Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I echo many of the comments that have been made by my colleagues. I was particularly struck by Senator Bacik's remark about how we can address problems with regression. This is a particular concern, and I hope a plan is put in place for children with special needs who have regressed. This is obviously based on speaking to their teachers and their families. We must put measures in place.

I agree with Senator Seery Kearney about the importance of continuing to roll out ASD units. If the Minister of State, as one of her legacies in the Department, can ensure this will happen, she will have done a very good job. I also agree with Senator Craughwell about antigen testing.

I wish to raise two issues. One is the question of transport provision, as was mentioned by Senator Warfield and others. The school bus scheme is something of a nightmare every year, as everybody knows. It is particularly important for families of children with special needs. Depending on how long we have to deal with this pandemic in whatever form it takes, the challenges with regard to school transport are going to continue. Perhaps the Minister of State will outline how we can address some of the challenges.

The other matter follows up on what Senator Craughwell mentioned about boards of management in schools. We had a situation in which some boards of management and some schools were prepared to open and wanted to offer provision. They felt they could safely open and the teachers in the schools wanted to meet the special needs concerns of children in their areas.They were able to point to the fact that adult daycare and respite services remained open in that period. They felt that they could open safely. In many cases, they pointed to the fact that similar schools and classes in the North were often able to open. I disagree with Senator Craughwell in that I think, if there is an appropriate set of guidelines in place from the Department, schools and boards of management should be able to make the necessary decisions. The most important group in all the decision-making has to be the students and their families. They have to come first, ahead of everybody else. If a school is prepared to open, provided that the Department puts clear guidelines in place, then that should be allowed to happen.