken to some teachers both last week and today, it appears as though the magic figure of nine was dreamed up from somewhere. Perhaps it was known to a select few but clearly not to the teachers in the aforementioned schools, who are now losing these classes. As far as I can ascertain, they were never officially informed of the necessity to have nine pupils to justify retention of such a class.

I wish to mention St. Catherine's national school, Donore Avenue, which is an atypical example. Its position differs slightly from the other schools because it is a Church of Ireland school. It is the only such school in the area and a child who is in a special class at that school and who wishes to stay within the Church of Ireland ethos for his or her education has no choice. However, I believe choices were available in the area. Mater Dei national school, Basin Lane, James's Street primary school, Scoil Treasa Naofa and Francis Street CBS are all in a catchment area with St Catherine's. Moreover, there are two schools on Mourne Road and two Loreto schools in Crumlin, the Oblate primary school, Inchicore, and a school in Goldenbridge. There are three Dominican schools in Ballyfermot, two De La Salle schools, two Mary Queen of Angels schools and one St. Louise school. Such schools could be bracketed together in subgroups and one could put some effort into ascertaining how they could be co-ordinated and perhaps the classes could be spread around. While this is a matter for the Minister, it is something of which account must be taken.

According to the 2006 census, the last year for which there are data, Dublin South-Central is one of the areas of lowest educational attainment in Ireland, historically. The resources that were in place to help to address this situation are now being pulled from under their feet without explanation, alternatives or consultation. I urge the Minister of State, together with the Minister for Education and Science, to reverse this unfair decision. The service should be restored to the schools for the benefit of those students who so badly need it. I believe this was a very shortsighted decision. While there may be a short-term gain of a small amount of money, this is not about money. The €7 million in question is a drop in the ocean relative to the impact it will have on the educational achievement of these children.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue as it gives me an opportunity to clarify the position. It is of great concern to me that there has been so much misinformation and misrepresentation of the notification to a number of schools by my Department that they were no longer entitled to retain teachers in classes for pupils with mild general learning disabilities. The first and most important point to make is that all pupils with a mild general learning disability have, and will continue to have, additional teaching resources to support their education. I also assure the Deputy that schools in Ballyfermot were not specifically targeted.

All primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources to enable them to support pupils with high incidence special educational needs, including mild general learning disability. Each school was given such additional teaching resources under the general allocation model of learning support and resource teaching introduced in 2005. I emphasise that such additional teaching resources have not been withdrawn from any school. Schools can decide how best to use this allocation based on the needs of the pupils. Most pupils with a mild general learning disability are included in ordinary classes with their peers and are supported by their class teacher. The curriculum is flexible in order that teachers can cater for the needs of pupils of different abilities. This policy of inclusion has widespread support within the educational community. This approach is in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Schools can use their resource and learning support allocation to give pupils special help it they need it. This might be done with a teacher working with a group of pupils or on a one-to-one basis for a few hours each week.

Before the general allocation model was introduced, some schools grouped pupils with a mild general learning disability into special classes. Deputies are aware that 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 11:1. My Department, however, allows for a small reduction in this number and permits a school to retain a teaching post where it has a minimum of nine pupils in the class. The rules also provide that a teacher would no longer be allocated where the number of pupils fell below nine. In the schools in question, the number of pupils dropped below this minimum and the schools no longer qualify for the teaching posts in these classes. This was the sole criterion for selection of schools in this regard.

In 2005, when the general allocation model was introduced, schools with additional teachers in classes for mild general learning disability were allowed to retain the teachers for these classes. Effectively, such schools received a double allocation. The number of these special classes has decreased over the years and schools have integrated the pupils into age-appropriate mainstream classes.

All the other primary schools in the country that do not have classes for pupils with mild general learning disability cater for these pupils from within the general allocation model. Surely, commentators do not suggest that three or four pupils with a mild general learning disability should be kept in a class of their own, when they could benefit from the interaction of other peers with support from their teacher?

There has been unprecedented investment in providing supports for pupils with special needs in recent years. There are now approximately 19,000 adults in our schools working solely with pupils with special needs. There are more than 8,000 resource and learning support teachers in our schools, compared with just 2,000 in 1998. More than 1,000 other teachers support pupils in our special schools. A total of 76 classes for pupils with mild general learning disability are being retained where there are nine pupils or more in these classes.

I wish to take this opportunity to emphasise that priority will continue to be given to provision for pupils with special educational needs. The establishment of mild general learning disability classes pre-date many of the developments in special education policy in recent years and we now have a system for providing schools with supports for pupils with high incidence special needs through the general allocation model.

The natural sympathy we all have for pupils with special needs and their parents makes it all the more important that we do not cloud facts with emotion. The parents of all children with mild general learning disability need to know that their children in mainstream classes are getting a quality education delivered by committed class teachers and supplemented by additional support from the resource and learning support teacher. This happens every day in schools nationwide.

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position regarding this matter.