Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome yesterday evening's announcement by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, that the Government has agreed to allocate additional resources to schools to support children with Down's syndrome who are not already being supported through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, annual allocation process. I was delighted with yesterday's announcement. Like many of my colleagues, I have long pushed for support to be available to children who are not provided for. These interim allocations will provide an additional 2.5 hours per week, pending the introduction of the new allocation model for children with special educational needs. I hope the interim measures and the introduction of the new allocation model will provide the necessary support and assistance more fairly for children with Down's syndrome. I regret that they have had to go through so many hoops to reach the decision. I hope the new model will be announced very soon. It is going through a pilot scheme. I hope clarity will be brought on further additional hours for children with Down's syndrome.

I would like to highlight the Hope Foundation's SHE IS campaign, which was launched earlier this month. The campaign aims to fight gender discrimination and demonstrate solidarity on a global basis. Powerful women across Ireland have lent their voices to the campaign to highlight the gender imbalance in India and around the world. We have progressed by leaps and bounds in recent decades to rectify the gender imbalances that existed in many countries. Unfortunately, this task will require our vigilance and attention for some time to come. Countries such as India remain dangerous places in the 21st century. In 2012, the United Nations cited India as the most dangerous place in the world in which to be born a girl. It is upsetting to hear that 47% of girls in India are married before they reach the age of 18. More than 75,000 people have engaged with the Hope Foundation's SHE IS campaign and I urge my Oireachtas colleagues to support the campaign and bring further awareness to the serious gender inequality in developing countries. We have an opportunity and a platform to generate a discussion and highlight these important issues.