Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here this morning to address what I believe is a very important issue that was raised recently by the journalist Maria Delaney, a reporter with The Journal. Her report showed that the number of pupils on reduced timetables has increased to 1,275. This is something that is very close to my heart as someone from the Traveller community who came through the education system, was put down at the back of the class for Irish and was taken out when there was a Traveller teacher, who was not a member of the Traveller community, and who went through special education, which every member of the Traveller community received whether they needed or not in the school I attended in Ballyfermot. For me, seeing this report is frightening, as it is for young members of the Traveller community and for children with additional needs. The report talks about children with autism who are also impacted by the reduced timetables.

In the past five years I have been a Member of this House, I have sat on the education committee. We have seen numerous reports in which members of the Traveller community and children who are autistic are put at a disadvantage in this country. We need to be moving away from that. What is the Department doing to stop children from the Traveller community, the Roma community and children who are autistic from being on these reduced timetables? I understand some children need to be on reduced timetables. That is understandable. I was an SNA and I know all about behaviours and so forth. A child should not be denied an education because of his or her behaviour, however. I see this issue arise many times on the halting site in Labre Park, Ballyfermot. Mothers are coming to me saying that their child can go into school for one hour and then come home. The parents do not know what to do with the young people for the day. They have no supports at home. When is this going to change? It is the children on the margins of society who are impacted again. While 1,275 may be a small number, it is a lot of children from a population that makes up 1% of Irish society. It is also a big number of children with additional needs. What is the Department going to do to resolve this issue and inequality for these children?

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Senator for her passionate plea this morning on this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee. Reduced school days, RSD, is a transitionary arrangement which should only be put in place in exceptional circumstances and for very limited and time-bound circumstances and only with the consent of the parent or the guardian. It is designed to assist the student to attend for some part of the school day along with his or her peers where it is not possible at a point in time for them to attend in a full-time capacity. The use of reduced school days can, if used appropriately, be a positive intervention which has the intention of assisting a student to return to full-time attendance, such as supporting a student to return to school after a period of absence due to a medical or mental health-related condition or due to other exceptional circumstances. It is based on the needs of the individual student.

The number of children on a reduced school day in the past school year was 1,275, or 0.13% of the student population. This increased by 22% from 1,044, or 0.11% of the student population, in 2022-2023. The main reason for the increase is likely to be the increased awareness in schools of the requirement to report the activation of a reduced school day. Of the total Traveller and Roma enrolments in the school population, 87 or 0.6% were placed on the reduced school day for part of the school year.This represents a 10% decrease on the numbers reported to be on the RSD from the Traveller or Roma communities for the 2022-23 school year. The monitoring and use of RSD is a key action in the Traveller and Roma education strategy, TRES, which was published in July 2024, alongside the plan for implementation and action for 2024 to 2026. This strategy is specifically developed to meet the needs of the children, young people and adults from the Traveller and Roma communities with the aim of enhancing their education experience and success.

Under the first two-year implementation plan, two national Traveller and Roma education strategy co-ordinators have been appointed to support the implementation of actions within the strategy. Funding has also been secured to establish 15 community link workers to support Traveller and Roma children and young people and those most at risk of educational disadvantage. It is envisaged that these workers will be appointed during quarter 2 of 2025. In addition to the TRES, other supports include ten home school community liaison, HSCL, co-ordinators, serving 14 non-DEIS post-primary schools which have a high number of Traveller and Roma students, and which aim to improve school attendance, participation and school completion. In the past year, the Department has worked with the TESS and the NCSE to introduce a data-sharing agreement which enables TESS to advise the NCSE directly where a child with special educational needs begins a reduced school day.

The Department's inspectors and the NEPS psychologists sometimes raise the use of reduced school days during their meetings or inspections in school. The inspectorate also conduct dedicated inspections in schools with high numbers of children from Traveller and Roma backgrounds. These inspections have a specific focus on attendance, use of reduced school day and literacy for Traveller and Roma children and young people. The NCSE SENOs work collaboratively with TUSLA educational welfare officers at a local level where appropriate to ensure all necessary supports are available to students with special educational needs who are out of school. Both TESS and the NCSE in conjunction with the Department are monitoring the situation to ensure the effective operation of the RSD scheme, and to provide the best outcomes for students, schools and parents.

Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Yesterday, I had a group of young Travellers with a youth service in here. It honestly broke my heart when a young man asked what Leinster House was. I tried to explain to him. He looked at the portrait of Michael D. Higgins on the wall and asked whether he was the Taoiseach. I told him no, that Micheál Martin is the Taoiseach - trying to educate young children within the Traveller community. I see these young children constantly being failed by the education system and we are talking about 15 and 16-year-olds who are on reduced timetables and who are colouring in pages for homework in leaving certificate year. I understand the education strategy and I thank the then Minister, Deputy Foley, who at the time supported Pavee Point to introduce it. If it works, it will be very effective and will make a lot of changes for young children within our community. However, it is not good enough. We and the Department of Education need to put in stronger measures to make sure that children with additional needs and children from the Traveller and Roma communities are not being pushed aside any more.

My wee girl is five years of age and is able to name Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to me and to name the President. My child is very privileged and she is a member of the Traveller community. It is unfortunate that we have 16- and 17-year-olds who have not had that opportunity. It is a failure of the Department and the State. I look forward to working with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, moving forward, and hopefully we can come up with a solution that stops it.

Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank Senator Flynn for what she said and I hope her message will get back to the Minister. I thank her for raising the matter and giving me the opportunity to assure the House that the Department of Education, TESS and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. They assure me they will continue to support children and their families, providing information on the reduced school days guidelines and by continuing to monitor the use of reduced school days for children of all ethnic backgrounds and in particular children with special educational needs. They will ensure that the school is provided with the supports required to enable a child to return to school on a full-time basis.

On what the Senator just said, I remember Mary Forde, who was principal of Presentation College, Athenry. She had a number of students from the Traveller community. One of them went on to do the leaving certificate - unfortunately not many of them did so - achieved great results and went on to do a teaching course. There is a young man in Galway named Ian McDonagh with whom I am very friendly. He is an exceptional young man. I had him up here for a full day with me and we met the Taoiseach and every Minister. He is a very good young lad who stayed in school. Senator Flynn is making a very valid point. I was sad to hear what she had to say about the members of the community coming in, and the young man who was looking up at the picture of Michael D. Higgins and did not know who our Taoiseach is. I hope the programmes that have been put in place will encourage more Travellers to go back to school and to play a part in our community and our education system.