Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann: recognises that:

— every child has the right to education;

— this time of the year is characterised by stress and panic for many parents as they fight to secure an appropriate school place for their child next September;

— the battle to secure an appropriate school place is too often followed by further battles to secure the supports and accommodations required by their child in the context of a real fear of reduced timetables or potential exclusion from school; and

— the summer months can be very long and difficult for some children with special needs and their families as routines are disrupted, behavioural difficulties can deteriorate, social isolation can increase, and the structure and respite afforded by school to the child and their family is lost;

agrees with the conclusions of:

— AsIam - Ireland's Autism Charity, that "increased investment is simply not keeping pace with need";

— Inclusion Ireland, that while the budget increase is "often presented at a national level by Government to positively present its action ... There is a mismatch between what is presented publicly and the lived experiences of children in our schools."; and

— Down Syndrome Ireland, that the Government's recent decision to remove "complex educational needs" from the criteria for the allocation of special education teaching hours will have a "potentially devastating effect on many pupils with down syndrome" and on other children with complex disabilities;

condemns:

— the random lottery that seems to dictate whether a child's right to summer provision is delivered or not;

— the Government decision to cut the capitation payment from €45 to just €30 per week, which seriously undermines the quality and type of activities that can be offered to those children that do manage to access a summer provision placement in a mainstream school; and

— the serious shortage of school-based summer programmes, as home tuition is not suitable for many children and places too great a burden on parents to find a tutor; and

calls on the Government to:

— immediately reverse the funding cut made to the summer provision capitation payments;

— commence action now so that far more school-based summer provision is made available in future; and

— revise the model for allocation of special education teaching hours, so that regard is had to complex needs as a criterion, because failing to do so will exclude children with complex needs from receiving the special teaching supports they require which will drive more into special schools, counter to the agenda of equality and inclusion.

Countless parents and children throughout the country face a very long summer without the much-needed summer provision. These children deserve better and their parents deserve better. Summer for children with additional educational needs or profound disadvantage can be very long, disruptive to their familiar routines and, without better supports, can be stressful and isolating. Social media groups and websites are inundated today with posts by parents in search of a tutor for their child for this coming summer provision, as parents scramble to find tutors wherever they can. It is a logistical nightmare for parents to organise and it is very unlikely there will be enough supply to meet demand. This is an unacceptable level of stress caused to parents whose children were not offered a place in a school-based programme, or where their school did not provide a school-based programme, and who must find an alternative at very short notice.

Sinn Féin understands the summer months can be long and difficult for some children with special or additional needs, and for their families, as their routines are disrupted. Behavioural difficulties can deteriorate, social isolation can increase and the structure and respite afforded by school to that child and their family is lost. The impact does not just last for the summer. It can also have an impact on that child refamiliarising back into school come September.

Many parents and children now face this long difficult summer and year ahead as a direct consequence of poor decisions made by the Government, whether it is a cut in funding or simply not enough school-based programmes. All of this will have a devastating effect on the child and their family. It is not only us on this side of the House saying this. AsIAm, when commenting on special education provision, has stated increased investment is simply not keeping pace with the need. Inclusion Ireland has said that while the budget increase is often presented at national level by the Government to positively represent its action, there is a mismatch between what is presented publicly and the lived experiences of children in our schools.

Parents, children and stakeholders have been highlighting this for many years and it has got more difficult. It has got worse. I have engaged with families and stakeholders for a long time and I have listened to their experiences. I know these same experiences. This needs to be taken seriously. The Government needs to get its act together now. Our motion calls on the Government to ensure there is more school-based provision in future. We want to alleviate the stress and ensure children with special educational needs and children who are at disadvantage get the most out of their summer and are not put in a position that could potentially cause them to regress in any way.

I will refer to a letter, with the mother's permission, which was recently in a national newspaper. It is about a young boy, Jack, who by all accounts has a lot going on in his world. His mum's name is Aisling and this is what she has to say:

It's that time of year again where exhausted parents of children with additional needs wait with bated breath to see if their child will be lucky enough to get July provision.

My son attends a fabulous special school with lovely caring staff. But every year summer provision is an issue. It can only go ahead if enough familiar staff will volunteer their time. They don't all want to for various [...] reasons.[...]

This year our school wished to offer one week to eight classes but the Department of Education said they must do two weeks, so this unfortunately means they will do two weeks for four classes.

There are 16 classes in our school so four will get two weeks of summer provision and 12 classes will get nothing, including my own son.

The summer is a long time without routine, structure and stimulation.[...]

Home provision is not suitable for many, including my son, as he needs a nurse and a familiar teacher or SNA who is qualified to do it.[...]

The children who need it most are forgotten. Again.

I'm so sorry for everyone who will miss out this year. It's not okay, it's totally unacceptable. For four classes out of 16 to be offered two weeks of summer provision in our school alone and nothing to the other 12 classes is actually unconscionable.

I hope our new Taoiseach Simon Harris and new Minister of State for Special Education Hildegarde Naughton are going to change things for the better for children with special educational needs. It's high time!

I for one could not agree more with Aisling. It is beyond high time. This needs to change. These children are desperately in need of this summer provision, yet year on year we see parents scrambling to find tutors which the schools simply do not provide. There is a solution and the Government needs to find it.

Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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I want to raise the issue of school places. I was sent a picture by the parents of beautiful and amazing 13-year-old Dara who was on "The Late Late Show" three years ago advocating for autistic people and promoting awareness and understanding of autism. He is about to complete his eighth year in primary school. He has submitted seven application forms and attended seven open nights and has received seven rejection letters. There have been seven closed doors in seven months of agony waiting for the NCSE to find him a place in a post-primary autism-specific class. He lives in Dublin 15. Some people have applied to up to 40 schools and still have no place.

Daniel's mam Germaine is distraught. Daniel is autistic and has an intellectual disability and many other special needs.

Daniel's mam has had more than 20 refusals for autism units and six refusals for a special school placement for autism and intellectual disabilities. Days are extremely hard with Daniel and he relies on a strict routine. With no school place, Daniel, like Dara, is looking at serious regression. The system for applying for an autism-specific class in a mainstream school is not transparent. It is unfair, too bureaucratic and certainly not inclusive. These parents have no option but to apply to multiple schools. A school of choice does not come into the equation. Schools are supported by various admission policies for autism-specific classes that are operating on a different wavelength and are laden with barriers to access. The sibling rule also has been a barrier to accessing a school place. In Dara's case, the feeder school rule proved problematic because after two years waiting for a primary school place, they took one in a different area. Of the three schools it feeds, two are full and the other has no autism-specific class. Dara's dad said that two years ago they attended a public meeting and data on this matter was divulged to the NCSE. It has now had seven months to help. They are in regular contact with their SENO but there seems to be nothing happening. They were assured by senior officials that there was no crisis in Dublin 15 although we had a public meeting several weeks ago where dozens of parents were saying they had no school places. They were assured Dara would have a place in September. It has not happened yet. He has heard nothing. A child with Dara's diagnosis needs a comprehensive transitional programme to post-primary. All the parents fear their children will regress as a result of not knowing where they are going next. Every day they ask. Every day, there is no answer. Every day their hearts break. Dara and Ellis and all the other children in Dublin 15 who have no school places need to know now. They cannot wait any longer. It is June and they do not know where they are going to be in September. This is just cruel and it is wrong.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Tá mé ag iarraidh an cheist a ardú arís eile a d'ardaigh mé coicís ó shin maidir leis an rang speisialta i Scoil Chaitríona sa Roinn Mhór. I want to raise the issue again of the special language class in Scoil Chaitríona in Renmore, which I raised with the Minister of State exactly two weeks ago. Unfortunately it appears still not to have been rectified. This is causing serious concern among parents. As the Minister of State knows, seven children currently avail of this class. These children get this special language class for two years. It is the only special language class in Galway city and north Galway and it is of great importance for these families and for the children. The reality is that some kids have gone through one year of this and now it is going to be stopped. They are really concerned for what this will mean for them going forward. They have been told they will be added to the community caseload. My understanding from parents is that this will realistically mean 40 minutes a week for about 25 weeks of the year. That is simply not enough. As the Minister of State knows, at this moment the children are getting all their education through speech and language therapy and that is crucially important. The parent who contacted me has told me how her daughter has progressed so much as a result of this and how fantastic it has been. Having 40 minutes a week for 25 weeks and having all your education through speech and language therapy are simply utterly different. I raised this with the Minister of State two weeks ago because I hoped we could come to some sort of conclusion on it before the schools break for the summer. It is crucial that something is done between now and then. We need to give some certainty to the children and parents. We crucially need to think of the children who are at the heart of this situation. They love these classes and excel in them. I ask the Minister of State to reach out through her Department to the school and to the HSE, and to speak to her Cabinet colleagues about making sure this does not happen, that these children get the supports they so desperately need. Of course, there is also the question as to why there are only seven places in this class. Why are more places not available across Galway for children who require this? There are usually 30 children applying for these seven places. That is simply not good enough. I appeal to the Minister of State to work on this and to have it rectified as soon as possible.

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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First, I want to focus on special education from the perspective of teachers who have contacted me. A letter was sent to me by teachers in a school in my home town of Cashel. They say they believe that disability should never be a barrier to achievement but it is becoming increasingly apparent, with the increasing scarcity of resources and lack of services, that their school community is suffering. This is a brief reflection of what schools are facing at the moment when it comes to dealing with the current demand, let alone dealing with the increased demand they and other schools are facing with the approach of each new school year. The first obstacle is dealing with how pupil-SNA ratios and teacher allocations are determined in accordance with the SERC report of 1993. It is outdated, especially considering that as part of that report, a class for those with mild general learning disabilities is resourced with one teacher and a quarter SNA post. With today's demands, this is completely inadequate to meet the real needs of students and will more than likely result in schools having to meet the additional needs of students by applying for additional supports. This results in an arduous process that is often hampered by a lack of HSE documentation such as therapy reports to back up these applications. If schools cannot get the resources and therapeutic interventions needed, how are they supposed to provide the services the teachers and staff want and need? This needs to be urgently reviewed. Schools are saying this and the Minister of State must listen.

I have often spoken of the shortcomings when it comes to parents accessing school places for their child. The latest case I have been presented with is a parent who had to get private assessment for her son because he could not get one with the local CDNT. Now they are faced with the challenge of getting their son into a suitable school. Because they are aware of the mess the Government is making of the provision of suitable spaces, they have tried to book into the school for the 2025-2026 academic year. They have been told this will happen only if one of the six already enrolled drops out. The system is set up wrong. This parent is looking a year in advance and cannot make plans. Then there are the parents with immediate needs. There is widespread failure going on here. No amount of spinning or replying to suit the Government's own purposes will change it. Only political will can do that and at present the Government is falling far short. The issues are presented to the Minister of State here today. She must not ignore what I am telling her; she must act now.

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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The issue of special education provision has been raised many times in the Chamber by ourselves in Sinn Féin. It is a huge issue out there. More ASD classes are needed. I have had news recently that some extra classes are being provided in Laois. It is welcome that they are being provided but more needs to be done. Our proposals tonight seek to address the further downgrading and reduction in funding of the summer programmes that are vital to children in special education during the summer months. We are having to raise this and highlight this issue because the Government is overseeing a random lottery that dictates whether a child has a right to summer provision or not. The Government's decision to cut the capitation grant from €60 in 2022 to €45 last year and to €30 per week this year seriously undermines the quality and type of activities that can be offered to those children who do manage to access the summer provision placements in mainstream schools. The shortage of school-based summer programmes is a serious issue. Home tuition is not suitable for many children and places a huge burden on parents who have to find a tutor, which sometimes is not possible. The summer programme is more than just a get-together for special education children. The two-week programme is absolutely essential. I spoke to a parent today whose child is in special education and he said the provision of the summer programme is the difference between a child who is withdrawn, quiet and afraid to socialise and a happy, outgoing and confident child. The opportunity to mix, socialise and take part in activities cannot be underestimated. To see the positive effects on children taking part in the summer programme is remarkable. I pay tribute to all those who put on that programme, the teachers and schools, especially after so many years of losing out during Covid.

I ask, therefore, that the Minister of State immediately reverse the funding cuts that have been made to summer provision and the capitation grant, commence action now in order that far more school-based summer provision will be made available in the future and revise the model for the allocation of special education teaching hours in order that regard is had to the complex needs and the criteria for them. Failure to do so will exclude children with complex needs from receiving the teaching supports that they require. It will only drive more children into special schools. We do not want this to happen. We want to keep them within the mainstream system. It will run counter to the agenda of equality and inclusion in education, which is very important. Children in counties Laois and Offaly need proper supports. It is the same across the State. Tonight, we are asking the Minister of State to act on this need.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Unfortunately, we are back here discussing the subject of school-based provision. I will be very clear. Our Turlough has used both school-based provision and summer provision - previously called July provision - which we found excellent. He has also been lucky enough at times for us to have been able to get to tutors. This has been especially useful for him in dealing with particular issues and subjects where he definitely needed some extra work done. In saying that, as I have many times before, I commend the great work that was done by St. Joseph's National School when he was in primary school and that is being done by Ó Fiaich College now at second level. I am well aware that they go above and beyond in relation to supporting him.

We have a weakness in this system if we cannot provide this support to all those we aim to provide it to, especially to those parents and kids, those citizens, who have an absolute right to July provision. We must ensure they are provided with all the benefits from a social and educational perspective and that we do what can be done. I know some work has been done in relation to expanding the programme and that SNAs have been able to be involved in providing the programme. We must expand this more. We must ensure we have made contact with all the retired teachers and others who are willing to play a part. Some of this work has been done, but there is a definite way that it can be done to a greater degree.

There has been abject failure across the board in the context of the many times we have all come in here and told the Minister of State about the problems that have been brought to our attention. I am going to do the same now. A family contacted me because they believe they have no space in a primary school where they thought they had one previously. They are from Dundalk, and are now even looking at schools outside the town. The fact is, though, that there is no room at the inn now for them. Contact has been made with the NCSE, with schools, etc. We are trying to use the baling twine to fix the engine once again, but we really need to find a better way to do this.

I raised the issue concerning the De La Salle College in Dundalk with the Minister of State and the Minister previously. I welcome that a solution was found. This is down to the principal, the school and the NCSE, but parents did have to go through a considerable amount of anguish and worry beforehand. There is no shortage of issues we could bring up if we were going to start talking about autism services, etc. We had the Families for Reform of CAMHS in with us again. This also shows a failure in regard to the issues that need to be dealt with and that are not being dealt with as regards CAMHS-ID teams, the autism protocol-----

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I thank the Deputy.

Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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-----and the huge amount of work that still needs to be done.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for tabling this motion, which the Government is not opposing, because it gives me the opportunity to discuss the measures Government is taking to improve and enhance education provision for children with special education needs. Since being appointed as Minister of State with special responsibility for special education and inclusion just over two months ago, I have met with children, their parents and teachers in schools across the country. I have heard their stories and listened to their concerns and I understand the frustration, and, sometimes the anger, that many feel. I am determined to continue to increase resources and to help alleviate the pressures faced by families when seeking a special educational placement or access to supports for their children.

It is important to remember where we have come from in this regard. Since Fine Gael entered Government, we have delivered an 81% increase in special needs assistants; a 40% increase in special education teachers; and a 386% increase in the number of special classes, with 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years alone. We have record numbers benefitting from the summer programme, and I wish to see this increase, and a third of the overall education budget is being targeted at special education.

I know we have more work to do. Among the measures I am working on to deliver in the coming weeks is a 50% increase in the numbers of SENOs. I want to see these SENOs working on the ground with children and their parents. We have confirmation of more than 360 new special classes for the coming school year and the establishment of four new special schools. The placing of 39 therapists on a permanent basis to work with teachers across the school community has been a priority for me and I am happy to confirm that these 39 therapists have now been sanctioned for the NCSE. This will greatly help in relation to ensuring that children across the country will have access to those therapies.

To the parents, children, teachers and SNAs who might be watching the debate, I want them to know that I am listening. Providing an appropriate education and school placement for every child is an absolute priority for me, the Government, the Department and the NCSE. That is why the Taoiseach decided that the position of Minister with special responsibility for special education and inclusion should be held by a Minister of State who sits at Cabinet. That is also why the Taoiseach has established a dedicated Cabinet sub-committee on children and education and disability that will oversee the implementation of the programme for Government commitments in this area. To be clear: special education is a priority area for investment for this Government.

The motion before the House comprises a mix of issues, including the challenges associated with finding school places, the summer programme and special educational teaching allocations. In relation to school placements, over the past number of years a number of initiatives to ensure there are sufficient special classes and special school places have been introduced. These initiatives are bearing fruit. There are now more than 3,000 special classes in our education system providing places for over 20,000 students. Some 1,300 special classes have been established in the past four years alone. It is worth noting that for the current school year, all children known to the NCSE who required a special class place have received one. This Government has established seven new special schools in the last four years and four more are being established this year in counties Meath, Kildare, Wexford and Limerick. More places have been provided, and more will be provided, in existing special schools, which are providing more places to children who need this intensive educational support.

For the coming school year, more than 360 new special classes have been sanctioned nationwide, providing over 2,000 special education places in mainstream schools. Places continue to be finalised and I am confident that any child known to the NCSE who needs a special class place for the coming school year will receive one. I understand that some parents are frustrated and do not believe that adequate help is being provided to help them secure an appropriate education for their child. That is why this Government has provided significant additional resources to the NCSE to help it deliver a better service for children and their families. SENOs are a vital point of contact for parents and guardians and play a key role in securing school places for children.

From September, the NCSE will have 120 special educational needs organisers working in communities. There were 73 in place at the beginning of last April. Additional administrative staff are also being employed, allowing SENOs to get out and start working with schools and families so children with special educational needs are supported. There will also be more support staff, team managers, and other professionals. Recruitment is ongoing across a range of grades and there are now 88 SENOs and 16 team managers in place, more than ever before in the NCSE. These numbers will continue to increase in the coming weeks so as to ensure the system is fully resourced by the start of the new school year.

A key priority for me is ensuring that a comprehensive summer programme is available for children who need additional support during the summer months. There has been a very positive upward trend in participation in the summer programmes in recent years. I want to demonstrate this by outlining the following numbers: In 2019, 303 schools took part in the summer programme and 13,000 children participated. In 2021, when we started running an expanded scheme, we had just over 1,100 schools and 38,000 children. Last summer, we had more than 1,400 schools and 50,000 children taking part. For 2024, we have had more than 1,700 expressions of interest from schools, and we expect a further increase in the number of children taking part in the summer programme.

The number of special schools taking part increased from 31 in 2019, to 39 in 2022, to 59 in 2023. In 2024, we will see 72 special schools involved. Every school has a chance to run a programme over the summer months. We continue to look at all ways to increase the number of schools that take part, including through the budgetary process. A key barrier to participation previously has been the availability of staff. In 2023, teachers and SNAs working on the school-based scheme were given a higher personal rate of pay, which resulted in more schools taking part. While the capitation rate in mainstream schools was raised to €45 in 2023, the €30 rate per week for 2024 is in line with the rate for the inclusion programme in previous years and reflects the costs associated with running a programme. The capitation rate for special schools remains at €60 to reflect the unique circumstances of running a programme in those settings.

Our goal is to maximise the number of schools and children taking part. It should be noted that this change in capitation has not affected the number of schools taking part, which, as I said, continues to rise. The motion also refers to the special education teaching allocation model. More than 19,000 special education teachers - 1,000 more than just three years ago in 2021 - are employed across the system, of which more than 14,500 will be supporting children in mainstream classes in September.

In addition, there are more than 21,000 SNAs working with children in our schools. The special education teaching model provides schools with additional teaching hours to support the needs of their students. When the 2017 model was introduced, it replaced a diagnosis-led model with one based on need. This has not changed for 2024.

There has been a limited change to the method used to allocate special education teachers to mainstream classes. The Department of Education commenced a review of the model in late 2022, which involved extensive consultation and visits to schools by the NCSE. The feedback has been incorporated into the revised model for the 2024-25 school year. The allocation model for 2024-25 distributes the total available number of special education teaching posts in line with each school's profile of need. The model makes an allocation based on a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers and school-level data from standardised tests, which reflect levels of overall need and complex need within a school. It seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account robust evidence in respect of individual schools. While the model allocates resources based on a school's profile of need, it does not dictate what child receives support. The deployment of resources is the responsibility of the board of management and the school, and the requirement in this area remains unchanged since 2017.

Primacy within the continuum of support is that the child with the greatest level of need is provided with the greatest level of support. It is acknowledged that every school is different, and that schools can experience unique circumstances, which can present challenges when making allocations in respect of 4,000 schools. It is for this reason that the Department, working with the NCSE, has streamlined the review process for special education teaching hours to ensure schools that have additional identified need receive the required resources.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I call on the Minister of State to conclude.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I have reached my final line. I know it will be of interest to the Deputies present. The recent SET reviews demonstrate this. Some 218 reviews were received and of the 160 schools which proceeded to a full review, 83% are receiving additional resources.

I will come back to Deputy Mairéad Farrell about Scoil Chaitríona. There is progress, hopefully, in relation to that. I share her views on ensuring that this class does continue.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to share time with Deputies Buckley and Mythen.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Deputy Clarke for bringing this very important issue before the House and for the opportunity to speak on it. I cannot over-stress the panic and worry that parents of children with special needs in my constituency of Kildare South are going through at this time of year, as they try to find an appropriate school place for their child in the coming term. We can imagine how the parent of a child with special needs feels, who knows well how important the school routine is, not only for their child, but also for their whole family. When the summer comes along and that routine suddenly goes out the window, it leaves parents and families without support. This has resulted in children regressing without the supports and inputs schools provide.

Summer provision prevents this disruption, but yet again parents face an uphill battle to try and get their child a place for the summer. This Government has made great play about the increase given in the budget, but that increase is a drop in the ocean. It does not even come close to maintaining the existing level of service, never mind being enough to keep up with the ever-increasing need. These children will be the ones to suffer from the Government reducing the capitation grant by a third to €30. How complex do educational needs have to be before they fit the criteria for special education?

What is needed here is decisive action, that would work to ensure summer provision for these children is not determined by a lottery. No child should have anything determined by a lottery. An immediate reversal of funding cuts to summer provision is needed. The Minister of State should revise the allocation model to include complex needs. Sinn Féin understands the importance of these needs. We know the stresses and struggles parents and children with special needs face daily. They need proper supports now. Children with special needs need help. I urge all in this House to support the motion.

The Minister of State said earlier that four new special schools are being put in place and that one of them will be in Kildare. I sincerely hope one will be in south Kildare. I will finish by raising a point made by the Minister of State. She said:

While the capitation rate in mainstream schools was raised to €45 in 2023, the €30 rate per week for 2024 is in line with the rate for the inclusion programme in previous years and reflects the costs associated with running a programme.

What part of €45 minus €30 is not a reduction of €15? The Minister of State sat here today, as did the Taoiseach, and said the Government did not reduce the capitation rate by €15, but it did.

Pat Buckley (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Deputy Clarke for bringing forward this extremely important motion. The Minister of State has heard from previous speakers so I will cut straight to the chase. I welcome her opening remarks. She stated:

The allocation model for 2024-25 distributes the total available number of special education teaching posts in line with each school's profile of need.

She also stated:

The model makes an allocation based on a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers and school-level data from standardised tests, which reflect levels of overall need and complex need within a school.

She is probably aware of the Educate Together school in Fermoy. It was on the news a couple of weeks ago for reasons relating to capacity. The school is in a super-cramped education and training board, ETB, building. Apparently there are three floors and the second floor above could be used for additional space for the school. The principal and nearly every one of the family members of the pupils there have been on to me, crying out for additional space. They were promised resources to deal with the existing demand. I refer to the Minister of State's statement. We have a constituency dashboard that we can all access. We know exactly how many children have some form of autism or other need.

I am well aware of schools in Midleton, Rostellan and down further towards Whitegate that do absolutely amazing work. However, I was told yesterday by the father of a five-year-old that the principal of the child's school has been contacting the Department asking for additional resources and help and there has not even been a response. Somebody within the Department needs to get his or her finger out and act.

I had the honour of sitting on the autism committee that produced a policy document last year. We tried to go for what might be called the easy wins. One of them related to summer provision. We proposed that any trainee teachers, trainee SNAs or trainee gardaí who wanted to come on board should have the time they spent helping schools and pupils with summer provision counted as part of their training. That would provide an incentive for them to help with the programme.

I have a story of a very strong man who has two daughters with special needs. He has to drive one of them from Youghal to Carrigaline and the other from Youghal to Lota in Glanmire. He gets no assistance because of their age. This dad, who lost his wife a number of years ago, is his daughters' full-time carer. His full-time job includes driving them to school every day, collecting them and bringing them home.

We know the demand is there for provision. I acknowledge the increase in provision but I suggest the data is already available from the censuses. If we can access the data through the constituency dashboard, we can see the breakdown for each demographical area. We have the information and we know the demand. Reference was made to inputs, including enrolment numbers. I suspect the enrolment numbers will be a lot higher because the demand is a lot higher. We are all hearing about it. Sometimes, we come in here to beat the Minister of State with a stick, as it were, but this motion is about trying to ensure she has the information she needs. It is about flagging up that there are people not doing their jobs if principals are reaching out for help and not even getting a response.

Johnny Mythen (Wexford, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Deputy Clarke for bringing forward this motion. Special needs education is and should be regarded as a right and a given. Every child with special needs must be given the opportunity to attend school and be treated as an equal participant in their school community. However, this is not the case at the moment. Every year, we see a growing demand for school places for children with disability and the constant battle their parents must fight to achieve that goal. Organisations like AsIAm, Inclusion Ireland and Down Syndrome Ireland have stated that investment in special education provision is not keeping pace with demand.

We are calling on the Government to immediately reverse the cut in summer provision capitation payments. We have seen the funding for special classes reduced from €60 per student in 2022 to €45 in 2023 and €30 in 2024. This is truly the meanest of all cuts. Forward planning is required to make provision for more school-based summer programmes. It is a national scandal that two thirds of carers have no respite whatsoever and 50% of families must pay and rely on private providers for respite and care. Another disturbing statistic is that one in four carers has missed mortgage payments. The Government must address the issue of poor pay for section 39 workers before the entire caring system grinds to a halt. A case in point is St. Aidan's Day Care Centre in Gorey, which caters for more than 300 individuals and provides an invaluable service to the community and the county.

The Government must heed this motion. The Department's figures clearly show there will be an increase of more than 11,000 children with additional needs in education by 2030. That alone should be a warning sign that action must be taken now. We call on the Government to sign up to the protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, revise the model of allocation of special education hours, reverse the cuts to summer provision capitation payments and increase school-based summer programmes for children with disabilities. We ask all Deputies to support the motion.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I welcome the opportunity to speak about special education. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. I receive correspondence every week, as does everyone in this House, from parents fighting and struggling to get their children the education and secure the supports they need. The systems in place simply are not good enough. There are nowhere near enough special schools, school therapists, SNAs or ASD classes. If children are lucky enough to receive the supports they need in primary school, their parents have to start the whole fight all over again once their child enters secondary school. This is a problem across the country. There is a complete absence of forward planning. Primary and secondary schools seem to operate in completely separate bubbles, instead of being able to work together to predict and plan for the supports children in primary school now will need in secondary school. They do not co-operate in that way, which is, frankly, incredible. These are the absolute basics, and they are just not happening.

I spoke to a mother of twin daughters last week about how this is impacting on them. One of the twins has Down's syndrome and has had a full-time SNA in mainstream primary school since both girls were in junior infants. The twins have been in the same school since they were born. Having spent all that time together throughout their whole life, to find out now that one twin will be able to start in the mainstream secondary school while the other is on a waiting list has come as a real blow to them. One of the girls showed me a picture she had drawn of both of them together with the word "forever" written on it. The thought of these twins being separated is a difficult one. As I said, one of the girls is entitled to a place and the other is on a waiting list. We know that for children with additional needs, the transition to secondary school can take years and be really difficult. Getting children prepared and comfortable with the move is important. They need to know exactly what the move will involve and when it will happen in order to prepare. Now this child may be separated from her twin and all the classmates they have both grown up with, all because there does not seem to be any forward planning.

It is just not good enough for schools only to consider the needs of children who apply in October for the following September. Children are being failed by this every day around the country. It is beyond comprehension that the secondary and primary school systems cannot seem to speak to each other about the needs of their students, starting from junior infants. There are so many years to plan for this. A secondary school in west Cork has one place open in an ASD unit. Six children in the local area need a place, all of whom attended the local primary school and were in ASD classes. Now it seems they will have to travel to secondary schools outside their catchment area because the ASD classes are full.

I stress that neither of these cases is in any way, shape or form the fault of the schools involved. I have visited those schools and seen at first hand the absolute drive and passion the teachers and principals have for special education. I have seen how hard they fundraise, how much they value inclusivity and diversity and what they have put into their provision of special classes and ASD classes. They are accommodating children from outside the county at the moment. The Department's policies just do not help schools to provide all the children who need support with that support. Likewise, the policy regarding SENOs is not helping schools.

I have been in contact in recent weeks with a huge number of parents from Fermoy Educate Together National School, which was mentioned, where the lack of physical space has reached a crisis point. There is huge demand for non-denominational schools across the country as a result of the complete failure by this Government and previous Governments to deliver school divestment. Fermoy Educate Together National School is now in a position whereby children are being educated in corridors and the staffroom because there is such a lack of space. This not only damages the standard of education the school is able to provide. It is also a health and safety risk, a fire hazard and a cause of complete sensory overload for many of the children.

The school was given the go ahead to open an ASD class but it does not have the physical space to do so. I was contacted by parents whose children are in the process of being assessed for ASD and are now facing the prospect of having to withdraw their children from Fermoy Educate Together National School and put them into a religious school. They do not want to do that. They want to send their child to a secular school but that choice is being taken away from them.

The school was located in the basement of a Department of Education building that the ETB currently occupies.

It was clear from the beginning that the allocated space was never going to be adequate for the 104 students in the divestment agreement. My understanding is that the ETB is refusing to provide the school with any further space in the building and that the Department could not offer the school a single helpful suggestion on where to go from there. Now the school, ETB and neighbouring sports clubs are being pitted against each other to fight for space and it is entirely the fault of the Department of Education and the lack of planning. What will be done here? What will the Department do to ensure these children receive the space they need to be educated safely, so the school can open a desperately needed ASD class? Every response I receive from the office of the Minister, Deputy Foley, is seemingly placing the blame on school enrolment numbers rather than the completely inadequate building provided by the Department.

It is entirely unhelpful and counterproductive for the Department to make life harder for schools around the country which are just trying to provide the best possible quality of education to all their students. I will again point to the absolutely shameful changes to the special education teaching allocations earlier this year as further evidence of this. The decision by the Department of Education to completely remove children with additional needs as a criteria for the allocation of special education teaching hours is dangerous and makes no sense at all. The purpose of SET hours is to provide extra teaching supports to children who require additional supports in schools. For years, these hours have been allocated based on a combination of factors, including the number of children with complex needs in a school. However, from September, they will be assigned based on standardised test results and enrolment numbers. By tying a loss of SET hours to standardised test results, schools are effectively being punished for improving literacy and numeracy rates.

I will read a quote from a local principal to the Southern Star, my local paper, which summarises the situation. It states:

[He] said the government was not catering for children with additional needs or ‘education, full stop’.

"This measure will force parents’ hands, into putting their children into special classes or ASD units, instead of integrated education. It's taking that choice from them," the principal said.

"We were down two-and-a-half set hours last year, and it's the same this year, which effectively means we’re down a full day. This country is supposed to be flush with cash, but in this day and age, we shouldn't have to fight for something like this. Funding for primary schools has been cut across the board. Yes, there are free school books, but there's no funding to keep the lights on in schools – primary education system is on its knees."

Funding for primary education is becoming increasingly unsustainable. Principals from all across west Cork have raised major concerns with me about the recent allocation of the ancillary grant. The rate given to schools this year will not even pay for the cleaner, never mind caretaking fees, so they will have to use school funds, which were so hard to raise in the first place, just to keep the school clean. Grants are not keeping up with inflation, the cost of utility and insurance bills. The focus this year seems to be on hot school lunches, which to be clear, I fully support and welcome, but many schools cannot even afford textbooks at the moment, much less for the school to be cleaned.

Cuts have been coming at schools from every side and costs continue to rise. Schools are going into debt and they need financial assistance. They should not be reliant on fundraising to pay for basic equipment that is needed to effectively deliver the school curriculum. They should not be reliant on fundraising and hard-fought campaigns by parents to increase access to special education. The common thread again and again when it comes to special education and disability services across the board is the unacceptable expectation on parents to fight the State for every scrap of support for their children. Every other parent I speak to who is struggling to get a school place for their child with additional needs has been already fighting with schools, the SENO and the NCSE. Why should they have to? Why does this Government force parents and carers to spend time, energy, which people do not always have in these situations, and money to fight for support to which their children are entitled?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I move amendment No. 1:

To insert the following after "counter to the agenda of equality and inclusion":

", and ensure no school will receive any reduction in the allocation of resources in September 2024, than they had in September 2023;

— ensure that the National Council for Special Education allocate additional resources to ensure adequate numbers of Special Educational Needs Officers are allocated and dedicated to support the transition from Early Years Education (EYE) to Primary, from Primary to Secondary, and from Secondary to adulthood; and

— ensure that funding is provided to guarantee continuity of supports for all children with Special Educational Needs through transitions from EYE to Primary, from Primary to Secondary, and from Secondary to adulthood.".

It was infuriating listening to the Taoiseach and Minister speak on this issue earlier. Butter would not melt in their mouths as they said that no cuts were happening here, telling people that €30 is the same as €45. When is a cut not a cut when it is being done by the Government to kids with special needs? It is scandalous that the Government will not admit it and will not make the argument for the cuts. It will just continue to try to deny the cuts and suggest that those who are pointing it out and arguing against it are in some way misleading people. Special needs provision in this country continues to be a disgrace. It is welcome that we are discussing this motion. The Minister and Government should hang their heads in shame at what they do in forcing families to struggle daily. We have all been out canvassing. We have met many people and the issue comes up again and again. For all those people, it is understandably a dominant issue. They are struggling to get what their kids absolutely need.

Summer provision obviously needs to be significantly improved. Kids with special needs are excluded from summer provision in schools and unable to access private summer camps. We know that thousands and thousands of parents in this country are forced to shell out hundreds of euro over the summer for private summer camps because of the absence of universal, affordable public childcare. Parents of kids with special needs do not even have that option because taking kids with special needs would not be as profitable for those private providers. What we need is obvious. It is a 100% State-funded, publicly-run system of inclusive summer provision that caters for all children, including children with special needs. That should not be too much to ask for.

In Tallaght, as around the country, there are many kids with special needs who qualify for the two weeks of July provision only to find out that no teachers or SNAs are available to provide it. One woman told me that her grandson was last able to access summer provision in his own school two years ago. Last year, he was forced to do home tuition instead after a long search for a teacher. It is incredible that, in 2024, the State puts the responsibility on parents to find a special needs teacher for their children. Imagine if that was how our schools in general operated. There would be uproar. Why should it be different for children with special needs?

We know the reason it is so difficult to find special education teachers. It is the same reason it is difficult to find teachers in general. The housing and cost-of-living crisis are particularly bad in Dublin, where rents and house prices are higher, but no cost-of-living allowance is provided. The Government has done nothing to tackle the recruitment and retention crisis for teachers, which has been going on for years at this time. Every year, there are hundreds of unfilled teaching posts across the country, resulting in cancelled classes, subjects being dropped, and a severe lack of special education teachers. According to ASTI, there are 122,000 registered teachers, but only 70,000 of them are employed in teaching jobs in this country. It is no mystery why that is the case, when there is a policy of offering only part-time hours to new entrants, combined with the housing and cost-of-living crisis. The result is emigration of people who could be teaching here.

In the midst of this, rather than increasing wages for teachers and increasing funding to schools, the Government is actually making cuts. It is cutting the capitation payment for summer provision from €45 a week to €30 and cutting the special needs allocation for one in three schools. None of this is necessary. It is a cruel policy choice by a Government and Department with an instinct to always penny-pinch when it comes to essential public services. Ordinary people notice the contrast with a Government that is fláthúlach when it comes to landlords, businesses and property developers looking for money. They note that the Government has a €6.5 million surplus and chooses to leave billions on deposit in so-called rainy day funds instead of investing.

Our amendment does a number of things.

It seeks to ensure no school receives any reduction in the allocation of resources, that additional resources to ensure adequate numbers of special educational needs officers, SENOs, are allocated and dedicated to support transition from early years education to and from primary to secondary, and that there is continuity of supports for all children all the way through education. That last point is vital because, with this Government, there is no joined-up thinking. A child who may have adequate special needs provision and assessment in preschool loses that and has to start from square one when he or she enters primary school. It makes no sense whatsoever. Assessment and supports should follow the child as he or she progresses through education. We should not force parents and schools to go through layers and layers of bureaucracy.

Before I finish, I want to raise the case again of Sam Lewis, a non-verbal autistic child who has had applications for a secondary school place rejected at 15 different schools. This is a case that has already been raised at least twice in the Dáil. It has been in the media. There was a protest by Sam's parents at the Department of Education. They met with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, but nothing has happened for them. They have got reassurance, but nothing has happened. It is time for action for Sam.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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A committee was recently set up in Blarney in County Cork to make the place an autism-friendly town. There are nine parents on that committee. A majority cannot find suitable places for their children in local schools. Two have children who travel 16 km to a special class. One has a child who travels 22 km to a special school. One travels 29 km to a special school. Another travels 13 km to a special school and another 10 km to a special class. Two thirds have to travel 10 km or more to go to school. One family has been forced to place three autistic children in three separate schools. You can see here, by the way, why many parents of autistic kids are being forced to give up work. Travelling for many miles to go to school is not good for the social development of any child and it is certainly not good for the social development of autistic children. If they make friends in school, they should not be effectively prevented from playing with those friends after school because they live so far away. There need to be more special classes in Blarney, just as there need to be more special classes in other places throughout this State.

In the town of Ballincollig, the school authorities at Scoil Eoin, which is a boys' primary school, have 21 boys who need special classes. Scoil Eoin has been denied funding for the building it needs to provide those classes. The Minister met with school representatives four weeks ago and promised an answer within six weeks. I will watch that space like a hawk over the next fortnight. The Minister will be hearing from me again if the news does not fit with the needs of that school and that community.

In Dublin 15, my colleague, Ruth Coppinger, who was re-elected to Fingal County Council this weekend, asked me to raise the fact that 17 parents have contacted the local campaign group, ASD 15, to say their children have no place for September. I understand these parents wrote to the Minister of State recently to seek a meeting. They have yet to receive a reply. Will the Minister of State agree tonight to meet this group as a matter of urgency?

Denial of school places is a human rights violation. Why does this Government continue to refuse to invest to create the autism classes that are needed in this State? Earlier today, I listened to the Taoiseach answer questions about the cut in the non-pay grant per pupil per week for this year's summer programme for autistic children. The Taoiseach told the Dáil that the number of schools participating in the programme this year has increased and that the grant for special schools is the same as last year, which, by the way, with inflation is actually a cutback. However, the Taoiseach did not answer the question about the grant cut for those other kids. It was €45 per week last year. It is down to €30 per week this year. The summer programme, which was formerly known as the July provision, is a vital resource for autistic children in summertime. It is a mean and nasty cut and it should be reversed immediately.

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I, too, welcome the opportunity to speak on this very important subject. When we talk about an increase in resources, I do not believe the increase in resources is actually keeping pace with the demand that is there. It is actually falling behind. I say that because of the number of people who have contacted my office and whom I have met during my clinics who have problems with their special needs children. The problems start when trying to get a diagnosis with the children's disability network teams, CDNTs. Then the assessments are done, and people then try to find the therapists to do the work with the child to try to improve the child's potential. These issues have been ongoing, and they are not seemingly getting resolved. What is happening is that we have waiting times and frustration. The next step then is getting children into a special school and trying to get them to a place where they can be helped to try to fulfil their full potential. I will accept that schools are not being built. Special schools are being built, including the new St. Oliver's Special School that was built three years ago in Tuam. However, the fact is it has a waiting list now. We seem to say we have built a new school and we clap ourselves on the back and say that is it, leave that now and let that work its way through.

I visited Lakeview School on the Dublin Road in Galway. It is not fit for purpose as a physical building. In the middle of it are adult services. It is a building that needs to be knocked to the ground and a new school needs to be built. That is a fact. It has a waiting list. It has people and families who are hoping to try to get their children in, and the school management is trying to facilitate everybody and has to tell people it does not have a place for them. I have been working with a number of families. It is very disheartening for them. I listened to the lived experience of people in the audiovisual room today who were talking about their experience with child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, and children. It is only adding another layer of stress to a family when they cannot access basic rights for their children. We can put every kind of figure out into the public domain. It is true we are spending more money, but we are not spending it at the pace we should be spending it.

The special education teaching hours have raised huge problems in my constituency. In Galway East, a lot of the national schools will have less hours next September, but they are still expected to deliver the same service they delivered this year gone by with less resources. Coupled with that, a number of schools have contacted my with regard to the ordinary capitation grant for their schools. It is not even meeting basic heating, lighting and cleaning costs in their schools. We talk about free education. If it is to be free, we need to make sure the money is there so that it is free and that if there is fundraising going on, it is for the additional nice things that people would like and not just the basic things to which people are entitled.

The other issue that comes up is that an announcement is made that an ASD unit is going into a school, but the physical space is not there and the Department of Education refuses to build an additional piece of accommodation or it will take five years to get it built. It says that the school can use its general purpose room for the purpose of teaching and get rid of what is probably a vital component in any education process, which is physical education and space for children to exercise. In the building unit in the Department of Education, we seem to be removed completely from the reality on the ground. We also seem to be planning in the dark because we just do not seem to be able to get on top of the numbers who are coming on stream every year. We had a wake-up call this year with the influx of Ukrainian refugees over the past number of years. We also have other children coming into the country - asylum seekers or whatever - and we have to meet the demand that is there. However, our population is growing, and we seem to be completely at sea as to how we actually plan for the future.

We seem to be doing it on an ad hocbasis. Also, the process by which we build our schools is so cumbersome, long-winded and costly without building anything or providing the infrastructure. It is important we get to grips with reality. Maybe 20 years ago, we were squandering money or money was going astray or whatever in the public capital programmes, but nowadays we are taking so much time that money is being wasted instead of being spent. Right now, with the inflation we have in this country, every year you delay doing a project you add approximately 10% to the cost. At the same time, you have procurement managers and every kind of guy telling you how to do something and how you cannot do this, that and other, and you have gateway approvals, and you end up spending a great deal more taxpayers' money for that extra bit of space you might need in a school.

I believe we should be going back to a more hands-on approach from schools. We should be able to devolve funding to the schools in a way they can take on a project and give them that freedom and trust that they can build it. I guarantee the Minister of State, if they hire in their own consultants and if the Department is not dominating and domineering in terms of reports, the Department will end up getting better value for money. The Department of public expenditure needs to look at it seriously at this stage.

Teacher training is another mystery. We train our teachers but they go out into the workforce and they do not get a permanent job. They have to wait. They are not guaranteed anything. It is one sure recipe for people, when they have their degree, to decide to take the plane and go some place else, and then we wonder why we are short on staff. That happens with all professions. Last January, I met with a speech and language therapist in Dubai who had worked with the HSE for three and a half years and, because she was not made permanent, she decided to take up her hook and go some place where she would find work on a more permanent basis. At the same time, we are talking about being unable to get therapists and there being a staff shortage. The reality is we are blindly following procedures on how we appoint teachers to schools, and how we give them a permanent contract and give them the confidence they need that they will remain in this country is very important.

There are many things I am critical of but what we need to do is say that at the heart of all of this are the children. The summer provision programme is typical. The Government needs to tell us straight-up if more money is being made available or if less money is being made available. Will it say yes or no and let us know for sure? What I have heard today is that there has been a reduction in the capitation grant for the summer provision. If there is, why? If there is not, tell us exactly what is being provided.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I am sharing time with Deputy Connolly.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this motion on special education. I thank Sinn Féin for putting it forward as well.

I support this motion and its call for the Government to reverse the funding cut made to the summer provision capitation payments and to ensure more school-based summer provision is made available in the future. It is shocking that the capitation payment has been cut from €45 to just €30 a week. This would be a massive reduction at any time, but during a cost-of-living crisis, this reduction will have a devastating impact on families. It will add to the many unfair burdens put on families, including the fact that families are not guaranteed summer provision in the first place and rely on what seems like some sort of a lottery system.

Despite the fact that every disabled person's organisation has emphasised how important summer provision is, the summer months can be a difficult time for children with disabilities and their families. The break in routine, lack of structure and fewer social opportunities make the summer months seem long, and summer provision is a much-needed outlet at this time. The fact that every family is not given this much-needed and valued opportunity is not good enough.

As I have stated, I support this motion. However, I would argue it needs to go further. I am calling for an immediate ratification of the optional protocol and implementation of the EPSEN Act in full without further delay. There needs to be a meaningful and purpose-driven consultation with relevant NGOs and leaders in the area to ensure amendments are understood and enacted. Indeed, the Minister of State could even listen to her own staff who work in this area and give them the resources to make sure the needs are provided for rather than having them constantly on a rationed basis.

A huge issue faced by families with children with disabilities is there is no understanding whatsoever on the part of the Government of the experience of these families. Government policies, therefore, do not reflect the reality of the lives of the families and the hurdles they face every day. Meaningful engagement is crucial.

It is disgraceful that parents of children with disabilities are forced to stress at around this time every year about their child securing an appropriate place in September. I have had many constituents come to me about this issue. It feels like an annual issue and, year after year, the Government does not seem to engage with them at all. We absolutely must ensure all children are accessing school. Every child has a right to an education. Normally, if a child misses 21 days of school, Tusla is informed. However, this is not the case for disabled children who are being actively excluded from attending schools, some for entire terms and worse.

The blatant disregard for the right to an education is worryingly discriminatory and outright ableist on a policy level. There needs to be a move to full integration, not segregation. Children should be allowed to move and be able to attend schools in their own community and have their educational needs met there. While that means more staff, more SNAs, more space and more resources, that is their right and the Government has a responsibility to facilitate that right.

Furthermore, we need to look at this holistically. The early childhood care and education scheme must be available to all children at preschool level as well and extended into after-school camps. It is not enough to look at education and integration in a compartmentalised way. All parents deserve the opportunity to provide for their families. Work provides parents with financial stability and control, a social outlet as well as autonomy, but how can we expect them to be able to work when, if we did manage to ensure the education was human-rights compliant, the children affected are still unable to attend clubs, after-school and childcare?

We claim to be a country that offers equal opportunity to all but that simply is not the case. Inequality is rife in every sector of our society. Access to education from early years to adulthood is key in enabling people to participate in society, yet according to Social Justice Ireland, one in four children with an intellectual disability or a developmental disability has been put on a short school day, which has a detrimental impact on children with additional needs, on their education and on their families. According to Inclusion Ireland, 45% of children with support needs are being failed by the education system as they face multiple barriers to access a right to school. This is utterly shameful and a breach of a child's right to education.

Not all children are treated equally in this country and it is time for policymakers to open their ears and their eyes to the lived reality of these children and their families because it seems the Government is totally detached from the reality at present. I suspect that they, in the view of the families impacted, would make this motion and the suggestions continuously put forward by the DPOs a no-brainer, but we will not have that anyway.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I will zone in on the summer provision or, as it was called, July provision. I know there is another aspect to the motion. Indeed, one has always to give a context when speaking on disability. The report today, The State of Caring survey, is a damning indictment of the Government, notwithstanding the figures the Minister of State has given and notwithstanding her understanding of the frustration and the anger. We talk in terms of the millions provided. The reality on the ground, as the Minister of State well knows, is very difficult.

Today, we have a report telling us that 2,000 carers were surveyed and 72% said they never receive respite. Not alone are parents struggling to get basic July provision and have consistency with that, they are also struggling for respite services. The report also states that 69% are finding it difficult to make ends meet. Seventy-four per cent said the people whom they care for do not get adequate support.

Some 23% of them missed at least one mortgage payment. I hope we get a chance to discuss this, but that is the background.

The July provision is déjà vuyear after year. I am looking at the context of that. It was a High Court action in the nineties that forced July provision in the first place. In 2001, 23 years ago, we brought in July provision or whatever it was called at that time. Since then, it has struggled from year to year with absolutely no certainty. I welcome the changes that have been brought in. I welcome that there is a pilot project, that a committee has been set up and that parents are finally involved, but they have been involved on the basis of pain and suffering. They have been forced to come to TDs, to send us emails and to talk to us, to get the most basic requirements. Even then, it is extremely difficult. As the Minister of State knows, we get representations. I made a representation for someone who was legally entitled to an assessment. This individual got that assessment but by the time the answer came back, the person was unaware they had got the assessment and the family were then onto the next thing of trying to get respite. It is a constant struggle from start to finish.

In 2021, 20 years after it was introduced, it should have been remembered that when it was introduced the O'Donoghue judgment stated that "primary education ... if it is to meet their special needs, requires a new approach". This is a case where judgment was delivered in 1993. On continuity of education, it further stated:

The lengthy holiday breaks which take place in the life of the ordinary primary school appear likely to cause serious loss of ground which may never be recovered, in the case of children with severe or profound handicap. Accordingly, to deal adequately with their needs appears to require that the teaching process should, so far as practicable, be continuous throughout the entire year.

Over the past 20 years, it has not been continuous. In 2021, there was Covid. Following Covid, the programme was expanded to include post-primary children. The difficulty is that expansion excluded children with profound and moderate needs. I understand a pilot project is now under way. The Minister of State might give us some details on that.

The actual figures are also damning. We are told there is home-based provision but year after year the reports fail to give us any analysis of the home-based programme, how it is being picked up, and how many hours are available, which I understand are much less. The inspectorate's reports, which are very interesting, do not provide a breakdown of the length of time the programme is provided in the schools that provide it. They might have two weeks, one week or three weeks. Figures from 2021 show, according to the inspectorate, that 625 primary schools and 99 post-primary schools took part in the programme. We have opposite figures coming from the Government's press releases on the total number of children who participate. This figure of 50,000 children taking part is at odds with the inspectorate's reports. That was in a previous speech given by the Minister of State or her colleague and in press releases. Only 43.4% of special schools, or 59 out of 136, provided a summer programme. In Galway, of six special schools, only five provided a summer programme. Two of those schools provided four weeks, while three provided approximately two weeks. The schools that offer the programme cannot offer it to all students and so on.

I am running out of time. In a rich country where we are able to put aside billions of euro, at what stage will we recognise and finally rectify the most basic service of a summer programme following a court case in 1993, which stated it was absolutely essential? How come, in 2024, we are still struggling on an ad hocbasis to provide the service that is required?

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I greatly appreciate the opportunity to contribute to the debate. This is an issue that is emotive to many of us and not just from our work as constituency TDs dealing with so many different families on a daily basis who face such a range of challenges and need so much support from their local representatives. Those of us who are lucky enough to have children also see it in the schools they attend, their peer groups, and their friends. This is one of the biggest issues facing many. That is why I am so glad to follow the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, in saying a few words to underline fundamentally to the Opposition that the Government fully recognises the importance of an inclusive and all-embracing education system. Never is it more important than in the case of children with special educational needs. I will try to respond to some of the points made by Deputies, although in a more generalised manner.

I fundamentally believe that our most vulnerable children in society must of course be prioritised. The Department of Education has engaged intensely with the National Council for Special Education on the forward planning for new special classes for the next school year 2024-25. I see that in respect of the national school in the area where I live, which will open its second special class in September. The NCSE has advised the Department that it expects any remaining new special classes will be finalised very shortly and that this additional provision, coupled with vacancies in existing special classes, will provide the additional capacity needed for the coming school year. It is important to note that there are vacancies in existing special classes as children move from primary to post-primary or leave our school system. These places are filled on an ongoing basis. Furthermore, the NCSE is working with schools that may be available to open classes for September 2024 but whose capacity may not be required at this time. These will remain options for additional provision, if required, throughout the 2024-25 school year. The NCSE is working tirelessly with the remaining families known to it to access specialist places. This will continue until children are in the places they need to be to ensure they have an appropriate education.

This accelerated delivery of special education placements is supported by significant capital investment in schools. Since 2020, the Government has invested in the region of €4.8 billion of capital funding in schools throughout the country. In April, the Minister, Deputy Foley, announced that 90 school building projects would move from tender to construction during 2024 and early 2025. These projects include 138 classrooms for children with special educational needs and new buildings for two special schools, which moved to construction earlier this year. During 2022 and 2023 alone, the school building programme provided accommodation for 80 additional or modernised classrooms in special schools and 459 classrooms for special classes in mainstream schools.

There will more special education teachers in our schools in September 2024 than ever before, an increase of 1,000 from the 2020-21 school year. It is important to state that while this is the overall figure, these supports are in place to support individual children. The NCSE works with individual schools and families to ensure they are supported. This is in addition to a significant reduction in class sizes at primary level over three budgets to where our pupil-teacher ratio at primary level is now 23:1. That is an issue no doubt many of us will discuss with the INTO tomorrow morning. This means, more than ever, children with special educational needs in our mainstream schools are best supported to meet their needs.

In addition, the model will now be run annually in line with general teacher allocations. This allows schools to better plan their staffing structures and gives them time to arrange clusters in areas where schools share a special education teacher, SET. Complex needs have not been removed. Instead, the data which was used since 2017 from the children's disability network team and which is no longer routinely available, is being replaced by high-quality, verifiable education data. The complex needs of children are now supported through the educational teaching needs profile of each school. The SET allocations have been publicly supported by the National Parents Council and bodies representing principals at both primary and post-primary level.

Since the publication of the allocations for 2024-25, officials in the Department of Education have undertaken very considerable briefings with our advocacy group stakeholders, including a full day in-person meeting with the Department, NCSE and National Educational Psychological Service to provide an opportunity for the organisations to raise their concerns and to allow the Department’s senior official to respond to and clarify any misperceptions. Following the meeting, the Department provided the organisations with written responses, including presentations on the changes. Department officials have also been in communication with the organisations in recent weeks in relation to work that is ongoing on updating the guidelines for schools on the deployment and usage of the SET resources allocated. In addition, the Department meets and consults with these groups on a regular basis on a range of issues, either pertinent to their own members or regarding national policy.

The Department of Education and the NCSE understand that the provision of education for children with special educational needs is more than just providing special classes and special school places. A wide range of supports and resources are available to students and schools in special education. It is important to remember that the vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream education with their peers. Some 97% of all students attend mainstream classes with their peers across the primary and post-primary system. Children with special educational needs are supported by special education teachers and special needs assistants.

Over 19,000 special education teachers are now employed across the system, as well as over 21,000 SNAs. Over 14,500 of these special education teachers will be supporting children with special educational needs in mainstream classes in September. This is 1,000 more posts than were available just three years ago in 2021. There has been a 30% increase in the number of SNAs in our system since 2019.

Primary schools are allocated a teacher and two SNA posts for every new special class opening. Post-primary schools are allocated one and a half teaching posts and two SNAs. Additional supports by way of enhanced capitation, start-up grants, furniture grants, ICT grants and school transport support are also provided. Support for specialised furniture and equipment is also available. It must be said that the majority of schools gained resources under the SET model. In the 30% that saw reductions, this was nearly always due to falling enrolments. Every school is different. We must remember that but the bottom line is that if schools need additional resources, they will be provided through the new review process. In 2023, €4.2 million was provided to provide equipment to allow children with additional needs to access the curriculum in their schools. This funding has supported approximately 5,000 children. The Government has introduced measures as part of budget 2024 to recognise the particular challenges facing special schools that support students with the most complex needs. From September 2024, all special schools will now have an administrative deputy principal. In addition, 100 new post-primary teaching posts will also be provided across special schools from 2024.

The Department has introduced a new nursing pilot programme to support children who require nursing support to attend school. New programmes have also been introduced to support the transition of children with special educational needs after school and to support greater inclusion at local level between special schools and mainstream schools.

Parents of children with special educational needs often refer to the need for clear curriculum pathways for their children at post-primary level. From September, the first modules for new senior cycle level 1 and level 2 programmes should be available in our schools. These new modules are part of senior cycle reform and build on the success of level 1 and level 2 programmes at junior cycle.

In September 2021, the Department of Education published guidelines for schools on the use of reduced school days. These guidelines came into effect from 1 January 2022. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide clarity to school authorities and parents or guardians on the use of reduced school days and to ensure that this practice is limited to circumstances where it is deemed absolutely necessary. Where reduced school days are used, schools must put the best interests of the child first. The guidelines provide for consultation with parents and guardians and require their consent for the use of a reduced school day. The implementation of the guidelines requires schools to notify Tusla when a reduced school day is proposed. The first set of reduced school day data was published in September 2023 and covered the period from January to June 2022 and the school year from September 2022 to June 2023. The data contained in this report will be instrumental in informing the development of future policy in this area. Tusla is currently reviewing the code of behaviour guidelines and there is significant engagement with a wide range of stakeholders, including disability groups, to ensure that they take account of the lived experience.

With regard to the summer programme, formerly known as the July programme, we will continue to focus on ensuring that children with the greatest level of need have access to a school-based programme. As the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, has already said, we have seen tremendous increases in participation, particularly in special schools, and we will ensure that all measures and incentives are aimed at continuing that growth. For the first time, the Minister of State responsible for this area sits at the Cabinet table. This is a clear endorsement of the focus we are putting on it and of the continuing work of Deputy Naughton. I will take this moment to pay personal tribute to her on what she has been able to do for a great many families in my constituency in just a few weeks.

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I commend the work of my colleague, Deputy Sorca Clarke, on this issue. This is ever a debate at this time of year, particularly with regard to the issues in respect of summer provision and access to school places for September, which is always a really challenging issue for many families.

Deputy Paul Murphy correctly highlighted the Jesuitical attempt to say that there was no cut in the capitation grant. The simple fact is that there has been a decrease of €15 per child in the capitation grant. That will undoubtedly undermine the quality and types of activities that can be offered to children in summer provision. We are going to see that over the course of the summer.

Equally Jesuitical is the distinction the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, made in his speech. He said that:

Complex needs have not been removed. Instead, the data which was used since 2017 from the children's disability network team, CDNT, and which is no longer routinely available, is being replaced by high-quality, verifiable education data.

Unless I am misunderstanding, this seems to be school population-level information. That is nowhere near good enough to determine the increased demands a class and its staff will face because of somebody in the class having complex needs. It is in no way responsive enough to the needs of the individual child in a class who has complex needs. Down Syndrome Ireland is right to say that this is effectively a removal of complex educational needs from the criteria for the allocation of special education teachers. Taking a school population-level approach, looking at the data of the whole cohort, is just not good enough and means that children with complex needs will not get the support they need.

In the time I have left, I will again flag an issue I have raised on a number of occasions, that of therapists in special schools. I have previously raised the issue at St. Killian's Special School. The school was encouraged to go out and find therapists on the strength of a commitment from the Department but funding has not been forthcoming. I will also raise an issue relating to Rochestown Community Special School. When will therapists be put in place at the school? One child there has been waiting for three years. This is a seven-year-old child who is non-verbal and attending a special school and has been waiting three years for an appointment with an SLT. That is simply not good enough. It is a sign of the system just not working for children in special schools.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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We are one of the wealthiest countries in the EU. We have a surplus of €8.6 billion this year. The question that many parents are asking is why the Minister of State's Government cannot guarantee a place for every child on the school-based summer programme. That is the question many parents are asking me in Mayo. Why does it have to be such a battle all of the time just to access education?

The Ministers of State talk about percentages and congratulate themselves on how well they have performed but what they do not take into account is the terrible cumulative neglect of the right of children to access special education through the years. Why did the Government cut the capitation payment from €45 to just €30 and then deny that was done when we know it is a fact? The Minister of State knows that this cut impacts on the quality and types of activities that can be offered to those children who manage to access a summer provision placement in a mainstream school. I ask that the Government immediately reverse this cut to capitation payments.

The Minister of State has said that every school has an opportunity to take part but the schools I speak to are under severe financial strain. Inflation has bitten them really hard and schools are really struggling to pay their bills. The Government needs to restore complex needs as a criterion for the allocation of resources. I can see why teachers are concerned with the planned standardised test scores. How on earth can standardised tests be used on autistic children or children with ADHD? What are they going to tell you? There may be a child with exceptional talent in maths or extraordinary artistic talents but who, at the same time, has additional needs in respect of daily functions or a low tolerance of particular noises or foods in the case of children with sensory issues. To standardise tests for children with complex needs is a contradiction in itself. Does the Minister of State know how difficult it is to even access therapists and psychologists to get assessments done in the first place?

The underfunding of special education is scandalous. Every child has the right to an education that enables him or her to feel valued and cherished so that he or she can fulfil his or her true potential. We either cherish all of our children equally or we do not. We have to be honest about this.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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Every child has the right to an education. That right needs to be universally applied regardless of any child's additional need for support. I will go back to the Minister of State's opening contribution to this debate. She said there was a 386% increase in the number of special classes and went on to say that "While the capitation rate in mainstream schools was raised to €45 in 2023, the €30 rate per week for 2024 is in line with the rate for the inclusion programme" and that the "rate for special schools remains at €60". Essentially, there are three separate lanes for the summer programme running at the same time. There is the DEIS programme, special schools and the mainstream.

I want to focus on the mainstream and what has happened there in recent years. I have printed out documents from the Minister of State's Department. This is from 2022 for a mainstream primary school. There is a non-pay grant of €30 per pupil per week. A second non-pay grant of €60 per pupil per week will be paid to all schools participating in the special class programme. If we fast-forward to 2023, we see a very significant change. What is new in 2023, again according to the Minister of State's Department, is that:

... there are no longer separate schemes for the Inclusion Programme and Special Classes. The Primary School Scheme replaces and integrates both these schemes into one ... It is still is open to schools to offer places to pupils enrolled in special classes ....

There is a 386% increase in the number of special classes, which is what the Minister of State said earlier. At that point, the €60 was gone and we are down to €45. In her statement the Minister of State said it went up to €45, but it did not. It went down to €45 for some of those participants, having previously been at €60. We then come to 2024. We are back to this primary school scheme, which amalgamated the two previous ones. We now have a non-pay grant of €30 per pupil. None of that has been reflected in what can only be described as the Minister of State's verbal gymnastics when it came to putting the figures on the record. She did not refer to these documents once, but that is what has happened to the summer programme over the past two years.

I would like her to continue to address the parents at home. If she cannot I will. I want them to hear very clearly. All that information is freely available on her Department's website. It is all there in black and white, yet neither she nor her colleague referred to those facts in the contributions they made to this debate - and we wonder why parents of children with additional needs have so little faith in this Government to be able to meet the needs of those children. It is something they live daily. The vast majority of pupils with additional educational needs are in mainstream. They are the ones affected most by the actions of this Government over the past two years, the ones the Minister of State failed to reference. If she is genuinely and truly interested in putting the summer programme where it needs to be, she needs to stop this. This needs to stop. The penny-pinching going on here needs to end.

I turned on a news app before I came in here to see the Minister for Finance talking about these extra billions of euro that are going to be available to the State's coffers. He should spend them here. The Government should put that money back where it needs to be and ensure our summer programme meets the needs of those children, who are some of the most vulnerable children in this State, this summer.