Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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45. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to implement in full the recommendations of the recent National Council for Special Education Policy Advice Paper on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25860/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The National Council for Special Education's report on Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs in Schools makes clear that there are many aspects of the current system with which parents and schools are very happy. We should recognise that at the outset.

However, the NCSE also considers that there are concerns in relation to some aspects of our current system, under the headings of enrolment, assessments and the supports for children with special educational needs and their allocation.

The report makes 28 detailed recommendations which the NCSE feels would help to address these issues. These recommendations will require careful consideration by my Department. I have requested the NCSE to develop a proposal for a revised allocation model for further consideration.

I am also conscious that in making any changes to our supports, we need to protect the gains we have made. Consultation will therefore be a key aspect in the implementation of any of these recommendations.

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. There is no doubt that the paper is a very thoughtful and constructive contribution to the debate. While the landscape for special needs education has been transformed over the past 15 years, we must always take stock, re-evaluate and see how things can be done better in future. We are now spending €1.3 billion annually on special education with some 10,000 resource teachers and 10,000 special needs assistants also. They are delivering a fantastic service to school children, which is much needed.

The report contained a disappointing finding on enrolment in certain schools. It found that in some schools there were soft barriers to the enrolment of children with special needs. How does the Minister intend to address that particular issue? In response to the report, the INTO said the proposals could roll back 20 years of progress. The INTO also said that the current system, while not perfect, ensured that children got access to resource teaching in a timely fashion. The union also said that parents should view the NCSE report through the lens of another potential cutback which would reduce resources for teachers while increasing paperwork and bureaucracy. In addition, the INTO said that rather than giving resources to children, this plan talks about giving access to resources. How does the Minister respond to the INTO's assertions concerning the NCSE report?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Deputy for his comments. He is right to recognise the fact that a lot of progress was made in this area by previous Governments, of which his party was the dominant partner.

It is 20 years since we had the first allocation model for special needs education and how it can be broken down. The world has learned a lot more, not just in Ireland but across the globe, particularly in the developed countries, where special education is being mainstreamed.

On cutbacks, I have, unfortunately, had the responsibility to reduce public expenditure in the Department of Education and Skills on foot of the economic crisis with which we have been confronted and the legacy of the Deputy's party. The Deputy has acknowledged that we have ring-fenced the €1.3 billion in resources for young people with special education needs and we have frozen the number of people in terms of the 10,575 special needs assistants and resource teachers to whom he referred. That does not necessarily mean things stay the same or as they always were because if there is a variation in the number of people looking for, and qualifying for, support that can increase or reduce the number of supports in a particular school or classroom.

I am reasonably confident what I have received from the NCSE will be an improvement on what we have in terms of the allocation of those resources. The only commitment I can give the Deputy and the wider community who will be listening to this debate or looking at its reported proceedings is that I intend and will endeavour to keep the same amount of money in the forthcoming budget for this sector. If that requires a different allocation of resources on foot of the recommendations of the NCSE, that would follow, but I will publish my response to the 28 recommendations following consultation. As I said in the formal reply: "I am also very conscious that in making any changes to our supports we need to protect the gains we have made. Consultation will therefore be a key aspect in the implementation of any of these recommendations."

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his response. Of course there will be a significant time period involved in acting on any of the recommendations and bringing about change. I ask for the Minister's response on a couple of particular issues. One was regarding children with Down's Syndrome, about whom the Minister asked the NCSE to advise. There are approximately 30 such children per year, as the Minister knows. If they are diagnosed as mild on the intellectual disability spectrum rather than moderate they do not have automatic access to resource teaching hours. These children will enter the system this September, and since there will be a time lag involved in bringing about any proposals the Minister has to change the way resource hours are allocated, a decision is urgent for them. Will the Minister now decide for this September to allocate specific resource teaching hours to those children with Down's Syndrome who are diagnosed as having mild intellectual disability?

There will be an increase in September in the number of children going through our primary school system. The Minister is increasing the number of mainstream teachers by 450 to meet that demand so the pupil-teacher ratio, PTR, does not have to be increased as a result of those additional children coming in. However he is not increasing the number of special needs assistants and resource teachers in the system to match that. There will have to be a reduction somewhere along the line for those who have special needs. That is very unfair. Those who have the greatest needs are suffering as a result of the way the Minister is approaching the finances of the Department on this. Will the Minister ensure that, in the same way he is increasing the number of mainstream teachers, he will also ensure there is no reduction or squeeze on the resources available to those with special needs entering school this September?

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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At the launch of the NCSE report I met one of the representatives for people with Down's syndrome. They have lobbied the Oireachtas very professionally and comprehensively and I gave an undertaking to meet them. I am also awaiting advice from the NCSE on how Down's syndrome is to be treated within this broader context. On the second question, I gave an undertaking that I would ring-fence existing resources, that they would not be subject to reduction as other aspects of education are because we have had to correct the legacy that, sadly, the Deputy's party left us with. That is not the same as saying I will increase the allocation of resources.

We are going to have to find ways of making that money stretch a little further, and we will do so. The requirement to meet the cohort of population increase will be met. That is where I stand on this matter.