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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“When we know how well youth work works, we can see what happens when it is absent. In my community in Dublin South Central the Donore Avenue community centre burnt down four years ago. A number of voluntary and paid youth work services were based there. Their absence has meant more young people do not have constructive things to do, and this has led to antisocial behaviour and challenges. The thing about youth work is that it is something that is often unseen but when it is absent we know exactly what the level of need is. Given that it is July, youth workers throughout the country are doing trips. They are bringing young people everywhere and giving them great opportunities. As the Minister has said, I would love to see more young people involved. Traditionally, youth work was focused in disadvantaged areas.”
“Youth work is indeed fundamental to our society. I stand here as a TD who came through youth work and youth theatre. I was a youth worker for a very long time. I see in my community the importance of youth work. Responsibility for youth has come within the remit of the Department. We very much need to keep it as a priority. There is a lot in education, and I would not like youth work, in all its guises, to be forgotten. I would love to hear more about timelines. When we plan and do new things, there is a lot of consultation. It is great the Minister recognises that there is a recruitment and retention issue regarding youth workers. A large amount of work goes into applying for funding for youth work organisations, and it takes away from the work that youth workers can do on the ground. I would love to see the funding become multi-annual.”
“The opportunities for youth strategy for the period 2024 to 2028 outlines 18 priority actions to be delivered by the end of 2026, including the establishment of an interdepartmental group and a review of the Youth Work Act 2021. Will the Minister provide an update on the implementation of the strategy?”
“Women need to stop having to travel abroad and we need a start to the medical system totally supporting these women so they can live full lives As someone wrote to me earlier, endometriosis is not a bad period; it is a full-body disease. When I hear people say it is only a bad period and take some aspirin, I wonder how many people have had to hear that and the devastation it causes. People probably start to think they are imagining it and they start to doubt themselves. That is not good enough. Bloody hell. I nearly cursed there. We really have to get this together. Everything that needs to be done must be done. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this motion. I really appreciate it.”
“Someone cannot continue schooling, education or work. It is not good enough that an employer might be very reasonable. The fact is people should be supported and healthcare should be available in this country instead of having to travel abroad. We have seen that echoed throughout healthcare for women. I was shocked to learn from the motion that we would have to call for proper healthcare, surgeries and training. It is 2025. Maybe I am naïve as a new TD thinking that surely this has happened but I am just shocked, and I am heartbroken for the women to whom this happens. This is one example and I will probably be here again after the summer recess talking about another issue. I am just a little flabbergasted, as people can probably hear. I will focus again. We are neglecting women all the time and this is another example. It needs to stop.”
“I remember reading the brilliant book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado-Perez, which said endometriosis affected one in ten women yet took years to diagnose because women’s pain was not and never had been a priority for medical research. In Ireland, the average time to receive a diagnosis is nine years. That is nine years of pain and turmoil, both physical and emotional. It is not just the agony, but the fact no one believes women that they are in this agony that makes it so difficult for many women. That our whole health service seems to ignore women time and again is compounded by the fact it takes nine years for a diagnosis. Listening to people’s stories, what I hear is how it affects every aspect of life. For people’s social lives, someone in agony cannot go out and enjoy themselves.”
“I am thankful to Sinn Féin for tabling this motion and I welcome all the people in the Gallery. Yet again, here we are in Ireland where women have to talk about the most private things in public. I was in here earlier talking about child sexual abuse in Ireland, another secret that was kept for so long. In the time I have been here, I have spoken many times in the Dáil on issues that affect women and children in this country. I do not understand how we keep repeating the same thing over and over. We need to see the effects this has on people. It is very hard to follow my colleague Deputy Whitmore and the email from her constituent. The lived experience of people is why it is so important but having to talk about these things is painful and very traumatising for people again and again.”
“We will work with the Minister. It is incumbent on everyone in the Oireachtas to make sure this is the best it can be for those survivors who have come through. I commend the Minister for this work and look forward to working with her on this and making sure that this is the beginning of the end and we do not need to continually have these inquiries and investigations because it is the end of the silence and the abuse for children in our schools.”
“The children who went to day schools went home at the end of the day, were with their families and they may have been safe for a while but those children who went to boarding schools could not escape. There was nowhere for them to go. They were there day and night and whatever those people wanted to do to them was done to them. They had no one to protect them and they were trapped. Think of the fear of that. How they got through that I really do not know. The State should not be going with a begging bowl to any religious organisation or school or anyone involved in this and relying on the goodwill of those bodies. People who sexually abused children in our schools or people who covered it up or people who turned a blind eye do not have any good will. They have no morals. They are hiding assets and relying on loopholes to avoid redress.”
“The Social Democrats will work with the Minister and all Members of the Oireachtas to make sure this is a trauma-informed, survivor centred and fully appropriate redress scheme for all people. The people who will come forward in this commission are victims and survivors but one thing that must not be forgotten is they were children. They were children at the time the abuse happened to them and it ruined their lives. They had their lives ruined by people in authority who did whatever they wanted to those children and no one stopped it. When I read the scoping inquiry at the weekend, what really struck me was that children went to day schools and to boarding schools.”
“This includes things like plain English, audio visual and accessible formats of all documents produced. It also means communication accessibility for those who are non-speaking or with literacy disabilities is crucial. The surveys outlined in the terms of reference may not be sufficient for people who have such additional needs. We need to ensure it is as inclusive as possible. We must also use the lessons we learned from the Grace case and ensure everyone's rights under the UNCRPD are upheld. That includes stipulating how it will be ascertained a person is "incapacitated" and to ensure this part of the terms of reference is compatible with the provisions of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act and presumption of capacity. It is very concerning to say "incapacitated" without any detail on how this conclusion is arrived at.”
“Unfortunately, Ireland seems to love to repeat making the same mistakes when it comes to the care of children. The terms of reference must clarify the debt owed to the state from religious bodies and others who failed in their duties to protect children from harm. The former Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall called for a very significant proportion of costs to come directly from them. This must be included before the commission begins so that it is crystal clear what is expected. The Government must do everything in its power to ensure this new commission is accessible to all. The scoping inquiry found that a very large number of allegations of abuse happened in special schools. The accommodation rights of people with intellectual disabilities must be recognised in the terms of reference.”
“I am aware that it is intended that amendments to the Charities Act 2009 and the Charities (Amendment) Act 2024 with tougher regulations to make it a legal requirement for all charities to submit annual financial statements in addition to completing the annual report form. However, the information will still not be published on the register. We need to ensure that these religious orders are compelled by law to be transparent. The amendments to the Charities Act 2009 do not go far enough. Religious orders should not be able to hide behind any legal loopholes. We know from experience that religious orders and other charities will use every loophole, lacuna and ambiguity in regulation to avoid disclosure. The Government cannot make mistakes made in previous inquiries and have no place to be repeated in this new commission.”
“The “RTÉ Investigates” programme also highlighted the problem for the public in trying to get to the bottom of exactly what assets religious institutions and charities have. The Christian Brothers, for example, do not have to publish their full accounts as a charity here whereas in the North and in England they did. Financial information is available to the public with the exception of charities that are private charitable trusts. The Christian Brothers are not a private charitable trust. Due to a loophole stating that private charitable trusts are not currently required to submit their annual financial statements to the Charities Regulator, because regulations prescribing how these financial statements are prepared were never enacted.”
“The Minister must make a full statement on this parallel process regarding assets, outlining what is known, how the Government will oversee this "work" and what steps are being taken to address issues in a timely manner. Legislation to address the lacuna with regard to unincorporated associations is long overdue. It enables, for example, Christian Brothers to force every victim suing it for child sexual abuse in civil courts to seek court orders for each individual Christian Brother who was a member of the congregation at the time of abuse and effectively taking maybe over 100 cases against brothers instead of one. The exploitation of that legal loophole was first highlighted by RTÉ in 2023 yet today the Christian Brothers continue to exercise this legal tactic in courts.”
“I understand what the Minister has said but I am really quite cautious about the fact that it is a parallel thing. I do not want things to be delayed but, at the same time, we have learned from the past that things have not been as they should have been. The "RTÉ Investigates" programme on the Christian Brothers showed that that entity held, transferred and sold over 800 properties over the course of three decades since the scandal of clerical child sexual abuse began to emerge in full public view from 1990. The scoping inquiry showed that the Christian Brothers were the largest offender when it came to child sexual abuse in schools and the largest provider of schools.”
“This was just a few years after free second level education started. The Central Statistics Office has estimated that the number of people who may have been affected by child sexual violence who are over the age of 35 years is 15,300 men and 26,000 women. That is 41,300 people, and they were children at the time. The terms of reference of this new commission are vital to ensure that mistakes are not repeated. I am a little concerned, however, that there will be a parallel process with regard to redress. There is no mention of assets of religious orders or schools in the terms of reference, and I am concerned about that. Ireland has already paid €1.5 billion in redress for survivors of intuitional abuse. This is an extremely important detail that should be set out at the beginning and not rely on "parallel" work.”
“The Scoping Inquiry into Historical Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools Run by Religious Orders from 2022 laid out lessons that must be listened to and implemented for this newly announced Commission of Investigation into the Handling of Historical Child Sexual Abuse in Day and Boarding Schools. Well done to the Minister for getting it to where it is now. She is very new in her post and she is to be commended on pushing through with this. The scoping inquiry, which I read over the weekend, was told of 2,395 allegations of historical sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders, involving 884 alleged abusers in 308 schools countrywide between 1927 and 2013, involving 42 religious orders that run, or previously ran, schools in the State. The 1970s saw the highest number of incidents.”
“This is an extremely difficult and challenging topic. I feel a huge weight on me to speak on behalf of people who have experienced child sexual abuse in day and boarding schools. I welcome the visitors to the Gallery. As difficult as it is for me, I do not know the words to describe what it must be like for them. It is very important that we discuss this here, that there can never again be silence for what has happened in the past and that we have full justice for survivors or victims. Those two words are interchangeable throughout my contribution. This needs to be realised through a non-adversarial and trauma-informed approach.”
“Deputy Paul Murphy - To discuss plans to assist vaginal mesh survivors. Deputy Paul McAuliffe - To discuss wait times for audiology appointments. Deputy Peadar Tóibín - To discuss the process through which children are taken into State care. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss the need for support with the cost of essential tablets and digital devices in secondary schools. Deputy Gary Gannon - To discuss the delays with new school building for Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire, Dublin 1. Deputy Aidan Farrelly - To discuss temporary school accommodation for St. Farnan's Post Primary School, Prosperous. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore - To discuss funding for cancer support groups in County Wicklow. The matters raised by Deputies Peadar Tóibín, Barry Ward, Shane Moynihan, Gary Gannon and Darren O'Rourke have been selected for discussion.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Catherine Ardagh - To discuss the need for all special schools to accept children at different levels on the autism spectrum. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss the need to improve the design of the entrance to the Rush side of the Rush and Lusk train station. Deputy Shane Moynihan - To discuss online disinformation and the need to promote and resource media literacy initiatives. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the need for updated wind energy development guidelines. Deputy Louise O'Reilly - To discuss social welfare supports for separated parents who co-parent. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the treatment of thalidomide survivors.”
“We have 1,100 child welfare cases remaining unallocated, leaving vulnerable children without help and in silence. I ask the Minister to do everything he can. We will keep talking about this until we never have to talk about it again, not because we are being silent but because it is finished.”
“Men need to be educated that it is out of order to lift their hands and treat women the way that they are doing it. That needs to be called out. Every person working with children needs to have that trauma-informed way of ensuring that they are able to explain to children of both genders why this is out of line. Every agency needs to be able to deal with it, to ask people if they are okay and how they can help. We need men to call it out for other men. This mentality that it is behind doors and all that stuff that I would love to say is old-fashioned is not, because it is still happening. It needs to be called out. In my constituency, 70% of public order and criminal damage incidents in Ballyfermot and Cherry Orchard are linked to domestic violence.”
“In the 1990s, I worked in London at a domestic violence project to support Irish women in my job in a school completion programme. Every single year, we supported children who were growing up in families where domestic violence was an everyday occurrence. My doctoral research found that the number of young people who left school before the leaving certificate was due to violence in the home. I interviewed a number of students at a time. Now, in my constituency, people come in every single week, telling me the dire straits that they are in. For all of my working life, this issue has come up. It is not going away. In fact, it is getting worse. We need to make sure that we are doing everything that we can. It is about providing refuge spaces, but it is also about preventing refuge spaces from ever needing to be used.”
“Students are being prevented from accessing their human right to education. Last night, the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, said there are other education pathways and this is true. As she said, students can do apprenticeships and earn as they learn. However, students should be able to go to college here at whatever level they want and not be prevented because of financial reasons. The cost of groceries is really not helping the situation for families.”
“I said last night in the Chamber that John Dewey said, "Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself." It is a failure if families cannot afford to send their children to university. Education at third level, and not only at primary and secondary levels, is a human right. I will reiterate some of the debate that happened last night because the Minister of State could not be there because of time pressures. The cost of accommodation for students in Ireland is approximately €1,200 per month. In Germany, in a big city such as Berlin, it is €300 to €500. The cost of transport is very high for students here in comparison with other European countries. The cost of the groceries that students also have to buy is at an all-time high.”
“When schoolbook schemes and other such schemes are rolled out, they are very welcome. I want to put on the record that we are constantly told by the Government that we want everything for everyone. We want targeted measures. The roll-out of schoolbooks is universal, whether or not someone is a millionaire. When a scheme is rolled out for everyone, then everyone is included. This includes all parts of education. Unfortunately, the students who were here until very late last night are wondering whether their fees will increase. It is an omnishambles. If families already pay €3,000 more for food than they did last year and now there will be another €1,000 for third level fees, I cannot compute how the Government does not see there is a cost-of-living crisis or how increasing the fees will put pressure on families.”
“In recent days, the Chamber has spoken about the cost of living and how it affects education. To provide the bigger picture of what the cost of living for families is at present, if we look at it through the lens of education, which in my opinion is the foundation for our society, we have voluntary contributions for schools because schools cannot afford to keep the heating on. Parents are not fundraisers, they are taxpayers. We have hot school meals in our schools. I worked in education disadvantage for a very long time. Hot meals in schools came about because children go to school hungry. Yesterday, we heard that families do not have enough food in their homes so parents are reducing their own meal sizes or cutting them out altogether so they can feed their children.”
“It is a public service we need to fund and we need to look at the fact that Finland spends 1.6% of its GDP, Germany spends 1.2% of its GDP and we spend 0.9% of our GDP on tertiary education. We need to address that. There is an issue that has not been discussed here with regard to third level education but the students present and the students around the country are not the ones who need to fund that. It is a public good we need to fund and it needs to be funded centrally.”
“September follows the summer holidays, which is a really expensive time for families. In January, there have been the winter festivities and all that comes with that. It is also the coldest part of the year so the heating will be on, if people can afford it. Knowing whether they will pay that money or not makes a huge impact on families. We need to be really careful that saying things like we can pay by instalment does not suit everybody. That instalment in September will be difficult enough. In January, that instalment will be almost impossible for many families. We need to be really careful. Finally, we need to look at the cost of third level institutes and the funding they get. It is not the responsibility of third level students to fund our universities. That is the job of the Government. That is why we pay taxes.”
“Today, we read a report from Barnardos stating that parents have gone without meals or reduced the size of their meals so they can feed their own children, as any parent would do if they were faced with that absolutely horrific situation, and 12% of respondents said they use a food bank. If students are asked, that percentage is probably higher. I do not know what families can do if they are facing those sort of things. How can they even think about third level? I know there is a SUSI grant but not everybody meets the grant eligibility. People fall through the cracks and we need to make sure we capture them. Raising fees by €1,000 will not help that in any way. I want to address the payment in instalments proposal. It is fine if people have money. There are two flashpoints for families who are budgeting; September and January.”
“Families are spending approximately €3,000 more annually than they were in 2021 on groceries. Grocery prices have increased by 40%. When this affect students, it is another thing they need to worry about. There is then the number of young people and children who are living in consistent poverty. There were 100,000 of them in 2024. According to the Children's Rights Alliance CEO, the cumulative impact of continued rising costs has created a landslide effect for low-income families meaning that ensuring basic necessities, such as nutritious food or a warm home, has become increasingly difficult.”
“The rents are astronomical here in comparison to other countries. Then there are groceries. The fact is 70% of people in Ireland are either extremely or very concerned about the cost of groceries. This includes students. They have to eat as well. They have their households as well. They are not just an extension of their parents and their parents do not do their shopping for them and say, "There you go [son or daughter], off you go." They may not be living in the same county as their parents. We really need to take into consideration that whatever affects us, affects students but it affects them even more because they do not have savings, permanent jobs or permanent contracts and all those things. They are there to study; they are not there to work. Work comes later.”
“In the Nordic countries, tuition is free. There is no student contribution either. Everybody raves about Finland. We want that here. We should copy the things that are going well in other countries and replicate them. We should not look to other models where we have a neoliberal - I do not really like that term - way of looking at education. That is not the model we should follow. The cost of transport for students in Ireland is about €100 per month. For students in Germany, many public universities give a semester pass of between €150 and €350 that covers all the local buses, trams and whatever you are having yourself. Public transport in Finland is €55 to €70 a month. As was mentioned previously, accommodation in my constituency of Dublin South Central is €1,200 a month. If you are in Berlin, it is €300 to €400.”
“It is great if that is a by-product of that but students who are sitting here in this Gallery, sitting at home and working away doing whatever they are doing need to be afforded the ability to enhance their learning and love of learning. You might call me a bit romantic in thinking that our education system should function on the fact we want to learn for the love of learning, we want to enhance ourselves and our society and we want to have the time to explore and the freedom to develop thoughts, hypotheses and time to create and innovate. However, I am afraid the students I meet are not able to do that because they are so busy working and worrying about the fact they cannot afford accommodation, travel and groceries. Students pay a contribution fee that far exceeds other countries. In Germany, that fee is €300 to €700 per year.”
“It has been mentioned previously that when it came to second level education being made free, people were not happy about it then. There was a snobbery around it and it is the same for third level now. That is our thing in 2025. There is snobbery around this or there is an inability or unwillingness to do it. We can do it and we should do it. In an education setting, we often highlight that John Dewey said: “Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life but is life itself.” If we take those words and we look at why we are educating people, it is not to send them into industry or do all of those things.”
“Quality education is essential for achieving sustainable development goals and building peaceful, just and inclusive societies. In order for the right to education to be seen, education systems must be available to all with adequate infrastructure, resources and trained teachers. Education must be accessible to all, without discrimination based on gender, race, religion, socioeconomic status and other factors. Education provided must be relevant, culturally appropriate and of good quality. It must be flexible and able to adapt to the changing needs of individuals and society. I am calling that out just to say it again. We have signed up to this. We must follow this. We must do everything we can to make sure that everybody in this country who wants to have a third level education can get one.”
“That is very welcome but words are one thing. We need action. I did not come in here to lecture the Minister, although I was a lecturer in DCU and as was my educational role previously, I will set some things out. Sometimes in this House, we forget what the rights of young people are. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights explicitly states that everyone has the right to education and that education is crucial for the realisation of human rights, such as the right to participate in society, the right to work and the right to work. Education empowers individuals, helping them to develop their skills and knowledge, and enables them to reach their full potential. Education is a powerful tool for lifting people out of poverty and promoting social equality and gender equality.”
“I know the Minister has said nothing has been decided yet. I know when we were on the radio last week he said that he does not want any student not included in education because there is a financial problem.”
“Gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as an rún seo a thabhairt. For the previous nine days or so, chaos and confusion has reigned. It has been an omnishambles of a will they, will they not? There have been three different proposals as to how putting the student contribution fee up by €1,000 might look. Fees will go up by €1,000, followed by discussions about a two-tiered model and there was then support for families with multiple children in third level. All the while, families are grappling with the thoughts of whether they will be able to afford to send their children to third level in the autumn. Students are just finishing the leaving certificate, enjoying some well-earned relaxation and are still talking about that fear of whether they will be able to accept the course they really want.”
“It is great that there are going to be expansions but I would love the NTA and Irish Rail to make sure Dublin South-Central is not forgotten when it comes to the rail service.”
“It is great that we are future-proofing it, do not get me wrong, but I spent quite a lot of time in Europe where the rail service is excellent, and in a capital city such as Dublin there is no reason for us not to have that here, particularly in Dublin South-Central with so many tourist destinations and people coming to visit. It is really important. We also have a climate crisis at the moment. We really need to make sure that our rail services reach every part of our city thereby removing people from their reliance on the car. For such a short distance coming into the city, Dublin South-Central really should be very reliant on rail, bus and other active travel methods.”
“I represent Dublin South-Central which is a densely populated area. A huge amount of building is going on, particularly in areas like Bluebell, Inchicore, Ballyfermot, Park West and around that area. Our access to rail is actually quite limited. The Luas goes through it but it is constantly jammed. Bus services are being re-evaluated at the moment in terms of BusConnects and people are quite unhappy about that. I love that DART+ is going to come out. Kylemore and Ballyfermot are future-proofed but when I did the research, I realised that will be in 2050. I will be 75 years old then. That a long time off. There are many things that need to happen over the next while.”
“I would love to see primary school children, secondary school children, researchers and third level students using that space to learn more about our history. I would also love to see a place where our historical crafts can be protected and celebrated and where there is space to thrive. Whatever we decide, let us remember that our attractions and historical buildings are for our citizens as well as for the visitors who come here, so let us not commercialise our history but celebrate it.”
“It is a defining moment for the preservation of our history. The GPO is fundamental to our past but it is not a relic. It has huge potential. I am lucky to live in Dublin South-Central, where Deputy Ó Snodaigh also lives and where history and historic buildings are preserved and celebrated. They include the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, Kilmainham Gaol, and St. Patrick's Cathedral. Of course we do not always get it right. I also live in a constituency where Kilmainham Mill has yet to see the preservation and restoration that it so well deserves. We must have a vision about things like this. What I do not want to see is the GPO becoming some sort of a theme park where we have multiple shopping opportunities, like we do in other theme parks around the world. We want to preserve its history by providing learning spaces.”
“To be honest, I do not know the number of children in the system, but it is thousands rather than millions. Every single child in the country counts. We must ensure we give them the best education we can. That includes, for example, the proper allocation of SNAs and initial teacher education. I welcome that there is going to be better initial teacher education, but there also needs to be continuing professional development, CPD, and fully trained therapists in schools to support children. In this country, schools like those for children with mild general learning disabilities are experts at making sure that children progress to the best of their ability and way beyond, because they have got specialist care. It is the same for children who have more complex needs because, when there are experts involved, they will also thrive.”
“The rights of the child provide that educational reforms should prioritise children's well-being and safety, recognising that these are enablers of children's educational progress. This also applies to children with mild general learning disabilities. It is not their fault that the Department of education has not forward planned to make sure there are enough places for children with additional educational needs for this September or any subsequent year. I know the Minister of State wants to have catch-all schools but that is fundamentally a mistake. Those working in the schools also feel that, as do the parents. More and more people are speaking against that now. We must look at the rights of every individual child. We are not talking about millions of people.”
“I welcome some special guests in the Gallery: Debbie O'Neill and her colleagues from a special school in my constituency of Dublin South-Central, Scoil Eoin. It is a school that supports children with mild general learning disabilities. I have been raising the issue of redesignation for some weeks. I plead with the Minister of State to reconsider it. I have raised the alarm here and in the committee. We must check what we are doing with schools. I accept he says the children currently in the school will not be affected, which is great, but children are coming up who will be affected. He said last week at the committee that he would look at it. Perhaps a bit of a pause is needed for us to see where we can go with that. I look forward to hearing more about what exactly that looks like.”
“I refer specifically to the right to an educational assessment for children with special educational needs; consequent development of statutory individual education plans, IEPs; the delivery of a detailed educational service on foot of the IEP, and an independent appeals process. I find it very hard to believe that after 21 years we have still not commenced parts of the Act. How many hundreds and thousands of children and young people have gone through the education system in those 21 years and have not been supported and protected by the Act? Is this perhaps a scandal that we will look back on in decades to come? I hope we are able to rectify that now. We have a responsibility to every single child in this country.”
“In recent months, since the Government was formed, there have been announcements about additional school places for children and young people with additional educational needs, be it in special classes in mainstream schools or in special schools. There have been promises that special education will improve. I know the Minister of State and his officials are trying their best in every way to ensure that happens. This is very welcome. I find it very hard to understand that elements of the EPSEN Act, which was introduced in 2004 - 21 years ago - are not fully commenced.”