Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)

I thank my colleagues in Fine Gael for tabling this motion and giving us an opportunity to throw light on an important subject. I regret that the motion, as worded, is predicated on a number of misunderstandings and errors which I will address later. None the less, the motion gives us and the Minister an opportunity to outline in a positive manner what is being done for pupils with special educational needs.

We should insert a bit of balance into this debate and examine the facts, although the Minister covered many of them. Some 10,000 SNAs are working in our schools with an annual budget of €300 million. More than €1 billion has been allocated for special education this year. The comparative figure in 2004 was €468 million. The number of support and resource teachers has quadrupled since 1998 from approximately 2,000 to approximately 8,000. These are staggering figures. The pupil-teacher ratio in respect of students with special needs has been enhanced. The school capitation rates for that category of school have improved by 30% in the past three years. The budget for the transport of students with special educational needs amounts to €50 million. There are also 45 early intervention classes for children with autism. That all of these figures have been glossed over in the Opposition's motion is extraordinary, as is the negative tone of some, but not all, Opposition spokespersons.

The renewed programme for Government commits the State to further investment in special education provision at a time when education budgets in Ireland and abroad are being slashed. That there will be a psychologist for every school in the country with emphasis on those with special needs units is another significant step forward.

A close member of my family had special needs 20 years ago at a time when none of these services was available. She had the good fortune of having educated parents who were teachers and possessed the wherewithal to travel abroad to provide for my niece's needs. There was nothing in this country at the time, a fact that should be borne in mind before we start attacking the Minister willy-nilly.

I ask Senator Healy Eames to withdraw a stark error in the motion when she concludes, namely, that teachers have no access to proper training. The Minister pointed out that nearly half the teachers in the country have had access to special training. Some 23,000 teachers availed of training places last year and more than 300 teachers availed of places on postgraduate programmes. It does the Senator's argument no good when she includes comments that make no sense. Another element of the motion castigates the Minister for not publishing a report which he has not even had sight of, which is not completed and which will be on the Department's website as soon as it is finished. Let us get real. We often call for Ministers to come to the House to debate various issues, and a senior Minister of State is here. Let us have facts on our Order Paper before we call for a Minister again.

Exaggeration does no case any good. Where did the figure of 1,200 special needs assistants, SNAs, come from? It was plucked out of the sky by someone who wanted to make a political trade union point and has been picked up, with no critical analysis, by Senator Healy Eames. I did my own research today and rang a number of people, including members of the National Council for Special Education and people at the coal-face. A more realistic estimate of the number is 250. During our recent debate on CAO places the 2.65% increase in applications claimed by Senator Healy Eames turned out to be an increase of less than 1%. She should get her facts right.