Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I would like to raise the issue of a new practice that seems to have been introduced in some of our schools, where such schools are now deliberately refusing to accept students with special needs. This story appeared in an article in The Irish Times this week. Some schools are cherry-picking students and refusing to accept special needs students. This is a new form of educational apartheid. When The Irish Times published a league table of schools in the Dublin area, it was quite clear that schools which had up to 30% of students with special needs were located in poorer communities, whereas schools which had less than 1% of students with special needs were schools in affluent areas. The Minister for Education and Science rightly spoke out against this practice in a recent conference, which I welcome. However, the Government and the Department of Education and Science should be absolutely clear that we made it unlawful for schools to introduce entrance exams, and that the new testing arrangements introduced by some schools are also unlawful. The Department needs to be strong on this issue because we have a responsibility in our schools to provide a learning environment for all students of all abilities, of all classes and of all creeds. This is an important aspect of Irish education that should not be lost.

When are we likely to debate the Ferns report? There is considerable interest in this report on all sides of the House. I join with Senator Quinn, who called for a debate yesterday on road safety. It is timely that we debate that matter. This afternoon, the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights will receive the report by Mr. Justice Barron into the murder of Mr. Seamus Ludlow. The report will also be published, which I welcome. The report has been with the Government for the past 14 months. I understand that as late as last night, the family of Mr. Ludlow had not been informed that the report was to be published today. If this is the way we are treating victims, then that is abhorrent. We have a responsibility, when matters of such importance are brought to the attention of a committee or a plenary session of this House, to inform the families of those people.