Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am standing in for my colleague, Senator Warfield, who is unfortunately under the weather today. The Minister of State is very welcome.

Sinn Féin welcomes and supports this legislation, which will shorten the notice period for schools being instructed to accommodate pupils with special educational needs. Many families are trying to secure appropriate education for their children as is their human right. I commend all the families and campaigners who have fought tirelessly for fair treatment for their children. We would not be here discussing this Bill if it were not for their campaigning. It is very troubling that in addition to raising their children, they need to be politically active in order to get equality of opportunity for their children.

Children have a right to an appropriate education. We will work with the Government to ensure that solutions are delivered urgently for the children affected. Everything that can be done should be done to ensure families get clarity as soon as possible. I am conscious that confusion within Government caused unnecessary stress for families. As my colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Ó Laoghaire, said, we are debating this at a time when parents, particularly those in Dublin but also in Kildare, Meath, Cork, Limerick and elsewhere, do not have a school place for their children for September. That is not acceptable.

The report of the Ombudsman for Children was published recently and the Minister of State accepted it was discriminatory that the State did not have adequate places for these children. That report pointed out that the Department of Education is failing children with special educational needs, particularly in black spots such as Dublin and Cork regarding the provision of suitable school places.

My colleague, Senator Warfield, has tabled a number of amendments to this legislation, which we will discuss again on Wednesday at 6.30 p.m. Last month Sinn Féin tabled a Dáil motion raising many issues relating to this subject, including the call to introduce emergency legislation to expedite the section 37A process to ensure all children have an appropriate school place within a school community.

We welcome the Bill but have proposals to improve it and hope they will be accepted. I also ask the Minister of State to accept my apologies. I need to go somewhere else, but I will be following the debate from my office.