Results 3,341-3,360 of 6,137 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Needs Education: Impact of Covid-19 (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the witnesses.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the NCSE and Department for attending. Their submissions are very valuable and I thank them for their time. My first questions are directed to the NCSE and the remainder will be to the Department. In our previous session, we heard that a great deal of concern and frustration was expressed by the parents of children with Down syndrome. This is something I have experienced with...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: There is no educational basis, therefore, to draw a distinction between primary mainstream children and secondary mainstream children with Down syndrome. There is no basis for that.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That is obvious of huge concern.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: It is also disappointing. There is an issue with special school places in my experience, in Cork at the very least. My next questions are for the Department. How many teachers and SNAs will be available to provide the summer programme?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: How about the home-based programme, which traditionally accounts for approximately 70% of the programme? How many teachers and SNAs will be available for this?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am aware of the process. Mr Tattan might say that it is demand-led but he is not giving me an indication. Does he have any idea how many teachers or SNAs are available to deliver the home-based programme?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Did the Department have any basis to support the belief that there would be more available this year than there was last year?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I appreciate that and common sense would have suggested to me that there would potentially be fewer. On that basis, the Minister comes in here and tells us that he wants to double the programme and he is talking about as many as 20,000 teachers. How was that prepared and planned for?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Teachers or SNAs are needed to deliver the programme. If the Department is talking about doubling the number of students who would be able to avail of the programme, there would have to be a concurrent increase in the number of teachers or SNAs.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: What I am taking from this is that the Minister came into the Dáil and said we would try to double the programme with no evidence to suggest that was possible.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I recognise the importance of the programme being expanded and being as inclusive as possible but my concern is around when the capacity planning happened. What was the extent of the Department's capacity planning for delivering this programme?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: How many schools was that?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That is the number that are registered. How many indicated to the Department beforehand that they wanted the programme to be run?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: How many meetings happened to try to gauge what the capacity would be?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: This is an important programme and I want it to succeed but I fear that the preparation has not happened and that many students and families who want to avail of it will not be able to access it and will be disappointed. They have had their hopes raised and I fear those hopes will be dashed. I hope I am wrong. I want to ask a number of questions on some of the related issues. Some of...

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: We were promised the roadmap 13 days ago. Is there a date for the publication of a roadmap, even if it does not contain everything and if it is still contingent on public health advice as everything is? We were promised a roadmap and there is no sign of one. When will a roadmap be published?

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That was hardly a roadmap. That was an outline of things that might happen and that the Department was not going to pursue.

Special Committee on Covid-19 Response: Special Educational Needs: Impact of Covid-19 (Resumed) (25 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank our guests from the Department but I am disappointed with some of the answers. I very much hope that summer provision is a success and that as many people as possible can avail of it. I am concerned, however, that this may not be the case.

Reopening of Schools and Summer Provision 2020: Statements (24 Jun 2020)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: It is not what I said. The Minister can check the record.