Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy John Perry. I would appreciate a comment or response from the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, on the case of a young ten year old boy whose parents have withdrawn him from school due to their concerns about him. I sent the details to the Minister for Education and Skills a few weeks ago and I hope he provided them to the Minister of State, Deputy Perry. I understand they are also under investigation by the Garda.

The little boy has multiple and significant special needs. He has been diagnosed with an intellectual disability, Down's syndrome, arthritis, Down's syndrome atrophy, sleep apnoea and hearing loss. He also has a cardiac condition. Unfortunately, this ten year old boy has been out of school since last April, due to the concerns I outlined to the Minister. Significantly, it must be taken into consideration that the boy is non-verbal, which raises huge communication issues. Nobody knows a child better than the child's mother, and his mother reported that the child had become very withdrawn and unhappy at the school he was attending. Since she removed him his general health and overall mood have greatly improved.

His parents are extremely anxious that he return to full-time education. I have met the little boy and his parents. I concur with them that he needs to be in education. However, they have genuine concerns about the school at which he is currently enrolled. They did not make the decision to remove him lightly. Indeed, they only did so only after a series of incidents over a two-year period. The boy is on a waiting list for two other special schools but there is no guarantee that a place will become available for him. In the interim, the parents applied for the home tuition grant to ensure he could continue his education. Unfortunately, this has recently been refused and the child has not received formal education for the past eight months. The home tuition grant for a child with special needs is granted only where a child is waiting to be placed in a suitable placement. The reason given for the refusal was that the child still has a place available to him in the school he was attending. The parents believe this is not in the best interests of the child and argue that a placement in a suitable school is not available at present. They believe there should be a review of this decision.

I ask the Minister to address the situation in order that this young boy can return to formal education as a matter of priority.