Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Go raibh maith agat a Leas-Chathaoirligh. Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis na Seanadóirí. It is always a pleasure to come to the Seanad where the debate is usually calm, constructive and non-aggressive. I thank the Government side for its motion which is neither sycophantic nor laudatory but in fact sets out the progress that has been made by the Government in recent years.

While it may be obvious to everybody, my aim is to ensure that every child gets the opportunity to reach his or her potential. The motion focuses on a couple of significant areas of development but we could talk about the ambit of education. I am pleased that Government Senators chose to deal with children with special needs, the targeted response that is required for them and the progress that has been made in this area, as well as the continued response and improvements we have to make for these children because, as has already been said by Senators Fitzgerald, Ormonde and Minihan, we are playing catch-up due to the historical under-provision in this area. We are working to ensure we bring our services for children with special needs up to an appropriate level.

It is worth recognising what has been done, the advances that have been made and the difference that has made to children with special needs and to their educational needs. Some of these figures have already been mentioned. There are now more than 2,600 resource teachers in our schools, which is up from 104 in 1998. There are 1,500 learning support teachers, more than 1,000 teachers in special schools and more than 600 teachers in special classes. There are nearly 6,000 special needs assistants in our schools, compared to just 300 in 1998.

This year more than €30 million is being spent on school transport for special needs students and more than €3 million is being spent on specialised equipment and materials, up from €800,000 in 1998.