Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I also congratulate him, his Department and all of those involved in progressing this important Bill. Almost two years on from its publication in 2016, we are seeing the beginning of the reform of schools admission policies and access to education for all in Ireland. The Bill will provide a new framework that is designed to ensure fairness, greater clarity, more transparency and legitimacy in the admissions policy of our schools and takes a major step forward in ensuring equity in our education system.

I particularly welcome measures in the Bill which ensure that schools are made available for all students, including those with special educational needs or disabilities. Under the Bill, a school is required to include a statement in its admissions policy that it will not discriminate in the admission of a student on the grounds of disability. It will be good to see that written down in black and white. I would be interested to know what sanctions the Minister proposes in the Bill for schools which flout those requirements. From a reading of the relevant section, I am not clear about the provisions. That is a separate matter.

The Bill provides for a situation whereby when a child with special needs or otherwise cannot find a school place, the National Council for Special Education or Tusla can designate a school place for that child. The Bill enables the Minister for Education and Skills, once set procedures and processes are followed, to require a scheme to open a special class. While in most cases schools have been open to providing additional special classes, this welcome provision simply eliminates a scenario where schools can and sometimes do refuse to admit children.I thank Mr. Graham Manning, a concerned teacher from Cork, who sought to ensure such provisions would be made in the Bill for children with autism, in particular, and also Deputy Thomas Byrne who worked to that end when the Bill was going through the Dáil. We had a meeting in Cork and over 200 parents turned up. They were all parents of children in primary school who were really worried about where they would go come September.

The Bill moves to eliminate the baptism barrier in the majority of cases. I know that my colleague, Senator Lynn Ruane, as well as Senator Alice-Mary Higgins and I, are passionate about this element of the Bill and have worked with Mr. Michael Barron of EQUATE to see the baptism barrier removed from school admissions policies in 98% of cases. Section 7(3)(c) of the Equal Status Act 2000 allows State-funded schools to discriminate against children on religious grounds. In practice, this means that children who have been baptised get priority in enrolment over children who are not. Refusing a child a place in his or her State-funded local school because of his or her family's religion or beliefs is a denial of his or her rights and should not be acceptable in a modern democracy. While a minority of schools will be able to use religion as a criterion for admission where school places are in limited supply, the Bill will be effective in the great majority of cases and keep such scenarios to a minimum.

The new Education (Admission to Schools) Bill makes it clear that schools are open and welcoming of all pupils. It is hoped its provisions in respect of children with special educational needs will address and remove impediments to accessing education for such children, including children with autism, particularly in accessing second level education. While I do not know if more recent statistics are available, in 2014 only 23% of students with autism were in a special class, with many going without the required support. From information provided for me, in the whole of County Cork, there are 81 classrooms at primary level and just 41 at second level, a difference of about 234 places. In Cork city only one boy was offered a place in a secondary school with an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classroom in 2016 and 2017. Hundreds of children are missing out. There an autism education gap in Cork and other places as children transition from primary to secondary school, in particular. It is hoped the provisions in the Bill will eliminate the gap and schools' veto.

While the Bill takes some very welcome steps towards equalising access to education and schools, there are some elements that could be strengthened further. The Bill needs to give special education needs organisers, SENOs, through the National Council for Special Education and the Minister's office, the authority to compel a school to establish a special class where there is a clear need for one. In that regard, I would prefer if the word "shall" rather than "may" was used. There should be as few steps as is necessary in the process. The timeframe for such a process must be as short as possible in order that it will not have an undue impact on and delay the education of the child or children while we wrangle about whether we have all of the information from the stakeholder consultation process and this, that and the other and all the while the child remains without a school place. The process needs to be transparent. The reasons a special class is to be established need to be put in writing. We also need to avoid a scenario where a school will propose to set up too many special classes because that will cause different problems.

Another issue the Minister might consider is the need for language to be clear and concise to guarantee the best possible results from the legislation. We should specifically refer to "special classes" rather than "additional provision of education for children with special educational needs". The areas mentioned in the Bill need to be clearly defined. I intend to study the Bill more to see how best we can strengthen it and may submit further amendments on the next Stage. I understand the National Council for Special Education is meeting later today to discuss the Bill. I will be consulting it and other further.

Another measure that could strengthen the Bill is an undertaking to review the Bill after a period of time to assess if it has achieved its goals of providing for equity and better access to education for children, including for children with autism. I am conscious that the capitation grants are different for children in primary schools which receive an extra €682 extra per student per year. That money does not follow through into secondary schools with special units. Will the Minister comment on this?

In general, I welcome the Bill which addresses some long-standing and thorny issues related to admissions policies in schools. First and foremost, admissions policies in schools have to be about the children and their right to an education, not any issue that might arise for management boards and teachers. All of these things can be worked through. The Bill introduces enforceable measures to ensure all children, regardless of religion, can access education and additional mechanisms to ensure schools are for everyone, including children with disabilities, autism or special educational needs, and that all children will receive an education, to which they have a right. That said, I am prepared to table amendments to sharpen key elements of the Bill to ensure it will be as effective as possible. I thank the Minister for bringing us this far. I also thank the Acting Chairman and look forward to having the opportunity to debate the Bill further.