Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to raise in the House the special needs of a seven year old child in my native county of Cork whose case is the source of much concern for her parents and community, who has Down's syndrome and who, up until one month ago, was happily attending her local national school, into which she had been well integrated with the assistance of a full-time special needs assistant. I acknowledge that all Members must seek equality in meeting the educational needs of each child. While it has been suggested the child in question will be treated like every other within the school, as she has Down's syndrome, there is no point in stating the same level of service should apply to her. She has special needs and requires the provision of the maximum service possible under the special needs assistance scheme.

The difficulty for the child and her parents stems from a decision taken just before the summer break that the full-time special needs assistant available to help her at school every day should have her hours reduced to one hour a day. Obviously, when this decision was made known to the child's parents, it caused great concern and consternation. Moreover, their worry and concern was shared by everyone in the local community because the child attends a typical small local national school, in which everyone works for the benefit of all. Consequently, the entire parish and community which had been happy to see the child being integrated as fully as possible into the local national school were distraught that her educational life had been severely changed following the withdrawal of the full services of the special needs assistant.

The Minister of State will be aware that when decisions are made to reduce the hours of special needs assistants, there is a either a review or an appeals process. Unfortunately, in this case the parents were wrongly advised about the appeals process and did not lodge an appeal once the initial decision was made. My understanding of the regulations is that if an appeal had been lodged immediately, the special needs assistant would have been allowed to remain in situ until a decision was made. However, incorrect advice was given to the parents, an appeal was not launched and that there was instead a so-called review process which, regrettably from the parents' perspective, was in no way as inclusive or consultative as it should have been. It is difficult to know what exactly it consisted of because the parents were not as involved as they should have been.

The review process report advocated that instead of being reduced to one hour, the number of hours of the special needs assistant for the child should be reduced to two. However, it then decreed, in what I consider to be a bizarre determination, that the two hours should not be consecutive. Apparently, assistance for one hour should be provided in the morning and for one hour in the afternoon. This makes little sense, in economic or practical terms, from the perspective of the person providing the special needs assistance for the child. The person concerned will be expected to drive to work for one hour in the morning, drive back home and then return to the school a number of hours later for one hour before returning home again.

I often speak in the House about the grave economic challenges facing the nation and fully acknowledge that money is extremely scarce. However, some priority must be given from an educational perspective in terms of equality of inclusion. Is it not wonderful that a child with Down's syndrome can be educated and integrated to the maximum degree possible his or her own community? Both the parents and the entire community believe the child should be able to avail of the maximum number of special needs assistance hours to allow her to remain in her school of choice which is located almost beside her family home which makes matters much better for the child from both an educational and social perspective.

I have indicated to the Minister of State that the review process has produced a rather unusual result. Consequently, I ask him whether there is a facility whereby the case can be completely re-examined with the full input of the parents. I respect absolutely the right of the special needs education system, the board of management, the teachers and the principal to hold a particular view, but in cases such as this, which involves a Down's syndrome child, the concerns and views of the parents should be paramount.

A significant body of psychological and medical evidence available to those in charge of the review of the case suggested that significant hours of special needs support should have been provided for the child in question. That is why the reduction was so disappointing. The allocation was first reduced to one hour per day. Admittedly, it was then increased to two hours per day but they were not two consecutive hours.

The case has already been brought to the attention of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Coughlan, and her adviser. I thank her for being willing to meet one of the parents of the child some weeks ago. She is, therefore, aware of the case in question. I ask the Minister of State to do everything possible to have the case examined further with a view to bringing about some justice and equality.