Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I call for a debate in the House on special education. This week, I attended a meeting in a primary school and the stress among parents and teachers was evident. This was mainly due to the lack of appropriate school places for second level students. Students leaving primary school have applied for places but they still have no indication of whether they will receive appropriate school placements in their locality. There is also an issue with primary school places but it affects more children leaving primary school and going to secondary school. It is an issue that affects not only schoolchildren in Cavan, but also schoolchildren throughout the country. It needs to be addressed. It is down to planning and we should ensure we have sufficient and appropriate school places for all of our primary school pupils going on to secondary school.

Another issue is the difficulty in teaching these children because of the lack of supports in the community. This is something we should look at to see whether it is possible to provide the supports children need in the school setting because they are not working in the community setting as it is. I would appreciate if this debate could be held.