Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

These people have had to fight really hard over a long period. I already pointed out that there are cutbacks, and most of these parents are not looking for more resources at the moment. They are trying to maintain what they have. We have seen repeated examples of a row-back on special needs supports in schools. The fact that 120 classes were cut last year adds to the worry of these parents.

We have been told there will not be cutbacks in education following the Green Party renegotiation, yet we are seeing cutbacks against the most vulnerable. Cutbacks are one thing, but there is an information problem at the moment and a lack of communication on the plans for special needs. People are not clear about the policy being followed by the Government. There is a need for more information and more communication, which may well be part of the problem. If the Minister published the advice from the National Council for Special Education on special needs provision, perhaps that might clarify the situation.

A parent rang me the other day whose child with special needs had come home from school, asking why his school had been closed down and why he could not go out and play in the school yard anymore. The truth is that there have been cuts in the number of special needs teachers. The Department carried out a review of that school and stated that the work done there is very good. Even though there has been a positive review of that school, St. Joseph's Special School in Tallaght, the staff complement is being cut by two thirds. The number of teachers is being reduced from 16 to six and the number of special needs assistants is being reduced to five. Parents and teachers are saying this will destroy the school, make it impossible for it to function at a basic level and make it impossible for the children with special needs to do the course work they have been doing with the ratio that has existed until now. This story has been replicated throughout the country. What will the Minister say to the parents of children in a school such as St. Joseph's which lost four staff this week, is due to lose another four and another four after that?

How are schools meant to cope with this abandonment? Is the Minister going to implement the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act? I appreciate there are resource problems. I recognise that increased resources have been put into this area by the Government over the past ten years. These resources were needed and they were invested, but I am focusing on what is happening at the moment. What alternative supports will be given if SNAs are to be taken away? If children with special needs continue to be integrated into mainstream education, as is the policy and as it should be, then how will the schools cope? What is the process in place for parents to appeal decisions on SNA posts?