Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 8, subsection (4)(b), line 2, to delete "3 months" and substitute "1 month".

A principal will have no more than three months to make a decision on a referral for assessment and such a referral will be arranged after consultation with parents. A period of three months may be considerable in the context of a referral. If a child is referred for an assessment at the start of the school year, it might well be Christmas or early in the new year before such an assessment is completed. A serious loss of time will be involved. If an assessment to put in place an individual plan for a particular student is made in January of the new year, it means the child will have lost out substantially. The organisation of an individual plan for a child within a mainstream school will subsequently cause very serious problems. While facilities would be in place to cope in a special school, within a mainstream school the peer group of a child beginning a plan in January will have started in September and advanced.

There is a great need for the Minister of State to shorten the period for which provision is made. It is within the competencies of the trained personnel and their facilities to accomplish what is called for within one month to lessen the impact of any delay.