Jen Cummins
Dublin South-Central · Social Democrats · Ireland
“However, there is an advantage if their family can buy them one and they can continue their school work at home. It is not good enough to say that schools can make up their minds about that. The Department needs to actually decide and give guidance like it does for other things.”
“Circular 0032/2017 has been in existence for almost ten years and in most parts is not enforced. There is no point in issuing a circular if nothing is going to be done about it. I am delighted the Minister has said there will be a working group to review and hopefully strengthen that.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. It is very timely. These are the summer months when parents start to think about how we will we stretch our finances to autumn, get everything that we need to ready and then still maybe take a holiday, organise summer camps, etc. The motion is, as stated, very timely.”
“I see it as an absolute disgrace that such a number of people need that support. I welcome that that funding and support is there for those families but I am still shocked that this affects 233,000 children, which is a lot of children, aged between two and 18. I think it goes up to 22 in some cases. There is a digital divide.”
“When parents were told, they had six weeks to pay but most people do not have such a flexible budget to allow them to pay the €160 or however much it is. When things are being reintroduced time needs to be factored in for that. There was an increase in the cost of school transport for families.”
“I will go through a few of the things that I think still present challenges. The capitation grant for schools was increased last year but has still not reached a level which will mean that schools are fully funded. It has not reached the level where it needs to be. In addition, it does not take into consideration the level of inflation.”
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“I bring up the issue of opting out of religious classes for children who go to religious schools. A number of parents have contacted me about this issue, and it is causing huge concern, upset and disappointment. Children who attend schools that are under religious patrons and who are not part of that religion or belief system are supposed to be able to opt out. It is set out in the Constitution under Article 44.2.4° that the right of any child should be facilitated. The issue is that guidelines were supposed to be given by the Department, but they do not seem to be clear. They say that the school should provide that facility, but unfortunately schools are not doing that. There is a loophole where the Department says it is up to the school to do it, but parents say this is not happening.”
“That capital expenditure is important, but so are the pay and conditions for those staff members who still have not been brought into the public sector. It is really important that when we have all these millions and billions of euro, the nitty-gritty on the ground has to be addressed, particularly for staff members because they cannot teach vulnerable learners if they are not protected in their employment.”
“I am a bit concerned that the FET aspect will only be finalised in the future. FET sometimes is forgotten, and it is such an important part. The Minister of State talked about inclusive education. FET is a form of education that enables social mobility. People entering into FET often come through community and adult education. We need to make sure that is not forgotten. With regard to pay and conditions, the last point I want to raise is that for Youthreach and community centres, even though they are valued, there is no additional funding. I know from working on the ground that there is a difficulty with funding, particularly for community training centres. I am on the board of one such centre. It has windows that are in bits, and it is draughty.”
“The fantastic courses that are provided in each of these centres need to be accompanied by resources, such as 3D printers, to facilitate upskilling all the time. I am just using that as an example, but it is about ring-fencing resources in particular. I will come back in on pay and conditions.”
“It is wonderful to see the amount of money going into all that which the Minister of State outlined. It is much needed. I am concerned, however, for three parts, one of which is capital budgets for buildings. The Minister of State has visited many different places around the country. As she knows, I have worked in education for a very long time, and I have been to see adult education centres, Youthreach programmes and community training centres that are working out of buildings that really need to be retrofitted. They are cold, old and draughty. Capital investment in this area is important to make sure learners, teachers and staff are well supported. The other thing I am interested in is ring-fencing resources for those organisations.”
“I would like to ask the Minister about specific allocations in the budget for further education and training, community education, Youthreach and community training centres. These programmes play a vital role in inclusion, lifelong learning and skills development, yet they operate with limited resources. Could the Minister please outline the new resources, capital and current, that are being allocated and explain how these will strengthen local provision for further education?”
“I am wondering where these additional 860 special educational teachers will be found. Perhaps, if I were asked, I would say they were probably in Dubai or Australia living the life they could have over there that they could not possibly wish to have here. Unless this Government wants to make the country affordable to young graduate teachers, these vacancies will continue. The additional SNAs are welcome but I am a little concerned that this is more fiddling of numbers. It seems to me a grandiose announcement to take the heat off the Government after it has caused confusion and fear with the new SNA review, the SNA workforce development unit and the long-awaited clarification of the role of SNAs. A world-class education system is not a utopian dream. It is a political choice. We have the resources and the expertise.”
“The Department continually operates on a reactive and not proactive basis. Its promises and plans for special education have not come to fruition. As of 1 October, 24 children were without an appropriate school place. A further 160 children have school places on paper but there is no physical school building for them to attend. Therefore, they do not have school places. Promising phantom school places for children with additional needs is where the reality versus the paper exercise that has been done by the Government can be seen. This is the reality of what has happened. The stress this has caused parents and those children is immense. We welcome the announcement that there will be an additional 1,717 SNAs and 860 special education teachers. However, as of August this year, there were 600 vacant teacher posts.”
“It is an utter disgrace that any school in this country needs to ask for voluntary contributions in order to cover the cost of rising insurance and energy bills, to put in ICT systems, to repair sports facilities and to do the basics of what any modern State school should have. I see that capitation grants have risen, but not to the tune that will really work and prevent parents having to go out to do fundraisers. It is not up to school leaders and parents to constantly have to do fundraisers for the basics. Of course, if they want to fundraise for a trip or other icing-on-the-cake things, that is fantastic, but we definitely should not have that for the basics. The lack of special education places remains a huge concern, particularly for children with autism and complex needs.”
“The physical condition of our schools matters. In too many cases, children are still being taught in prefabs without proper ventilation or accessibility. Sometimes, these are in terrible condition. This is a costly outlay on an annual basis. For a three-year period, it was €86 million. In 2024, 440 schools were renting prefabs to the tune of €28.8 million. What should not be forgotten is the impact on climate as well as on the children. These buildings are costly to run and poorly insulated. We need a proper and comprehensive plan to phase out prefab classrooms and replace them with modern energy-efficient buildings that serve our students for the long term. The Government has plans to roll out a school buildings programme. Quite frankly, I wish that every success. I am not very hopeful because it is quite an ambitious target.”
“With regard to evidence that shows our young people and children are under stress and their emotional and mental well-being needs to be supported, we need to have specialist carers for emotional support for young people in our schools. However, this is going at such a slow pace that by the time it is fully rolled out to special primary and secondary schools, those children currently in junior infants will probably not see it at all. Not one person has mentioned class sizes. We have the largest class sizes in the EU. The EU average is 19 and ours is 23. Children cannot learn in overcrowded classrooms. They just cannot. This issue is constantly mentioned by students, teachers, parents and unions, so it is flabbergasting that it has not even been mentioned today. Let us talk about the basics of school buildings.”
“The budget does not even mention the school completion programme but the local management committees and staff on these projects are used to being ignored. DEIS plus is welcome but I have no doubt there will be pilots and evaluations, it will roll along, and then there will be a realisation that it was not properly monitored and there was not enough investment, another new idea will come along and we will pilot that one for a while. While I am very hopeful for it, and many schools I have worked with throughout my time in the school completion programme will be very happy to see DEIS plus, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.”
“Free hot meals are available to students, but the cost is enormous. The quality of meals, as reported to my office and to the offices of many of my colleagues, is not fit for purpose. There is massive waste on a daily basis. It does not seem to have been thought through properly. We have a review of it, from a nutritional point of view, but we are only now being issued with guidelines on how things are supposed to be going, despite the scheme running for a lengthy period. The school completion programme, which I have long advocated and worked for, has the potential to prevent early school-leaving and re-engage very vulnerable students, but it remains plagued by outdated governance structures, inconsistent funding and precarious employment for its staff.”
“These are big sellable items that will no doubt help many families. However, evidence shows that targeted support is far more effective for the most vulnerable in our society. Measures such as support for devices that are ever more common in schools are not mentioned. These devices cost a lot of money but books are still needed. Free books for students have a knock-on effect for the local economy. Local bookshops are now not stocking schoolbooks and businesses are being halted because people are going straight to the publishers. Costly uniforms are still an issue for parents annually, despite Circular 32/2017. For those not fluent in Department of education lingo, that was published in 2017. It requested that schools use generic uniforms that can have iron-on or sew-on crests. This does not seem to have come into effect in schools.”
“Investment in staffing, classrooms, resources and support to learners is vital to ensure this vulnerable cohort of learners thrive and love learning. Youthreach and community and training centres are the unsung heroes of our education system. They provide second-chance or alternative education to students who have often had a negative experience of mainstream school. They provide QQI qualifications. However, staff in community training centres have not been fully brought into the public sector pay agreements, despite being under the same umbrella as Youthreach, for training and education. Again, we do not even see that addressed in the budget this year. This budget should have placed educational disadvantage at the core of its message but it did not. Free books for all are welcome, as are free hot school meals for everyone.”
“We have heard about resourcing of occupational therapy and speech and language therapies at primary and post-primary level time and again, but those extra places have, unfortunately, been put in with additional health and medical courses instead of enhancing those threadbare supports. The future of student accommodation in our third level institutions is in jeopardy due to the lack of support being given. I know it was said that the Government would do something at Maynooth and UCD but those projects already exist, so that is nothing new. What about the technological universities? Nothing. There is no mention of them. I am glad to see there will be an investment in apprenticeships because those are working very well. That is very welcome. Community and adult education is a service not only to individuals but also our society.”
“No one needs a PhD in maths to realise that a reduction of €500 is less than the €1,000 in reduced fees last year. I do not want to hear the excuse about it being a cost-of-living measure. The Government parties went to the voters last year promising this reduction. It misled them and now it is not keeping its promise. Students are our future. The Government has turned a very large active cohort against it. I hope they never forget how, when the country was very wealthy, the Government chose not to keep its promise. In Ireland, investment in primary through to tertiary education stands at only 2.8% of GDP. That is below the OECD average of 4.7%. The provision of funding to third level institutions for the development of courses, research and student-priced accommodation should be at the forefront of investment in our education system.”
“Education is the foundation of every society, and education has been spoken about in this Chamber and in committee rooms on numerous occasions. Ireland should have an education system that is inclusive, equitable and accessible to every child and young person regardless of his or her postcode, income, ability or background, yet day after day and week after week, the truth of the poor supports, exclusion and inequality are told to politicians and the media, and more and more support groups have been set up to advocate for children, young people and learners who are on the margins. Shamefully, this Government is attempting to spin a €500 increase in student fees as a reduction. No one is buying this, least of all the students and their families. The Government has betrayed students today.”
“The Minister's Government seems determined to make it more difficult for students to access and stay in third level education. Can the Minister confirm that his Government will at least reinstate a €1,000 reduction in student contributions permanently and finally give students and their families the opportunity to plan ahead financially?”
“I raise the deeply concerning issue of student contribution fees. Freshers week across the country is wrapping up and students have started lectures, and yet families across Ireland are none the wiser as to what they will be paying in fees. The rumour mill around the Government's budget is that the decrease will only be €500. The confusion and concern about student contribution fees is unacceptable and was completely avoidable. There is a cost-of-living crisis and families and students are staring at a very long and cold winter. In the Social Democrats' alternative budget, which we are launching today, we have outlined the need to decrease the student contribution by the full €1,000, but also to increase the threshold for SUSI and to ensure more affordable options for student accommodation.”
“The estimated cost is €370 million, a figure that can be met, for example, by tripling the bank levy. This is a small price to pay for recognising carers as equal partners in our health and social system. Education opens doors but for too long, carers have found those doors slammed shut by an unfair, outdated and punitive means test. Let us open those doors by removing this barrier once and for all.”
“By treating the carer's allowance as a social assistance payment rather than the recognition of essential work, we send a clear and damaging message that care has no intrinsic value unless you are poor enough to qualify for support. The numbers speak volumes. Approximately 37% of applications are refused. That is nearly 9,500 refusals every year. Appeals drag on for an average of 23 weeks. This is bureaucracy and it is a waste of time and energy that carers could be investing in their families or indeed in their own education. Worse still, some 6,500 full-time carers receive nothing more than the once-off carer's support grant of €2,000 annually, leaving them significantly disadvantaged compared with those who do qualify. This reform is affordable.”
“However, under the current system the choice is often too stark, making them choose care or education but not both. I think particularly of the young people I met in the audiovisual room last year. These young people are caring for family members while going to school and should be able to dream of further and higher education like many young people do. The unfairness of the means test is stark when compared with conditions in other professions, like teaching and nursing and the Garda. They are never told their pay depends on their spouse's income, yet over 70% of carers, the vast majority of them women, are forced into economic dependency through this system.”
“Currently, carers may work, study or train for 18 and a half hours a week while still providing 35 hours of care. Many try to upskill or pursue education in order to keep one foot in the workforce, but that rigid means test penalises them. A modest increase in household income, perhaps through a partner's job or small bursary linked to a course, can push a family over the threshold, cutting them off from vital support overnight. These restrictive rules are void of any common sense and are a deterrent to education. Access to education should not be a luxury reserved for those who can afford to risk losing their allowance. Education can help carers reskill after years out of the labour market, improve their mental health through social participation, and allow them to contribute in different ways to society.”
“The Social Democrats have brought forward this motion to abolish the means test for carers, which was promised by this Government, and I am very happy to see there is no amendment to the motion. Carers and people with disabilities cannot wait any longer for the Government to fulfill this election promise. One area that is often overlooked when we speak about carers is education. Family carers are not only the backbone of our care system, saving the State over €20 billion every year through their unpaid labour, but they are also parents, partners and guardians who want the same opportunities for learning, training and participation in society that everyone else does. Yet, the way the carer's allowance is structured today actively undermines those opportunities.”
“As a legislator, I would much rather be in here making sure that we are creating legislation that is not just sitting on a shelf but is actually able to be enacted so that we prevent young people from being taken advantage of by these big companies that want to make money over the health of our young people.”
“If I was young person now, I would probably be doing the same. Companies are very smart in how they are doing this, but we have to protect young people. They are not allowed to be sold under-18s. I genuinely want to know if anyone has ever been prosecuted over that. Has anybody ever come before the courts for selling nicotine vapes to young people who are under 18? HHC, hexahydrocannabinol, is a controlled substance and illegal. I was contacted by a parent in my constituency asking why her 14-year-old child and the child's friends were able to buy that. Why is she catching them using this? If that is illegal, they are not supposed to be buying vapes in the first place and we have legislation, why is it not being acted on? I agree with previous speakers about having statements here.”
“Vapes and nicotine products are the absolute bane of parents' lives. I have been contacted many times by parents asking what can be done about vapes, their contents, how they look and how they are sold. I am speaking not only as a TD but as a mother and somebody who has worked with children and young people for many decades. As previous contributors have said, school principals and school communities are really looking for guidance on this. What galls me most is that vapes are being targeted at young people. I know from talking to young people that they can get a vape that matches their outfit when they go to a party. Companies are absolutely marketing then so that young people will buy them. They go to a party and have a fantastic time. They are wearing whatever it is and their vape matches it.”
“I could talk about this all day but the point I want to make is that no matter what the Government thinks it is doing and getting right, until no child is living in poverty it has not got it right. There is a way out of this but the Government needs to want to do it. I implore the Minister to do everything he can to do it, but his record so far is not proving that he wants to do so. I ask him to listen to what people here who have expertise are saying. I ask him to go to the experts and do what they say, rather than continuing to make up things that are not working for families. There are children living in poverty today - the numbers have been shared here - and it is a disgrace.”
“When I visited homes where families were living in deprivation, the emptiness there never ceased to shock me. There were empty fridges, empty cupboards, no warm coats, no toothbrushes, no heating, no school supplies, no toys, no books, no games and nothing for children, but there was lots of fear, lots of shame and lots of anxiety. There was love, because not one parent wants their child or their family living in poverty. Intergenerational poverty means that there is a risk, although it is not fate, that children will grow up to be adults in poverty. Education is a mitigating factor to help with that. However, childhood poverty or economic uncertainty is associated with lower cognitive scores and lower attainment to junior cert, and indeed, retention to leaving cert.”
“This House can talk about many different things. Today we are talking about child poverty. I thank the Labour Party for bringing this motion forward. I have to say that talk is cheap and action is limited when it comes to child poverty and this Government's record. I worked in some of Dublin's poorest communities for close to 30 years. I do not need to remind people in this House that there was an economic boom and there have also been crashes. The economy has been shattered but it has also been fantastic. I can tell the House that in some of the homes I visited, you would not know whether there was a boom or a bust going on because the poverty was so high and so deep that it did not matter. It did not affect any change of circumstances for those families.”
“If the Government is serious about inclusion and if we are serious about equal access to education, then school transport cannot be treated as an afterthought. It must be seen as an essential infrastructure like classrooms, teachers and SNAs. It means that the routes are secured well in advance. It means dedicated provision for children with special educational needs. It means planning for sustainability, not simply reacting to problems. Perhaps the question should be asked of the Department. The Department of Education and Youth's expertise is in education and youth work. Would school transport be a better fit under the Department of Transport as it is the expert for that? It seems that it is such a stretch for the Department of education and it is another layer of difficulty that perhaps that needs to be considered.”
“We have said several times in this Chamber that we need to get over the use of pilots for everything in this country. Other countries do things very well. We do not have to reinvent the wheel and do a pilot. Let us look at what other countries do well and take that opportunity. Regarding climate targets, there must be a 51% cut in emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050. School transport has the potential to make a real contribution to this by reducing the number of children driven to school in private cars. Bus Éireann has committed to making half of its fleet zero emissions by 2030. However, with 94% of the school transport with private contractors, they do not have the same requirements and that will slow things up.”
“As I said last week in the Dáil, there is a child who has missed so many days of schools that the Educational Welfare Service should have been involved. However, it was not because his parents were not bringing him or he was not bothered but it was because school transport let him down. What is at stake when transport is withdrawn is not just a missed bus but it is the denial of an education, which children have a right to, and parents are forced to give up work. There is a trust being broken between the State and families. Let that not be forgotten. The Department's review in 2024 recognised many of the problems, such as the removal of the nearest school rule for routes, reducing distance thresholds and expanding the scheme to tens of thousands of children. As Deputies already mentioned, there are a lot of pilots.”
“As Deputies outlined, every August things happens, in that contracts are not secured, drivers are not found and routes are cancelled. This is a failure of forward planning. In Dublin South-Central, there are a number of families who contacted me over the past number of weeks at their wits' end. There are children whose buses have been cancelled at the last minute leaving families in absolute upheaval. One child cannot get to a school outside of his community by way of school transport. The schools in the vicinity of where he lives are not suitable for his needs, so has to travel outside of it. However, given that school transport is not available means he cannot get there by such means and it puts a huge burden on his family with them having to juggle their already busy days to get him to school.”
“It is their lifeline and allows them to attend the school that is equipped to meet their needs. This is often in schools that are not in their own community, so transport is so important. It gives parents the confidence that their child will get there and back safely and allows families to hold down jobs and manage their daily lives. There are so many children using school transport. There are 17,500 children with additional needs at primary level and 3,200 at post-primary level. A huge number of people are using that service but, in many cases, these are provided by taxis rather than buses. In fact, we now have 2,700 taxis operating as part of the school transport fleet. Why are we relying on taxis to bring children to school? We are seeing yet another public service being funnelled into the private sector.”
“I am glad to have the opportunity to speak about school transport, but in particular the urgent issue of accessibility for children with special educational needs. The transport system we have was set up in 1967 to bring children to school safely and reliability. It is managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education and Youth. However, it not working for every child. We see this every year and their families are let down at the last minute. As the Minister outlined, this scheme supports nearly one in five children. However, it is just not working for every single one of them. For children with special educational needs - and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, has a special responsibility in this area - school transport is not just about getting from A to B.”
“I raise the issue of the new SNA review guidelines with the Minister. At a time when we should be increasing the support for our students, the Government - despite saying disability is a priority - seems determined to make it more difficult for children to get adequate support. The new SNA review guidelines appear focused on gatekeeping and rationing and not supporting children. The review window is too short, the criteria are too restrictive and the process will leave mainstream classes and special education classes in competition with one another. Will the Government agree to the suspension of the new SNA review guidelines until adequate consultation happens with schools, SNAs, unions and parents to ensure every child is provided with the support they need to reach their full potential? Go raibh maith agat.”
“I am not saying that parents, young people and all those things do not have to be taken into consideration. I am not saying there is not antisocial behaviour. I am saying this Private Members' motion does not address it fully. It is great to see that better school attendance monitoring is referenced in the motion but a sentence is not a solution. I have worked in this area for a long time and would love to know what the solution is. I am happy to see that an increase in Garda youth diversion funding is mentioned. I would welcome that.”
“The temporary removal of personal items such as PlayStations, Xboxes and smartphones for consistent reported antisocial behaviour is proposed. Is it a nanny state that is wanted? In what country has this been suggested? In what country has this worked? It is ignorant and patronising, and it is also paternalistic. With regard to restorative justice, the associated line in the motion makes me think its supporters have no idea what it actually means. If you want to pay back any damages, that is not how you start with restorative justice. It is about the victim, the offender and the community. Research has just come out stating a ban on social media for under-16s is not the way forward. Other Deputies have talked about algorithms and making social media companies accountable.”
“When I read this Private Members' motion, I was genuinely taken aback by elements of it. I am flabbergasted that it was put forward in its current format and even more flabbergasted that the Government is going to support it. It looks like a group of people who hate young people got together to blame them for all the antisocial behaviour and crime that happens in this country. I have worked with children and young people since 1998 in many different roles. I was a youth worker and was also a researcher in this area, and I have to say my expertise is high. I just wish that the people who drafted this motion had actually consulted experts – not me but others – who had talked to youth workers and indeed young people, or even visited a youth service or Garda youth diversion project.”
“These groups exist out of kindness, but on the other side of that they are there to create protection from a small but loud group of people who are hell-bent on creating hate and division in our community. Let us not forget how many Irish people are currently living, to provide themselves with a better lifestyle, in Dubai, Australia and lots of places. We have to remember that. Climate change will challenge us with migration in a way we have not seen. We must plan for that.”
“However, it had a very tough number of months, with the erection of an encampment in Dublin 8 beside several schools to protest against an IPAS centre. Dublin 8 for All worked with people from the encampment, councillors, TDs, gardaí and Dublin City Council to try to create calm and ease tensions. Both these groups are run by volunteers. They are people with big hearts and kindness. They have so many ideas and such a great amount of energy. They provide safety, support, laughter and fun in our community. Friendships have been formed and strength has been built. I thank them and say "Well done" to them for that work. They have made Dublin South-Central very proud.”
“I will use my time to show appreciation and give thanks to two groups in my constituency in Dublin South-Central, Inchicore For All and Dublin 8 for All. These two groups have been working to ensure that people coming to this country seeking protection are welcomed, supported and feel part of the community. Inchicore For All was set up to support several people and families who arrived in Ireland and are temporarily housed in the area. Since its establishment, there have been picnics, summer trips, international food events, parties, training and a freecycle so that things can be donated and shared. Young people and children have made friends and have all become involved in sporting groups and other activities. Dublin 8 for All has held parties, events and gatherings since it was founded.”
“What we are seeing now, however, is the Department of education and the NCSE's fantasy school places while nothing is happening. It is absolutely infuriating. We have to do better. It is about time the plans the Government had for all of these spaces are made a reality because, quite frankly, they have not been.”
“In Dublin 12, there is a 16-year-old young person, whom I will not name, who is not able to get to school because the driver is often not available at the very last minute and there is no back-up. It is the same for a primary school child, who is also in Dublin 12. This child cannot get school transport at such short notice. This happened so many times last year that the number of days that young person missed was incredible. If it was a parent, he or she would be involved with the EWO but it was not her fault; it was the fault of the transport. This is fantasy school transport. I am like a broken record saying that children in this country have a right to an education, not only under our Constitution but also under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is not just an education but an appropriate education.”
“There are over 50 children on a waiting list for an autism class. Six of those children have letters of eligibility for an autism class from the NCSE but, due to the lack of appropriate places, these children are in mainstream classes rather than an appropriate school place. The school would like to open two more autism classes and a mild general learning disability class but the Department has said no because it is trying to open ones in schools that do not already have them. Can we not have things happening at the same time? We can do two things at the one time. Another vital piece of the jigsaw is that children and young people need transport to school.”
“The board and the principal want to open a second autism classroom but they have not been able to get in contact with the Department. Miraculously, the school was sanctioned by the NCSE the following week after my discussion in the Chamber. I spoke with the principal, Lesley Byrne, this week who told me nothing has happened. It is still only sanctioned by the NCSE and the Department has not done anything. It needs to operationalise what will happen. In theory, it is there but in practice and in reality, it is not. They are fantasy special education places. In Stapolin Educate Together National School in Baldoyle, in the constituency of my colleague Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, there is an absolutely ridiculous scenario. The school has two autism classes and a developmental language class.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for tabling the motion. It is a disgrace that the Opposition has to constantly fight the Government on this issue of special education. It is a monumental and completely avoidable situation that it has to be brought up. The amount of anger out there is absolutely avoidable. I have to say the promises and plans made before the end of the school year were empty promises and shoddy and undeliverable plans. Fantasy special education places, and I mean that, are what we see. There is messing around with numbers so it looks like every child has a place but the reality is they do not. Since August we have seen many families who do not have an appropriate school place for their child. In my constituency of Dublin South-Central, Clogher Road Community College is a case in point. I raised this earlier in the year in the Chamber.”
“I would love to see every young person in Ireland who wants to access a youth service to be able to do so. I look forward to working with the Minister and I thank her very much.”