Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am a little surprised that other Members across the House did not raise the issue of the fear that is mounting around the new proposed special educational needs model. My inbox is full with e-mails since last Wednesday or Thursday. There was a large meeting in Galway prior to Christmas with about 100 teachers and parents in attendance who are very concerned that the new proposed model by the Minister will reduce the amount of resource hours and learning support that their children with special educational needs will get from September 2015. My request is simple. The Minister should slow down this process.

Much more debate and consultation needs to happen with the schools, who are the guardians of these children with special educational needs, in co-operation with their parents. I ask the Leader to urge the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, not to start this model by September 2015. In the meantime, she must reassure parents, teachers and the children themselves that their learning support and resource hours will not be cut. Let us face it; if any one of us has a child with special learning needs we want to give them a level playing field with their peers. We support a policy of inclusion in this country whereby we include children with special educational needs in mainstream classrooms. The only way to guarantee that, according to the education Act, is to provide learning support or resource teaching hours to bring such children to the required level. When one pulls that away, one disadvantages such children and that is the fear teachers, parents and children have currently. We do not want a minefield in this area. I had a very good debate with the Minister earlier on the junior certificate. She has done everything to allay fears on the matter. The issue has not gone away but we do not need a new problem in special educational needs to emerge without proper consultation.