Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The clear intention of the Bill is to confer on each child with a special educational need arising from a disability a right to receive an assessment, an educational plan and the support services necessary to meet that need. The Bill recognises that solutions for children with special needs do not lie in a one-size-fits-all approach. Obviously they must be specific to the particular children or child involved.

The assessments and plans must be tailor-made for the individual child. Referring to an assessment as an individual assessment does not in any way enhance the rights a child with disabilities will enjoy once this Bill is enacted. As stated on Committee Stage, the application of the entire measure to individuals is unquestionable and therefore I do not propose to accept this amendment.

Senators have asked what would happen if there were a collective approach to assessment in a school with more than one child with special needs. Such an approach would not suffice under this Bill because we are talking about specific needs of specific pupils. Each child is obviously a separate entity who will need very particular attention and a specific plan to help with his or her specific needs. That we are dealing with individual plans does not necessitate the inclusion of "individual" as this is implicit in every part of the legislation.