Niall Ó Brolcháin (Green Party)

I thank Senator Healy Eames. It is one of the most crucial debates we have had in this House in a long time. It is vital that we look after those in society who have the greatest difficulty. I have a son in a special needs, ABA, school. It is crucial we consider educational needs from the point of view of the child. It is the child who must come first.

It must be acknowledged that we have made progress in this country in recent years. In 1997 we had as few as 300 SNAs in this country. It is unfortunate for speakers in a debate simply to focus on the number of a particular type of staff allocated to an area at any given time. Special needs require to be considered in a holistic way. Special needs cannot be considered purely from the point of view of education because health is a factor also. The presence of the Minister of State with responsibility for equality, disability issues and mental health which involve the Departments of Education and Science and Health and Children is helpful. It is important we use joined-up thinking on this issue.

All parties need to work together to progress matters in tandem with the community and parents and carers. I pay tribute to carers, especially parents of children with special educational needs. Prior to the 2002 general election in which I was involved, I attended a huge meeting in Galway of the Galway Alliance of Parents & Carers. One does not often hear of politicians being moved genuinely to tears but the stories we heard on that night moved politicians from all parties to tears. It was a difficult meeting. Senator Healy Eames was at that meeting. I am sure she would agree it was a most harrowing meeting to attend. We need to acknowledge that things have moved on since then.

I very much believe in a rights-based approach to special needs but I accept that the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act is largely getting there. The Act, which was put in place in 2004, is fantastic. It is a bible of best practice and what we have to move towards in terms of special educational needs. In these difficult economic times we could consider a community-based approach. We should examine how we can involve the community and parents. Schools could take interesting initiatives in terms of employing speech therapists and occupational therapists. Unfortunately, a number of people qualified in those areas are on the dole at the moment. That is not acceptable because some people cannot access proper speech therapy or occupational therapy.