John O'Donoghue (Kerry South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I understand that Deputy Upton intends to share time with Deputy McManus and note that ten minutes remain in this slot.

Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak on this subject and wish to speak about the most vulnerable who are being targeted. While Members may sometimes exaggerate slightly, in this case I make no apologies because it certainly is the case that the most vulnerable children are being targeted this time. The cancellation of mild general learning disability classes has caused enormous problems and concerns for teachers and parents alike. The decision to take away such special classes is akin to snatching medical cards from old age pensioners, except of course the latter had the power to have the decision reversed. While small children do not have such power, perhaps their parents do and perhaps they will vote with their feet on this issue.

Were the Minister present, I would invite him to visit any one of the more than 20 schools in the Dublin 8, Dublin 12 and Dublin 12 postal areas I represent, each of which is losing at least one class and some of which are losing two classes. They all have DEIS status and no one will dispute they are among the most disadvantaged schools, both educationally and socially. I must acknowledge the great work being done by both teachers and parents in such communities, where they are working against the odds. Many of these parents did not have an opportunity and also had learning difficulties or perhaps were obliged to drop out of school. However, they want their children to have a better chance and are fighting for them. While the parents did not have this opportunity, they realise its importance for their own children.

There are four or five reasons it is shameful that this facility is being withdrawn. First, the children who need the support will be the first to lose out. Although they need the additional help, they will not receive it and it can never be made up in future years. However, they will continue to need such help both next year and in the following years. Moreover, if this measure is taken, the other children in the classes into which the children from the special classes will be mainstreamed in turn will lose out. A teacher must spread out his or her time and the layers of time that can be devoted to each child will become increasingly thin, regardless of whether the child is in the mainstream or is coming from the mild general learning disability class. There will be two sets of losers in this regard.

Moreover, in two to five years, these children will move on to second level. The difficulties they will encounter when they so do were pointed out to me by the principal of a second-level school last week. They will come into second level still disadvantaged because they will not have had the special educational needs fulfilled that they had a right to expect. There will be a knock-on effect, the consequence of which will be that either they will fall through the cracks and drop out of school entirely or simply will be completely left behind and at an even greater disadvantage. Again, a further cost will arise in this regard.

The economic saving has been measured as being approximately €7 million. This is a drop in the ocean in the context of the overall economy's financial needs. The Minister should consider the impact and the negativity arising from the withdrawal of this €7 million. Will the Minister agree to reinstate these classes in the coming academic year? The Minister has stated there is a magic number of nine or 11 pupils, depending on circumstances. Why are these classes not being reinstated? The Minister stated in his speech last night that many of the schools involved had not been in touch with him. The schools in Dublin 8, Dublin 10 and Dublin 12 have been in touch with me, whatever about being in touch with him. Moreover, I can assure the Minister that many of them also have been in touch with him as the relevant letters also have been copied to me.

Instead of preaching about the importance of education, to which all Members subscribe, resources should be made available to drive the education facility for those children who need it most, such as the children under discussion. Finally, I repeat my invitation to the Minister, who is not present, to visit even one of the schools in Dublin 8, Dublin 10 or Dublin 12. He should visit a primary school and a secondary school, where he would see the social and educational disadvantage, as well as the efforts the parents and teachers are making to try to ensure their children have a fair deal and a fair chance. I challenge the Minister to visit even one of those schools to see for himself the impact that the withdrawal of this funding is having on those children.

Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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This week I attended a major Special Olympics sporting event in County Wicklow and noted the slogan was "Changing Lives". There is no doubt but that the Special Olympics has changed lives for many children with special needs in particular. While it has changed lives for the better, it seems as though the Government is set on changing the lives of many children with special needs for the worse. I welcome this debate because it is clear that children with special needs require the investment of time, money and expertise.

I wish to raise a particular case relating to children with special needs in my constituency. There is a school for autistic children called Barnacoyle school. It is a model of a school that has depended on its parents for financial and all other forms of support for the good of their children. The children benefit from applied behaviour analysis, ABA, schooling and undoubtedly have benefitted enormously. Such a benefit has been recognised by the Department in other areas in respect of schools that already have been set up. Moreover, additional schools now have been added to the list. However, I am greatly concerned that the school at Barnacoyle has been deliberately excluded from the negotiations between Irish Autism Action, IAA, and the Department. For five years, the school has been largely, albeit not solely, dependent on parents and the goodwill and support of the community. Approximately 24 children benefit at present but I wish to mention one child in particular. I refer to a little boy called Seán Ó Cuanacháin, whose parents Yvonne and Cian went to court because they saw no other way to ensure their child received the education and support he needed. It was a terrible experience for the family. The Department carried out an aggressive campaign and the cost to the taxpayer was prohibitive. Seán Ó Cuanacháin is still in the same position he was. We must examine what happened in this case. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, is not a vindictive man but the school has been treated unfairly by his Department.

Reading about the case of Ms O'Keeffe, who took a case against the State and lost but was treated sympathetically by the State, it is extraordinary to note the treatment of the Ó Cuanacháin family compared to her treatment. I urge the Minister to do the right thing and stop this exclusion of a school that is up and running, caring for and educating children with particular needs. If the school were not there, there would be no school in County Wicklow for children with autism. That is unsustainable. Barnacoyle needs to be treated fairly. I am concerned that the Ó Cuanacháin family feels it has no option but to take a case to the Supreme Court, with the trauma and expense that involves, because this matter between the school and the Department has not been resolved. I regret that the Minister is not in the Chamber but I ask the Minister of State at the Department to raise this issue to unlock the logjam and deal fairly with the children in County Wicklow, who deserve treatment equal to that of any other child in the country. They are not getting equal treatment and, as their representative, I must bring the case to the point where a difference can be made, where their lives can be changed by the Minister and the Department treating the school fairly, in line with the fact that the Department has funded 12 schools, plus two additional schools since the court case. It is not the case that the pilot schools are in the loop, additional schools have been provided and funded yet the school in Wicklow is excluded from negotiations. That is not fair, right or sympathetic to the children directly affected. I urge that this case be dealt with fairly so that we can bring to a close an unpleasant and difficult chapter in the life of children in County Wicklow.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to share time with Deputies Cregan, Dooley, Blaney, Connick, Calleary and Conlon. I reassure Deputy McManus that I will bring the matter to the attention of the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe. I am the Minister of State at the Department but her comments would be best directed at the senior Minister in this case.

I do not want to distract Members from our purpose with regard to this motion but I wish to register my strong protest at an article in the Irish Independent I read on my way here. It referred to Members as bloodsuckers, which is an over the top and inappropriate way to refer to Members. It reflects badly on the newspaper concerned and, as a profession, we need to defend ourselves because this is an outrageous phrase to use about us. If we used this term with regard to virtually any other category of person in society, there would be understandable outrage. If I used it about any group of people, I would have to resign my position. It is important that this is registered.

The mainstream approach to those with mild general learning disability is universally understood by educators to be the correct approach to this learning disability, which is general and mild by its nature. It is important to reaffirm that point. The Government measure is designed to put such pupils in mainstream class settings. Children with mild general learning disability will continue to have additional teaching resources to support their education. All primary schools have been given resources to cater for children with mild general learning disability. Each school is given an allocation of resource or learning support teaching under the general allocation model, which was introduced in 2005. This is given in addition to the school's allocation of classroom teachers. This additional allocation will not be withdrawn from any school. In the majority of schools, children with a mild general learning disability are included with their peers in ordinary classes and supported by their class teacher. The curriculum is flexible so that teachers can cater for the needs of children of different abilities. Schools use their resource or learning support allocation to give children extra help if they need it. This policy of inclusion has widespread support within the education community and is in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Having children included in mainstream classes is the desire of the vast majority of parents. Academically and socially, children with mild general learning disability benefit from interacting with their peers in the classroom setting. Historically, some schools were allowed to establish a special class if they had 11 pupils with a mild general learning disability. The arrangements were that the teacher would no longer be allocated where the number of pupils dropped below nine. Some 128 classes are being discontinued in 119 schools. All of these classes have eight or fewer children and over half have five or fewer children. Eighty of the 119 schools have reduced class sizes under the DEIS or other disadvantage schemes. Some 17 of these schools will gain an additional teaching post when these pupils are placed in ordinary classes. In 2005, when the new general allocation system was introduced, schools with additional teachers and special classes for children with a mild general learning disability were allowed to keep the teacher for these classes. Effectively, these schools got a double allocation. Since then, these existing special classes continued in schools as long as there were nine or more children in the class. The number in the classes has steadily decreased over the years. Some schools have opted voluntarily to stop the classes and integrate the children into an age appropriate mainstream class. No new classes have been established in recent years. These are the facts underpinning the decision by the Minister. Classes for these children with particular needs and difficulties were a phenomenon on the increase. This mainstream approach was sought by educators and underpinned by the UN commitment. When resources are constrained or cut back, there is an understandable clamour, worry, anxiety and frustration in regard to children with learning difficulties, particularly when one deals with education. It is important to put this in context. It is better for children in the short, medium and long term to be in mainstream class settings.

John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Private Members' motion. I welcome the Government's commitment to our education system over the past ten years. I refer to the major improvements since 1998 in a range of supports available to these children. Investment in support for special needs has more than doubled in the past five years, to over €1 billion this year. More than 8,000 resource and learning support teachers and 10,000 special needs assistants are now in place. Other improvements, technology and services have been provided.

The Minister reiterated the Government's continued commitment to the improvement of education for our children. The Government is committed to ensuring as many children as possible can receive an appropriate education in local schools, interacting with their friends. The majority of studies, commentators, parents and teachers support integration and mainstreaming, and this should be recognised.

Proceeding with this motion is very disingenuous of the Opposition as this is approximately the tenth occasion since the budget that the opportunity has been taken to attempt to vote down Government decisions which have been taken in exceptionally difficult times and in very difficult global financial circumstances. Some day the people on the other side of the Chamber might get what they wish for. Every party aspires to be in Government and many Members across the floor aspire to be Ministers. This may happen some day and they will have to be honest with the public, stand up, tell the truth and work within the resources given to them.

That day may come for Opposition spokespersons and I wish them well if and when it does. It is very disingenuous of them to be consistently negative and opposed to these decisions. We have seen a range of decisions being contested and the Government has been accused of blowing the boom. We know who has done this. I have listed the significant investment we have seen in the education of our children, particularly in the special needs area. If that is blowing the boom, I can buy into that. It is only one example of where the Opposition has argued that we have blown the boom.

Regarding the suppression of some of these classes, I understand the criteria which applied came into place in 1999. The Minister and his Department have applied that criteria in recent times because of the agreement which existed with the partners in education that the ratio would be 11:1 but 9:1 would be accepted. I understand that where such figures stand up, those classes will remain. Where they do not stack up, any additional support required will be provided and made available to children who need it, which is very important.

There is a special needs class in my own constituency in Newcastle West where tremendous work has been done by the teachers and school in question. The class remains in place but there were three classes, consisting of two classes of six children and one with seven children. The class is being maintained but the school is also mainstreaming like many other schools.

I am glad to have had the opportunity to speak on the topic. It is time for the Opposition to be honest and not criticise every decision taken by the Government.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate and like Deputy Cregan, I believe there has been an effort by some in the Opposition - I do not want to tar everybody with the same brush - to misrepresent the facts. The Minister's contribution last night sought to clarify as best he could the position and other speakers have been helpful in that regard.

The needs of children with disabilities are not served by misleading people and developing inflammatory statements. It would be helpful if some people sought to understand the facts rather than trying to score cheap political points at a time like this on the backs of children and families who are, by their nature, dealing with some very real difficulties in their lives. I hope we can have a balanced debate; some contributions from the other side have been balanced while others have not.

The most important issue is for children with mild general learning disabilities to have and continue to have additional teaching resources made available to them to support their education. That is correct and fitting and something we would all support. All primary schools have been given resources to cater for children with mild and general learning disabilities and each school is given an allocation of resources and learning support teachers under a special scheme, the general allocation model, which was introduced in 2005.

That is only right. For far too long we had a structure in place which did not involve the school principal. Generally, nobody is in a better position to decide how the educational needs of children in a particular school can be catered for than the principal. I welcomed the introduction of that model because it sought to put the principal and teaching staff centre stage in developing the necessary system to deal with the various levels of ability of children. We act with regard to children who are not identified as having disabilities, but within this group there are children with very different abilities and we leave it to teaching staff to deal with the matter. This is in addition to the school's allocation of classroom teachers, and the additional allocation has not been withdrawn.

There is a special case in west Clare, in St. Senan's national school in Kilrush. This school is caught in the middle because there are only three children in a particular class, with the difficulty being that these children have profound disabilities. A solution must be found to cater for their needs. The general learning class which was used was the only one appropriate at the time. We need to develop a different system for such children.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Private Members' motion this morning. The Opposition must be licking their wounds somewhat because it certainly missed the boat with this motion. It has failed to understand that the best environment for the pupils involved is the school classroom and the way forward is exactly as the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, has outlined. This motion is a poor effort at paying party politics.

The Government and the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, must be commended for their efforts on special educational needs. The contribution of the Government over the past ten years has been very significant if one considers the last time the Opposition was in Government.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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It is the same old tune.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy would have been building sandcastles.

There were 2,000 learning support staff. I know Deputy Hayes is feeling a bit sore this morning but he can have his say in a moment.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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How are the 500 kids feeling?

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy should speak about this kids.

There were approximately 2,000 learning support resource teachers when the Opposition was in Government.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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That was decades ago.

If the Opposition was in Government tomorrow and making the type of decisions talked about this morning, it would not stay in Government too long. The Government must be commended on the amount of resources provided and work done in the special needs area over the past five to ten years, which has been significant. The allocations have increased year on year, and this year, when times have not been so good, the area is receiving €100 million extra in the budget. That is an enormous step in dealing with the difficulties suffered by children with special educational needs. It is excellent that we are providing this type of support.

I commend the Minister and Ministers of State on their effort and I hope they continue with their work for the betterment of this country's children.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak today in support of the Government's amendment to the motion. There is no doubt that we have made significant progress in recent years in investing in the education of young people with special needs and educational difficulties. As a country, we will probably never reach the stage where we can say we have done absolutely everything we can and provided every single resource possible for people with learning difficulties. However, we must always strive to provide every resource that our means will allow and introduce the best educational policies possible.

Disability is extremely diverse and a one size to fit all approach does not apply. Over the past number of years the Government's investment in special needs education has increased dramatically and this year alone, the budget for special needs will exceed €1 billion. This is a doubling of the level of investment in special needs education just five years ago.

The range of resources being provided to special needs education has also expanded greatly over recent years and important supports, such as the resource teaching support, special needs assistants, special transport arrangements and increased capital funding for the purchase of special equipment, are now available to allow schools meet the requirements of pupils with educational needs, allowing these children to access a level of education appropriate to their needs. There are now in excess of 8,000 learning support and resource teacher posts in primary and secondary schools and these provide additional support to pupils with learning difficulties. When the Government entered office in 1997, there were only 2,000 such positions in the country. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and his predecessors have overseen a significant increase in the number of posts available. In addition, there are now more than 10,000 special needs assistants in our schools. An increase of 33% in funding in 2009 will allow for the recruitment of up to 50 extra psychologists under the National Education Psychological Service.

This debate centres on whether we should aim to integrate pupils with mild learning difficulties into mainstream classes and provide them with the most inclusive educational and social experience possible. It is widely accepted in educational fields internationally that integrating children with mild learning disabilities with others in their age group and allowing them to have a fully inclusive educational experience is the most desirable approach for a society to take. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities agrees with this approach and advocates that children with mild learning disabilities should be integrated into the mainstream education system. The European Union, in a resolution adopted in 1990, also believes that full integration should be considered as a first option wherever possible. Many of our European partners take this approach in their education systems.

Integrating children with mild learning difficulties into an inclusive educational system does not just revolve around meeting their educational needs, it is also about giving them a place in society and giving them confidence among their peers. Segregating people with any form of disability, including learning difficulties, isolates them from society. In a school system, removing these children from mainstream education marks them out as different from their peers and creates a barrier that extends far beyond the school yard.

I had my accident during the summer holidays between first and second year in secondary school. As a result, I missed nine months of second year. One of the most important decisions my parents and the principal of my school in New Ross made at the time was to allow me to continue my education with my classmates. If I had been held back a year, I would not have been happy. The last thing I would have wanted would have been to be placed in a special needs class. I did not have special needs assistants and I did not require them.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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That is not the point.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I had 35 or 36 classmates who looked out for me and ensured that I was included in every aspect of school life.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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That is not the point of the motion.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I am referring to my own experience. Sometimes one must listen to what people with disabilities have to say rather than telling them what one believes they want to hear.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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That is not the point.

Seán Connick (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Brian Hayes might learn from such an approach.

A very interesting book, Pupils with Learning Difficulties in Mainstream Schools, was published in Britain a number of years ago. The first paragraph of the book was written by a woman called Mabel who was then in her 50s. She was born with learning difficulties and because of her age she grew up in a system that isolated her from the rest of society. Looking back on her young days she wrote:

For people like me and a lot more you know, people were frightened of us. If people are different, then other people get frightened. I still see it. People are frightened of people like me, and a lot more, because we are different.

The basis of an inclusive educational system is to stop treating people such as Mabel as being different, to start treating them as being equal with their peers and to remove any barriers of fear or ignorance that other people might have in respect of them. Educating children with mild learning difficulties in a mainstream classroom environment will help to remove these barriers, increase their confidence and self-belief and greatly increase their interaction with their peers.

I support the Minister in his efforts to create an inclusive learning environment for children with learning difficulties and I acknowledge the substantial increases in funding for special needs education he has, despite the current economic circumstances, secured. I fully support him and the amendment to the motion.

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I join colleagues in supporting the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, and the amendment to the motion. It is important to recall that in the recent budget in excess of €1 billion was allocated to support children and adults with special educational needs. While a great deal of this debate has focused on events that occurred during the past decade, it is important to place this matter in a more recent context. The equivalent spend on special educational needs in 2004 was €468 million. The allocation has, therefore, more than doubled. The €1 billion allocation for this year will come from current spending. The latter is the exact form of spending which those on the opposite side of the House consistently advocate should be cut or curtailed. That is the context in which this debate should be considered.

From the expenditure to which I refer, support is provided across a wide spectrum of initiatives within in the education sector. At school level, in addition to the teachers provided in the classroom, significant additional supports have also enabled schools to cater for the needs of students with special educational needs. Colleagues referred to the number of SNAs and teaching assistants who are now in place and who have transformed the entire area of education in recent years. The level of services available to schools - particularly those with most need for such services - through SNAs and teaching assistants is greater than ever.

Most pupils can, through the general allocation model, be fully integrated into mainstream schools. All mainstream primary schools with students which have higher incidence of special educational needs and mild general learning disabilities attract extra supports through this model. Some children, including those with autism, require additional teaching care and supports. Schools are provided with special needs supports and additional teaching resources in order to cater for each individual child's needs.

It is important that people reflect upon Deputy Connick's remarks. Instead of speaking at the sector we should speak with it. It was slightly disappointing that the Deputy's experience was dismissed in such a manner by those opposite. Deputy Connick spoke from the heart and the proposers of the motion should have listened to what he had to say.

The general allocation model, which has been in place since 2005 and which has been the foundation for much of the investment in this area, is incredibly important. The critical point is that all pupils with mild general learning disabilities will continue to access additional teaching resources. All primary schools, under the general allocation model, have been given resources to allow them to cater for children with mild general learning disabilities. Such resources will not be withdrawn from any school.

The majority of schools have ordinary classes and policy of inclusion enjoys widespread support within the educational community. As has become evident during this debate, the debate relating to mainstreaming inspires emotion. In recent years, the thrust of Government policy has been towards mainstreaming and addressing the concerns outlined by Deputy Connick.

It is important to reflect on where the money that has been invested has been spent. Such funding has been used to provide SNAs and teaching supports and to develop the curriculum. There are now more than 8,000 learning support teacher posts in primary and post-primary schools. In addition, more than 1,000 teachers in special schools teach pupils with various disabilities at very reduced ratios. For example, the ratio in respect of children with autism is 6:1 and in respect of those with moderate general learning disabilities it is 8:1. There are some 10,000 SNAs in the education system who work in primary, post-primary and special schools. Approximately €190 million in enhanced capitation levels was allocated to special schools and mainstream schools with special classes. This capitation rate is much higher than that which is available to other schools. We have also made special transport arrangements and provided special funding for new technology, sensory technology and specialist equipment.

We have made an enormous investment across the board and, in particular, in respect of those with special educational needs. The Minister is ensuring that the money we are investing goes to those who need it most. I fully support him in this regard.

As already stated, the €1 billion that will be invested in this area during the coming year - this amount represents an increase of €100 million on the figure for last year - comes from current expenditure, which has been targeted by Deputy Bruton in recent weeks. Are those opposite in a position to provide an assurance that this €1 billion would be secure were they to move to this side of the House?

Margaret Conlon (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the motion. As many of my colleagues have stated, there has been a major investment in the range of supports that have been available to children with special educational needs since the late 1990s. This investment has transformed the ability of schools to make provision for all children. The Government is committed to ensuring that as many children as possible will receive an appropriate education among their peers in their local schools. It is also committed to ensuring that these children will be able to interact on a daily and weekly basis with their peers because this will assist them in developing vital social skills. The supports to which I refer are not merely teaching supports. They include specialist equipment, transport and specially adapted buildings. All of the latter must be put in place for children everywhere.

The crux of the debate is that all pupils with mild general learning disabilities will continue to have access to additional teaching resources in order that their education will continue to be supported. The provision of such supports ensures that children with special educational needs are given the opportunity to reach their highest potential. Is that not what we would wish for all of our children? I recall a time when children with special educational needs were treated as second-class citizens. In many cases they were ignored or shunned by their peers because they were perceived to be different. I would not like to return to that. In the past few years Government supports were put in place to ensure the educational needs of those children were met.

In the majority of our schools children with a mild general learning disability are included in the ordinary classes with their peers and supported by their class teacher. The curriculum is flexible to ensure teachers can cater for the needs of children of different abilities. Schools use their learning support allocation to give children extra help if they need it. Those children benefit from interacting with their peers. All pupils, including those with special educational needs, need to interact with other pupils and in different situations to enable them to cope in a world where that will be the norm.

Teachers are to be commended for their inclusivity and their assistance and dedication in preparing children for life after school. As the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, put it aptly last night, the Opposition is seeking him to play political football with this issue. On the one hand it wants us to manage public expenditure and, on the other hand, it wants us to provide resources to classes that do not have any children. We cannot have it both ways.

I have had close contact with the school in my town of Castleblayney and I have evidence of a willingness on the part of the Department, the SENOs and the teachers to work together in a partnership approach to ensure that the class, rightly so, would be reclassified, and in that case the class would not be suppressed. I welcome that partnership approach. However, that is misrepresented in the local media. I read last week a statement that was made about the Department of Social and Family Affairs providing free lunches yet no education. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is an indication of the way the position was misrepresented.

I take the opportunity to reassure parents that teachers and schools are working every day to deliver an excellent education to all children. The teachers should be thanked time and again for the tangible difference they make in the lives of all our children to prepare them to for life outside school.

In the past ten years the Government has driven a transformation in education policy for children with special educational needs. Almost 12 years ago, when Fine Gael and Labour left power, most parents of children with significant or special education or care needs had no choice but to send them to a special school. This Government will continue to represent, be aware of and deliver for pupils with special educational needs. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure those pupils will continue to be a priority in terms of educational investment enabling them to achieve their true potential.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share my time with Deputies Naughten, Stanton, Reilly, Breen, Connaughton and Tom Hayes.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Deputy Bannon is gone.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Not by my choice.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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In the past half an hour the Opposition has been accused of attempting to misrepresent the facts, making a political football out of these children, and failing to understand that the way forward is in the mainstream classroom. I refute all of those allegations. I thank Deputy Brian Hayes for bringing this motion before the House.

I speak from experience of two primary schools affected in my constituency, both of which are in my home town in Birr, namely, St. Brendan's boys primary school and the Mercy primary school. There are 13 children in total in those two classes and of those, 12 had already tried the option proposed by the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe. They had already been in mainstream school. Twelve of those children already had special needs assistance and resource hours and for 12 out of 13 children, it did not work.

We have been asked to speak from the heart and therefore I will outline the comments of parents who contacted me about this matter who I believe are the experts in terms of what happens to their children. The Government has argued that there are insufficient enrolments yet it is the very policies adopted by the Department of Education and Science that have ensured there are fewer children attending these classes.

I wish to make it clear that I support mainstream education and I am aware that the first choice of every parent for their children would be to have them in mainstream education-----

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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That is right. That is the point.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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-----but they accept that for every child it simply does not work. The Government wants to promote integration. That is not something new. It is something we all support but the two special classes to which I refer, and I have been in both classes, are not a sterile unit outside the building to which the rest of the children have no access. They are very much part and parcel of the whole environment of the school and the children attending those special classes are part of that. They are not isolated. They are not as they were when we were in school when the attitude in terms of the way they were treated was completely different.

The principal of the boys school stated, "It is a safe and rich environment within the larger school giving all types of opportunities for children throughout the school to live, learn and experience each other's lives in an atmosphere of inclusiveness and equality". That is what is happening.

There are seven pupils requiring special classes in the girls school and for those seven pupils there is only one special needs assistant. She will now be asked to deal with those seven pupils in seven different classrooms in four separate buildings on the one school campus. It is not possible for her to be able to give that level of attention to those children.

The general model did not work. I will outline to the House some examples of parents who contacted me about their children. One mother explained that her son had an SNA and one resource hour per day in his former school. The system was tried and failed him. In fact, he was threatened with expulsion because the situation was not managed. He is only in his new class in Birr since January and he has not had any problems. Until then, mixing with other children was alien to him. She now sees him mixing, partaking and socialising which would not have happened previously. Last week he participated in "Pinocchio", in Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, which he would not have had the opportunity to do previously. She said it is real, meaningful participation. His life has been transformed.

When I contacted another father last night he told me his daughter was in school for three years. People have asked me to speak from the heart and I will quote this parent. He told me last night that if his daughter is put back into a regular class, the Government may as well put her in the River Shannon. He was deeply upset when he said that about his daughter but that is the reality because he has tried, she has tried and it did not work. When she was in the other class, which had 38 children, she was utterly lost. She cried every morning before school and hid under a bench in the classroom. She is only in her class in Birr since September. She is the first up in the house every morning and loves going to school. He said that as it is, they worry about her every day that she will get somewhere. They will not put her back into a mainstream class because regardless of the law, they will take her out of school. They will not put her through that again.

Another constituent who was in contact by letter with the Taoiseach stated:

Returning to mainstream is not an option for our daughter. Since the announcement she has not slept at night, is crying all of the time and just not able to cope. She knows what it means returning to mainstream, being left behind once again. She had a terrible time, was picked on by other children, was called names. Not being able to keep up she felt completely useless.

I ask the Minister, Deputy O'Keeffe, and the Government to consider the plight of these children. They are not a political football. They are real children.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak in this debate. The decision to target education cuts in some of the most vulnerable groups in our school system, namely, special needs children and migrant children, is appalling. Those who cannot speak for themselves are being targeted by a Government that does not want them to speak.

Language is a major barrier for migrant children in our classroom system. We cannot achieve integration if some of the most marginalised in our society are not competent in the English language, both spoken and written. Not only does that cause social problems but the cap on language support teachers in conjunction with the increased class sizes and the withdrawal of these special classes will result in teachers allocating an inordinate amount of time to some students, with the rest of the class suffering.

Speaker after speaker on the Government benches lectured us on the issue of integration and the mainstreaming of pupils. These special classes are mainstream. If the Minister knew anything about the system he would at least know that. They are in mainstream schools. I know at first hand the challenges parents have to face in making the decision in the first instance on whether to send their child to a mainstream school or to a special needs school. That is a difficult decision for any parent. As a public representative, I dread a parent meeting me to seek a domiciliary care allowance or the carer's allowance because I know that for the next number of years I will have to fight to get every basic entitlement for those children, whether it be in or outside the education system, a psychological assessment, speech and language therapy or, in the case of migrant children, language support.

It is hypocritical to be lectured by the Government on the issue of mainstreaming in this instance. I will give one example of what is it issue from one school principal to whom I spoke in whose school two children will be withdrawn from one of these special support classes and put into a double class of 29 pupils. At present, they get intensive support with English and mathematics. There are six migrant children in the class born outside the island of Ireland. Of these, there are three for whom English is not their first language. There are also seven Traveller children. One in four of the pupils in the school are Travellers. They are entitled to an additional Traveller resource teacher but that will not be given to them by the Department of Education and Science.

We are being told that this represents integration and mainstreaming. Which of those children will the teacher prioritise in that class? It is a decision of Solomon that the teacher must deal with on a day-to-day basis. I am being told by the Government that this is mainstreaming, integration and isolation, and that it is a way of identifying those children as individuals who will be isolated in that class. However, they will be like every other child in the class, therefore, I will not take lecturing from the Government on this issue.

In addition to the withdrawal of services to children, not only within the education system but within the health system, which is appalling, is the dramatic increase in the pupil-teacher ratio in many schools in my constituency. The Government has decided, with this policy and its other education policies over the past number of months, to pit one pupil against another. It has chosen to expose these children, both Irish and non-Irish, to exclusion and isolation. It is exclusion from the help that they need and from the ability to read, to learn and to participate. That is what it calls mainstreaming. It is appalling. It is time the Government got an education in what it is all about. I commend the motion to the House.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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One of the things that annoys me intensely is to hear Government backbenchers, Ministers and Ministers of State coming into the House and reading out prepared scripts that they have not researched themselves. It is clear from what they have stated that they do not have a clue about the matter.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Correct.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, told the House last night he was commissioning research from the National Council for Special Education on this issue. I draw the attention of the House to the report published four years ago on that matter which evaluates special classes for pupils with specific speech and language disorders. It states that the Department of Education and Science held a seminar for professionals on 28 May 2002 in Kildare. The seminar concerned an important element of the review of education provision in classes with children with special speech and language disorders. If any Minister or Deputy opposite spent the time to research this with all his or her background staff - nobody has mentioned it so far - he or she would find short paragraphs such as that it is recommended that the SENOs investigate the need for establishing additional special classes for pupils with SSLD of primary school age. Yet, the Minister is abolishing such classes, which does not surprise me.

In debate many Deputies cited international researchers but did not state who they are. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, told us a number of years ago that, according to the international experts, larger classes are better. I challenged him on it and he eventually cited the expert. It was a person from Texas who has been discredited and with whom nobody else agreed. This is disastrous. It is an insult to the House and it is an insult to the children. The research has already been done. It contradicts completely everything that the Deputies opposite have parroted this morning and last night. They are completely wrong.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I spoke to some teachers and principals who are working in this area. They are appalled and frightened about the policies of the Government, which is saving a pittance. The Government comes tells us that it has billions of euro to spend on education, yet it targets the weakest, the most vulnerable seven or eight children in a class.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Some Deputy on the Government benches called them "kids". Kids are young goats; these are children who have special needs, who are in special classes and who require intensive one-to-one help. I have been there, I worked with them and I know what it is like. I do not know whether the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, has any experience of this area but some of these children with ADHD, Tourettes syndrome or dyspraxia, or even dyslexia, or any such condition, are so confused that they can be violent. They can be a danger to themselves and to others, yet the Minister wants them to be put into a large class. It is appalling. These children will be expelled from the school.

The report to which I referred also states that there should be adjoining rooms or a classroom of adequate size that is partitioned to create an area suitable for individual speech and language therapy, and that it is desirable that such a room be free from noise or distraction, the accommodation should allow the teacher and the speech and language therapist to work collaboratively with the pupils or with each group, with a small group or one-to-one as required. The Minister does not need another report. He has one already, produced by the inspectorate in the Department. Let us get real.

I would appeal to the Members opposite not to take out the mess they have made of the economy on the weakest and the youngest of our citizens because they are sentencing them to a life of horror if they do this. This is the one chance they have.

I spoke to other teachers working in this area. It has been suggested that these children are locked away in a special room but that does not happen. As other Deputies have stated, they integrate properly with others in art and P.E. and elsewhere, and they are withdrawn for special classes where they need the help. The Government is abolishing that. Has the Government any idea what it is doing? Has it visited these schools, has it seen these children? The Government does not have a clue what it is about. I would appeal to Deputies not to do this.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Brian Hayes, on tabling this motion and for allowing us the opportunity to speak to it. The record of the Government when it comes to the most vulnerable in our society is appalling. One need only remind oneself of the long hard struggle in which sufferers of cystic fibrosis had to engage to ensure that their oft-promised facilities at St. Vincent's Hospital would be built and delivered. Although we have the Ministers word on this, we will watch this space carefully. We have seen medical cards taken from the elderly, our children deprived of vaccination against cervical cancer despite being promised they would be afforded this protection, the terminally ill being means-tested and failing those means tests for a medical card, and, in the last week, people queuing to die as they cannot get into palliative care centres. Against that background, to see the Minister, on behalf of this Fianna Fail Government, deprive our children with mild general learning disability of the services which had served them so well in their special classes is not surprising, but nonetheless it is appalling.

The foolishness of this decision and the callousness of it ranks with the other areas I mentioned already. It is foolish because it will not save money. It will cost more money as these children will find themselves in mainstream classes in need of special needs assistants and help. It is costly because it impedes their ability to reach their full potential and will impede the development of the other students in the class, thus costing the economy further down the line. In any event, in one school four of these children will be entitled to 17 hours a week, that is, a full teacher, and no saving will be made. It is callous because it discards the concerns of these children's parents and their teachers and disregards the real need of this group of children, many of whom have progressed into the mainstream from these classes.

In my constituency there are three schools concerned - St. Helen's in Portmarnock which I visited, Brackenstown in Swords and St. Teresa's in Balbriggan. St. Teresa's in Balbriggan is a case in point. This is a primary school in a rapidly developing part of Dublin where parents are finding it exceedingly difficult to get their children into school. In this school there are two special needs classes with nine pupils in each and a waiting list of nine pupils, and yet the Minister in his wisdom has determined that one of these classes should go. One of his arguments is that it is best practice that these children be taught in a mainstream school. With that being the Minister's logic, could he tell the good people of Balbriggan and this House why this form of justice is to be delivered to one class while the other remains in place?

There is no logic to this. Furthermore, with no guidelines in place and all of these children having received a NEPS report, it is now left to the headmaster and the board of the school to decide which children will remain in the special needs class and which will not. In the absence of any national guidelines, this means the teachers and the board are placed in an invidious position. What logic can be used to distinguish between the children? Will the Minister for Education and Science guarantee primary school principals, teachers and boards of management that he will indemnify them against future action by parents for depriving their children of this service when others were left to avail of it with nothing to distinguish them, given they all have the National Educational Psychological Service report?

St. Teresa's accepts children from not just Balbriggan but from Balrothery, Balscadden, Naul, Oldtown, Ballyboughal, Lusk, Skerries, Loughshinny, Rush and Donabate. This ill-conceived blunt instrument, designed to do nothing other than to save money without regard for the future of our children, will deprive the entire of Fingal county of their human right, the right to an appropriate education. The Minister for Education and Science will be long remembered for this and for all the wrong reasons.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Hear, hear.

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I appeal to the Minister to see sense and save the €7 million somewhere else out of his €8.9 billion budget. He cannot do it again at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society. If he does, the people, and of Fingal in particular, will remember that Fianna Fáil in government meant bail-outs for the banks but hardship for the hard pressed. Where are the three Government Deputies from Dublin North, Deputies Sargent, Kennedy and Darragh O'Brien? None of them could find time to debate this motion. As with the cervical cancer vaccine, a few million euro cannot be found for our children, but billions can be found for the builders and the banks.

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate my colleague Deputy Brian Hayes on pursuing the Government on this matter. The decision to axe special needs classes and abandon the most vulnerable children shows how out of touch the Government has become. Last February, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, pulled the rug from under these children to save €7 million without any thought of the consequences for them and their families. He could have found €7 million elsewhere without attacking these defenceless children.

The Minister claims these children can be transferred back into mainstream classes without any major disruption. He also claims the current level of resources available under the general allocation model is sufficient to meet the needs of the children. Nothing is further from the truth. I challenge the Minister to visit the special needs class at St. Senan's in Kilrush, west Clare. If he did, he would not be making such statements.

I was moved when I visited the school. These children are an inspiration to all of us. They are three happy children who are benefiting enormously from the excellent individual care and attention they receive from their teachers and special needs assistants. Their parents are devastated by this decision because they know their children cannot be transferred across to a mainstream class. They have witnessed the enormous strides their children have made already but are now worried and angry. If this class is axed what will happen to these children? Their parents are making many sacrifices to ensure their children receive the education they need.

The Minister should also understand the geography of west Clare. For one of these children to get to Kilrush every day would mean a round trip of 46 km. If the class in Kilrush is axed, they will have no alternative other than to stay at home. Parents of special needs children have to face a daily struggle to secure proper educational facilities for their children.

In 2005, an autism unit was set up at the school. Four years later, in spite of numerous promises, we still do not have a permanent structure for it. Last night the Minister said the needs of students can change as they get older and mature. While he is correct, no provision has been made for the future educational requirements of the children attending the autism unit in Kilrush once they have completed their time at the primary school.

One parent of a child attending the unit told me recently she does not want any more fudge from the Minister. She wants to know where her daughter and other children like her will receive their education when they leave St. Senan's. These parents deserve answers. Every day I receive telephone calls from parents across County Clare, concerned at the impact the reduction in the allocation of resource teachers and the hours available to access a special needs assistant announced in the budget will have on the needs of their children. The lack of funding is also delaying the commencement of redecorating works at St. Senan's school in Shannon where the autism unit is due to open in September.

Children with special needs did not bring this country to its knees. Every child is gifted; they just unwrap their packages at different times. I appeal to the Minister to leave these children alone and give them back their classes. I hope he will have the courage to admit he got this one wrong and reverse his decision.

Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to read into the Official Report a letter I received from a parent yesterday. It states:

I am a parent of a four year old autistic boy who suffers from epilepsy and severe learning difficulties. He currently attends Springfield child development centre, Ballinasloe, two days per week and I would hope for him to be attending there five days per week. However, this seems not possible as we are reliant on funding from the Department of Education and Science to keep this service running.

For a number of years now, the Department of Education and Science has provided a pilot scheme for the provision of education to children aged three to six in our child development centres, including children supported in their local preschool by the early childhood services at Lower Newcastle in Galway. The child development centres involved are located at the Burren View in Galway City, Stepping Stones in Tuam, and Springfield in Ballinasloe. The funding provided by the Department towards the provision of teaching and special needs assistant hours has been very beneficial to the children involved over the last number of years.

[Management of these centres is] unable to give parents the assurance they are seeking that their children will have an educational placement for September 2009. There is quite an amount of anxiety developing among the parents involved, particularly the parents of children with autism. In former years when we had our enrolment meetings at this point of the year, we would have been able to confirm places to parents in the child development centres. If funding is not provided for this coming September 2009, we will not be in a position to enrol any new children who have applied for places in our child development centres. This will mean that these children will be without any educational placement for September 2009 and children currently enrolled will have to have their time cut back. The children who will be affected present with autism, severe learning disability and physical disability, and the multidisciplinary staff who have assessed these children have recommended the child development centre placements for them, particularly in the absence of other appropriate educational placements. [It is all about these children having no place else to attend].

Coupled with the above difficulties is the fact that we have a number of staff at each of the locations involved, whose employment was dependent on the provision of the funding each year from the Depart of Education and Science.

The five professionals will lose their posts at the end of September because of these cuts. I fervently hope this parent who wrote to me, and the many others affected, will read the contributions to this debate from the Ministers and Government Deputies. Their contributions were nothing short of outrageous. I am sure they will get an answer from the people on the doorsteps.

Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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I commend my colleague Deputy Brian Hayes on providing the opportunity for this important debate. Having listened to the contributions by Members on this side of the House, I am proud of what Fine Gael Members stand for. Their contributions show our true ethos. A Government Deputy asked where would Deputy Richard Bruton get the cuts if he were Minister for Finance. I can assure them the Fine Gael Party always stands up for people with special needs. That is why our party in Europe is a member of the Christian democratic movement. We stand for protecting the vulnerable in society. I have never heard such cutting debate as I heard on this important issue. As chairman of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party, I can state that my colleagues will not stand by and allow cuts like these to be made. They are unfair to very vulnerable people.

Deputy Connaughton rehearsed a letter he received concerning a child with special needs in his constituency and I could describe many similar cases. It is unfair and unchristian of the Government to make these cuts. These are special children and their families are very attached to them. What the Government is doing is cruel and unjust, especially given its failure to consult the National Council for Special Education Needs or the report it has produced. Much voluntary work and effort has been invested in children with special needs and significant changes have taken place over the past several years. As a society, we have given a lot in terms of voluntary organisations and activities.

If this Dáil is to mean anything, we must stand up for these people. I urge the Government to heed our arguments. My constituents in Tipperary South have a long history of establishing organisations to help the vulnerable and those with special needs. If the Government reversed its decision, it could help these people.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Yesterday, the Minister for Education and Science clearly set out the Government's commitment to meeting the needs of children with special educational needs. The Government's track record over the past decade in providing substantial additional resources, including in particular extra teachers, special needs assistants, assistive technology funding and special school transport arrangements, to meet previously unmet needs is indisputable evidence of this commitment. The Minister also confirmed to the House that the Government's investment in special needs provisions would continue and this is demonstrated by the priority status given to investment in special education despite the current difficult economic circumstances. The Government's investment in special needs will be over €1 billion this year.

I want to outline the many significant advances which have in recent years considerably improved the lives of children with special needs and their families. We are doing what others failed to do in the past. Ten years ago, the only option for many parents of children with significant special education or care needs was to send them to special schools. Thanks to the considerable investment by the Government in the intervening years, parents now have three distinct choices. Their children can either attend mainstream classes in their local schools with additional supports as required where they have low incidence special needs, special classes in mainstream schools or special schools. Many children can, therefore, receive educations appropriate to their needs in their own communities alongside their siblings and friends.

The development of inclusive practices in education over the past decade has been particularly significant in underpinning the allocation of increased resources for special educational needs provision to mainstream and special schools. This has led to a large increase in the number of students with assessed special educational needs attending mainstream primary and post-primary schools. At present, there are over 8,000 resource and learning support teachers in our schools and over 10,000 special needs assistants to provide care support for children with special educational needs. More than €50 million is being spent on special school transport arrangements and school buildings are modified where warranted. These investments have allowed schools to support children with special educational needs in becoming part of a genuine school community. The principle of inclusion is not new and has widespread support within the education community.

For obvious reasons, the majority of parents wish to have their children educated in their own communities. This principle is also in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Salamanca statement and framework for action on special needs education in 1994, the Council of Europe declaration in Malaga in 2003 and the Council of Europe action plan in 2006. Is the Opposition suggesting that we ignore this advice and support a situation where children are not welcomed into their own school communities?

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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No.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The misinformation generated by the Opposition following the Minister's decision to close a number of special classes for pupils with mild general learning disabilities has caused unnecessary anxiety and distress for many parents of children with special educational needs. The impression that such children would be bereft of special needs support is disingenuous. The Minister has made it clear that the decision was taken because there were insufficient numbers in these classes to warrant their retention on the basis of the Department's policy on class retention. These children will be supported by their mainstream class teachers as well as through the general allocation model of resource teaching that applies in respect of all mainstream primary schools.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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It is not enough.

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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The education partners have indicated that they are broadly supportive of the general allocation model and the emphasis it places on inclusive education alongside providing flexibility to schools in supporting pupils who are eligible for this support. The Minister has stated that the Department of Education and Science is currently reviewing appeals from some of the schools where classes are due to be discontinued. The Department has also listened to the concerns of the INTO regarding a small number of schools and discussed the issue with the IPPN. In a number of cases, it has emerged that some pupils should be resourced more appropriately through other mechanisms, and advice to this effect will be provided to the schools concerned.

The Government will continue to prioritise investment in special needs education. Even in the context of the current economic circumstances and the many difficult choices that had to be made in the 2009 budget, the Minister managed to secure an additional €10 million for developing the capacity of schools to meet the needs of children with special educational needs. Specifically, the funding will expand the National Educational Psychological Service, enhance the capacity of the National Council for Special Education to co-ordinate the provision of services to children with special educational needs and invest in teacher training so that the learning and teaching needs of all pupils with special educational needs continue to be met.

The education and health sectors are adopting an integrated approach to target these additional resources at the areas of greatest need. There is improved co-ordination between the education and health sectors through the establishment of a cross sectoral team and the appointment of Deputy Moloney as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children with special responsibility for disability and mental health. This debate has provided an opportunity to clarify the position regarding mild general learning disability classes. The Government assures parents that priority will continue to be given to providing for children with special educational needs.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share time with Deputies Andrew Doyle, Finian McGrath and Brian Hayes.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I commend my colleague, Deputy Brian Hayes, on the work he has done on the motion before us. The parents of this country will thank him for his efforts on retaining the 128 classes this mean Government wants to take away from the people who need them the most.

For the past 12 years, Ireland was awash with money but people with special needs were left behind. Just when they thought things might improve, they were the first to be targeted when the economy took a downturn. Shame on Fianna Fáil and the Government. Fianna Fáil would have us believe it is the republican party and that it looks after families, but I am disappointed to say that it is not looking after families or the weak in this society. On the doorsteps over the past several weeks, people have been telling me that the vulnerable are the first to be targeted when the economy goes bad.

Deputy Brian Hayes has been putting pressure on the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who recently ran around my county to throw sods in the air for gaelscoileanna which had not yet received contracts or funding. He should at least have waited until the contracts had been signed before throwing sods in the air. I am glad to say that one of my Labour colleagues in Westport caught a sod and posted it back to the Minister. Well done to him. The Minister can bring the sod with him when he delivers the contractor and the money to that school.

What is happening in regard to special needs education is very wrong. What the Government is doing to the children who need it most is very wrong. Fianna Fáil backbenchers are the most brazen crowd of people I have ever seen in my life as they praise the Government parties and say how well they are doing on this issue, yet families in every corner of the country will be affected by this decision in the next few months. Shame on the Minister and the members of the Fianna Fáil-led Government. How can they attack the most vulnerable and weak in our society? The classes should be left alone and further funding should be put in place for them. Parents are feeling the pressure and I ask the Minister of State and his colleagues to tell the Minister for Education and Science they will not take any more and that they want to protect the people who need to be protected. They do not have a strong voice. Parents cannot take to the streets because they must look after their children at home. They are under pressure and it is not fair.

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Brian Hayes for tabling the motion. The Department's motives for this decision are based purely on bookkeeping. In my contribution to the Private Members' debate to encourage the Government to reduce the number of junior Ministers from 20 to 12, I pointed out the saving involved would almost cover the cuts in special needs provision of €7 million. The Minister of State with responsibility for children had the audacity to reply that we were wasting valuable time on such a paltry figure and we were like turkeys voting for Christmas.

St. Fergal's resource centre in Bray, County Wicklow, has two special needs classes with 18 children. The maximum number of children allowed is 11 and the minimum is nine. The school is under instruction to lose a class and to pick 11 children for the remaining class. I presume the SENO will have to play God regarding the nine children who will be transferred to mainstream classes, which are increasing in size anyway as a result of other cutbacks and the failure of the Government to honour its commitment to reduce pupil-teacher ratios in mainstream classes. In addition, many children who speak different languages and who have different cultural backgrounds are in mainstream classes and the Minister is asking children who are in a special class for mild and general learning disabilities to go into this mainstream environment. The Minister suggests this is a better environment and will give the children a better opportunity. Has it been the attitude of the Government parties in recent years to provide additional classes because it looks good, or to provide such classes because they are needed but we must be tough with people? Neither attitude is fair. My wife is a learning support teacher in a small school where provision is adequate, as there is no need for a general class.

Thankfully the Taoiseach reduced the number of junior Ministers to five. The saving of €750,000 per Minister of State would go a significant way if it were targeted at special needs education. While that is a simplistic way of looking at the issue, if the Government is to give example by cutting the cost of governance, the money should be allocated to projects that work. When Finland experience a recession in 1991-92 similar to that we are experiencing now, more money, not less, was invested in education. The result is every mobile telephone manufacturer in the world is trying to take over from Nokia as market leader. While it may not be directly related, the Finnish Government educated its citizens to a level where it is the most competitive nation for one of the most sought after technological devices, which indicates that if a country wants to overcome a recession, it does not start by targeting education and, in particular, those who are most vulnerable and who need an opportunity.

The Government's amendment states it will fund the provision of additional support. When one nets off the saving of €7 million, one will be down to a minimal figure. Children will leave primary school ill-prepared for secondary education and society and the challenges they face in securing gainful employment in order that they do not cost the State money in another form.

Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I thank Deputy Brian Hayes for sharing time.

This is an important motion, as it clearly challenges those in Government who say they are protecting the vulnerable. All Deputies have a duty to stand up and speak out on behalf of children with a disability. It is particularly relevant in these tough economic times that we support the 534 children who will be affected by the withdrawal of 128 special needs classes and I call on the Government to reverse this draconian decision. It is unfair, it is unjust and it is a blatant attack on our education service. I speak as a parent and an INTO member who has campaigned for many years on special education. I commend the recent speech of the president, Declan Kelleher, at the recent INTO conference where he referred to creating a more progressive, caring society. I congratulate Sheila Noonan on winning the general secretary's race in the organisation.

The decisions for all families with a member who has a disability are becoming difficult and, in recent days, I have witnessed worse cutbacks to their services. A young adult constituent of mine with a serious physical disability has had his five-day service reduced to three, which is causing major stress for his family. Tragically, 245 parents in their 70s and 80s are on waiting lists at St. Michael's House for services for their sons and daughters because of a lack of money for additional residential places. Four pressure points are emerging for the Prosper Fingal disability service in Swords and Skerries, County Dublin: follow-on day service in 2009 for those completing their training in Seatown Road centre; demand for new applicants, including school leavers, who will seek the service later this year; individuals and families in crisis who need residential or respite provision; and funding to meet the company's capital requirements.

These are the realities for children and adults with a disability. This is the real world for families. Hence, my support for the motion. I urge all Members to support children and adults with a disability and to support education as a right and a step towards a more inclusive and caring society.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I thank all colleagues who contributed to the debate. It is disgraceful that the Green Party sent none of its Deputies to contribute during the proceedings last night or today. Deputy Sargent, in particular, stated two months ago that his stomach was turned by this decision and he has been putting it about in schools in north Dublin that he could not get time to contribute to the debate. He did not have the courage of his convictions to put on the record his views on this issue. We will see which way the Minister of State and his colleagues vote shortly.

I agree with Deputy Finian McGrath that this decision is a direct attack on the most vulnerable children in our school system. The Government parties will abolish 128 classes in 119 schools on 1 September and the decision will affect 534 children. This is not about whether a mainstream class or a special class is better, the UN convention or about a declaration in Malaga. The issue is the Government's decision to suppress 128 classes. If the notion is that there cannot be a special class in a mainstream school on the basis that every pupil should be mainstreamed, will the Government abolish all special schools? Is that the next logical step to take if it pursues its argument further?

The Government's main argument is that the general allocation model was introduced in 2005 but the figures are out of date because the model was based on figures at that time. It is not based on current figures and many schools have experienced an increase in enrolments. The Minister's statement that there are no children in all these classes is absolute hogwash. In many of those schools, come next September, there will be a quota of children for one or two classes based on the 1999 figures of between nine and 11. It is wrong for the Government to suggest that in suppressing those classes the resource will be available for those children. It will not. The Minister said yesterday that those pupils would be provided with additional teaching supports through the general allocation model. Exactly what teaching supports is he offering? That is what we want to hear.

I asked the Minister a straight question last night, to which I thought his junior Minister would reply today, about how many of the 128 classes he had visited. How many of the teachers, parents or children had he met? Not one. He has not been to one of the 128 classes, yet at the stroke of a pen he can abolish them. If it was wrong to keep those classes in 1999 why did no previous Minister abolish them between 1999 and now? Perhaps they had the cop-on to realise that it would have been an attack on vulnerable children. There is no credibility in the Minister who, at the stroke of a pen, could decide that he would play God for those approximately 500 children when he had not been to the schools, nor met the parents or teachers.

The Minister is on dodgy legal ground. Section 2 of the EPSEN Act outlines an approach based on inclusion – something we all support – but sections 2(a) and (b) refer to:

(a) the best interests of the child as determined in accordance with any assessment carried out under this Act, or

(b) the effective provision of education for children with whom the child is to be educated.

The Minister is wide open to a legal challenge from any of the parents involved. We all know the record of the Department of Education and Science when it comes to dragging people through the courts and defending its own action. The decision is wide open to a legal challenge because the Minister is, in effect, taking away from children an existing service that they are to get in a mainstream class. Last Friday I was in my constituency with my party leader, Deputy Kenny. We saw two great classes, wonderful children and wonderful teaching. Where previously those children were in a class with a pupil-teacher ratio of 6:1 or 7:1, they will now have to make do in a class of 25 yet we are told everything is going to be hunky dory and work for those children.

What planet is the Minister living on when he comes to the House to lecture us about UN conventions? I suspect the Minister and his colleagues who have spoken on the subject today do not have a clue what they are talking about. The Minister is tearing down one of the key aspects of special needs provision in mainstream schools. Those are classes that work and the Minister is telling the children their future will be bleak because of the Government's decision. Shame on the Government Members who made such spurious arguments in the House today and shame on them for voting down this motion.

Deputies:

Hear, hear.