Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. He has been a long-time advocate for and champion of the disability sector, which has been a great pillar of his political life to date. I have great expectations that he is going to do well in his role. It would be remiss of me, but not because she is sitting in front of me, not to acknowledge the huge work that former Deputy and now Senator Anne Rabbitte did during her time as Minister of State in this area, often against fierce resistance within her Department and the disability sector. That should not be forgotten today.

While I would be the first to put my hand up to acknowledge the deficits in the delivery of our special education, it is the case that we are spending a huge amount of money on it. A full 25% of the education budget is spent on special education but we also need to call out many school management boards and unions regarding their resistance to the delivery of special education over the years. I do not believe money is the issue here. The issue is a willingness and eagerness to really bed this in. There is nobody in this House who is not affected by the need for special education at various levels. Every family has its own experience and can relate a tale. We are in a very privileged position, as elected representatives, because we see at first hand the many challenges that so many families are facing across Ireland. Many say that housing will define this period of government and elected representation in this country. In reality, however, it will be special education, how we deliver it and how we look after the disabled community right across Ireland that will define us. Covid was extremely challenging. The scars of the pandemic can be seen right across the country. The greatest impact was on the disability sector. We need to row back on that. Many people need to put their hands up and accept responsibility. I lay the blame firmly on some school boards of management and trade unions in that regard.

I want to reference a couple of local cases that I have already discussed with the Minister of State. One of them concerns a parent who has contacted the Minister of State directly about her non-verbal 13 year old son. Unfortunately, the child's school is not providing the necessary supports for his needs. It does not have access to a CDNT behavioural therapist. The parent offered to provide this service herself, privately, in the school setting but that was not possible. The school was not prepared to work with that. She subsequently contacted CAMHS but was informed that due to the lack of a behavioural therapist in Longford and the absence of senior psychologists in the area, the CDNT would not realistically be able to provide the supports her son needs. To her great distress, she was advised that she should perhaps consider residential care as an option. This is a woman who has given up her career to care full-time for this young man. He is a wonderful young man. I have a daughter the same age. It must have been a crushing blow for his mother to get a call advising to consider residential care. She is now looking at her options and has contacted the Minister of State directly in relation to her application for the Middletown Centre for Autism. As he Minister of State is well aware, places there are at a premium. I ask him to take a look at the case to which I refer to see what he can do to assist this young man and his family.

I have also discussed with the Minister of State the situation in relation to a rural school in County Longford. As I said earlier, many school boards of management have to step up and accept responsibility. At the same time, we have absolute champions in some schools. Many small, rural schools, faced with the prospect of declining numbers and the loss of a teacher identified that there was a need for special education in their area and are now attracting pupils from right across the wider hinterland. They have been great champions in this area, and there should be no impediment to those schools delivering that service. The school that I reference - and I have sent the details to the Minister of State - is very much a role model in this regard. However, it is now faced with a challenge. It has been allocated 1.6 full-time posts. It is slightly short of that but it can resolve that if it is allowed to include English as an additional language, the 0.5 full-time role. That would bring it up to the number it needs. I hope the Minister of State can come up with a solution in that case as well.

I have two final points to make, one of which is in relation to additional places at St. Christopher's special school in Longford. It is a champion in the delivery of special education. It was one of the new special education schools delivered in the lifetime of the previous Government. In terms of its current autism classes, I know of one young boy, born in 2012, who is third on the waiting list for a place in September and for a younger autism class, there is another young boy who is one of two on the waiting list. Realistically, if these guys get a recommendation from the NCSE that they need a place in a special education setting, we cannot turn around and place them back in an autism class in a regular school. They need the additional supports that they will get at St. Christopher's.

My final point is one I have mentioned to the Minister of State many times and one that St. Christopher's in Longford has made to me many times, which is the absence of a special school in County Leitrim. This is putting additional and major pressure on Longford, Sligo and the adjoining counties because people from Leitrim have no option but to try to access services in those counties. I do not expect the Minister of State to have this in place by this September but I would be happy with September 2026, if the Minister of State wants to make a mental note of that. Certainly, if we had provision in Leitrim to deliver that service it would ease the bottlenecks, particularly in terms of those five additional places in St. Christopher's this year.

I thank the Minister of State for coming in and wish him well in his role. I have great hopes and expectations and I know that he will bring the passion that has defined his political career to date to this area. I do not undersell or understate the matter when I say that this is the defining challenge of our times. How we how we treat people with disabilities and those who need special education will set us apart as a society.