Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I propose to share my time with Senator McHugh.

I welcome the Minister of State and I compliment everyone involved in the preparation of the Bill. We all know what the legislation intends to do but we question what it achieves. The report of the Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities, A Strategy for Equality, made recommendations on the subject of education for those with disabilities. It reaffirmed the right of every child, including those with disabilities, to a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. The report states: "In Ireland every individual must have an equal right to educational provision." The commission recognised that education was a process of sharing, developing, building, strengthening, encouraging and recognising the abilities of all people and its aim was clear, namely to enhance and enable a person to achieve his or her goals. However, the commission found that if it were to measure the status of people with disabilities according to their rate of participation and success in education, then equality was clearly a long way off.

That report is ten years old but the situation is the same in many instances. It is worrying that there seems to be little real attempt to bring equality into Irish education. Unless resources are put in place the best legislation in the world will not ensure that those with disabilities can participate fully in the education system. From the Government's current record it is hard not to be somewhat sceptical that the new legislation will provide the kind of appropriate and resourced services which are so badly needed.

It was reported recently that the State's secondary schools do not have the resources to teach the vast majority of special needs students or to implement the Bill's provisions when it is enacted. The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals has warned that schools still do not have the resources they need to teach incoming students with special needs. The organisation's president said it would be little short of cynical on the part of the Government to enact this Bill when schools obviously do not have the resources to implement it.

How are people to react when on the one hand the Government presents legislation designed to improve the education of persons with disabilities while on the other hand it consistently fails to adequately resource the same people? While access to the appropriate educational resources is one major problem, access to proper assessment is another. Some parents still wait up to two years for assessment of their children. Access to psychological services is very important and the appropriate intervention can have a very positive effect on a child for the rest of their education and for years afterwards.

The NEPS structures are in place but need to be expanded urgently. The waiting lists for educational psychologists are as long as ever, which is a worry for the many parents who require those services for their children. There are huge funding difficulties in the current education system and those with special needs have not received the kind of assistance and resourcing they need. Groups representing parents and children with special needs will need a lot more convincing that the introduction of this legislation will be matched by adequate resources.

The change in the Bill's Title addresses points raised by the Dyslexia Association of Ireland, which I welcome. There is also a major emphasis in the Bill on co-operation between the Department of Education and Science, the National Educational Psychological Service and the health boards. The creation of multidisciplinary teams is something parents and children have long wished for, yet their experiences to date do not bode well. I have frequently been shown examples of assessments by NEPS psychologists, health board psychologists and private psychologists which make hugely differing recommendations. Why is that?

The Down's Syndrome Ireland organisation represents over 2,500 families and is one of the largest representative groups for people with learning disabilities. That body is concerned that the Bill is seriously flawed and does not fully address the minimum requirements of those with disabilities and their families. I share that concern. There are also concerns about how the Bill is to operate in practice. On reading the Bill, one of the biggest concerns is how it will operate in practice. The Minister of State said it would take five years to put it in place but I hope it will be implemented in a shorter period.

The Bill has substantial implications for teachers and school principals. The role of the principal will be significantly expanded in a number of areas as a result of a number of sections of the Bill. We already know the difficulties experienced by principals, in particular teaching principals, because of their workload to which the Bill will probably add. Everyone desperately wants the legislation to achieve what it sets out to do and all children to have access to the services they need to achieve an education. The role of the principal in the Bill, as published, is paramount to achieving this but, unresourced, he or she cannot fulfil their obligations. Has the Minister considered how he plans to release teaching principals to allow them to carry out their newly envisaged duties?

What new upskilling and training will be given to principals to enable them to deal with their new role as envisaged in the Bill? Some principals have experience but others have little experience because of the need to date in their schools. I share the concerns expressed by the INTO about the words "to the extent that could be expected of the student" in the Bill. This could exclude a child from some resource provisions and that should be addressed.

The concerns I have expressed in regard to the multidisciplinary approach to education plans can also be directed towards section 5 concerning assessments. It is paramount that the multidisciplinary approach is mandatory and not discretionary. That is an important point. The findings in regard to assessment should be made available to parents automatically. To ask parents to request these reports is needless bureaucracy and that should be addressed. Every parent will want the report and should not have to ask for it. It is the Minister's stated policy that all teachers working with children with special educational needs will have the relevant training and continual professional development. However, the reality is that it is insufficient at present. What does the Minister intend to do to address this problem?

Section 13 states: "The Minister and the Minister for Health and Children shall each, with the consent of the Minister for Finance..." We are getting to the point at which Senator Cox came in. Everything seems to be dependent on the Minister for Finance. Relevant issues, which Senator Cox raised, should not come down to a question of money. The Minister for Health and Children and the Minister for Education and Science have a duty under the Bill, but it is subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance. If that is the case, where is the rights-based approach? Where are the rights if they depend on the amount of money the Department of Finance or the Minister for Finance puts in place? The Minister must have the power and the resources to implement the Bill. Rights can only be implemented if there is a will to do so. No one wants to see another stream of parents going to the courts to ensure their children are educated. The Bill does not confer many more rights on children than already exist under the Constitution. Resources will be the key to the implementation of the Bill.

Another aspect of the Bill is the sense of absence of any real attempt to deal with physical disability. This is a real issue which must be tackled. Most people with physical disability have no difficulty being educated from an intellectual point of view. The issue for them is access to education in a physical sense. A lack of physical access exists in some schools. I know of one instance where children in wheelchairs must be brought home to use the toilet because the facilities are not in place. Grants are available but they need to be speeded up. The area must be better co-ordinated.

We all hope the Bill achieves what it sets out to do. I wish the Minister and his officials well. Let us hope we can get it right and serve the people who need the facilities.