Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being available this morning to deal with this matter. It relates to Scoil Cara in Cork city. The school started off in 2011 with 30 students. It now has 72 students for 2019. This Commencement matter relates to children with special needs and the need for adequate services to be put in place. My question this morning is about the adequate provision of people who can provide therapeutic services. I understand that there is a certain guideline as regards the number of hours that should be made available for each child. The staffing levels at the moment are not adequate to provide that level of therapeutic services for these children. In fairness to them, parents are working very hard with the board of management and the principal of the school to make sure that the best possible education and support is provided for these students, but one of the key elements of the children's development is the provision of these services. I understand there has been a difficulty in getting the necessary support. I know this area covers two Departments in the sense that the Department of Education and Skills would be involved in respect of the school while the support services come under the Department of Health and the HSE. Can something be done to make sure we provide the adequate support services for these children? If we provide them now, when the children are very young, there will be huge long-term benefits. Long-term costs are also reduced when the services are produced at a very early stage. It is in that context that I am raising this issue with the Minister of State this morning. Raising it is urgent because it is important that no time is lost in providing these services.