Special Educational Needs

The decision by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O’Keeffe, to destroy the futures of hundreds of the most vulnerable children in the country and the toil and effort of parents, teachers and psychologists flies in the face of logic and reason. I do not for one moment argue against the need for savings in education. However, the approach taken must be rational and based on sound educational principles and outcomes rather than on purely economic principles.The projected savings of this scheme amount to little more than €6 million. Is the Minister suggesting he cannot find such savings in other value for money initiatives, rather than targeting the most vulnerable? Let us consider this rationally. The projected savings from the culling of special needs classes is negligible in the overall context of the €2 billion savings required by the Exchequer. The decision makes little or no sense in the context of the budgetary policy and framework. Does the decision make sense in the context of educational policy and the initiatives of the Department in the past ten to 15 years? The answer is “No”. What makes these cuts especially tragic and disdainful is that they have been introduced by a Minister with an education background.

The Minister made great play last week of the fact that many of the classes in affected schools did not have nine pupils. That may be the case, but in many parts of Ireland, including County Cork and Cork city, there are schools with pupils on waiting lists for an assessment of current functioning and an assessment of current needs and without a statement of need forthcoming. The Government is doing a disservice to a marginalised, hidden and silent group.

If the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, were at full complement, these assessments could have been conducted, pupils’ needs could have been identified and classes could have been saved. It is disgraceful and shameful that after 12 years, NEPS still does not have a full complement of staff. Why is this the case?