Sinn Féin TD for Wicklow, John Brady, has said the Government is sleepwalking into the ‘worst ever’ crisis in special education this September.
His comments come as Sinn Féin will bring forward a Dáil motion this week calling for an urgent and fundamental shift in how the state provides for children with additional educational needs.
Deputy Brady said: “We need a new and fairer approach, one that puts the needs of children at the centre.”
Teachta Brady said:
“The Government is heading straight into yet another crisis, in what has become an annual cycle of prolonged dread, anxiety and disappointment for families.
“Last week, I exposed that the State spent €1.769 million, between 2022 and 2024, on legal fights with parents trying to secure school places for their children.
“That is money that should have gone into special classes, SNAs, and proper supports, not court battles against families already at breaking point.
“The state is systematically failing children with additional educational needs.
“Every week, my office is contacted by parents who cannot secure an appropriate school place for their child, particularly those with additional needs, and feel like they have to constantly fight the system to secure what should be a fundamental right.
“There is a chronic shortage of appropriate school places. Some children are being forced to travel long distances, while others have no choice but to stay at home due to the lack of an appropriate place for them, a flagrant breach of their constitutional rights.
“Despite a longer run-in time this year to facilitate planning, we are heading into another calamitous situation. We appear to be in no better position, with potentially hundreds without an appropriate school place this September.
“Sinn Féin has serious concerns about the redesignation of general learning disability schools, the provision of SNAs and the concentration of new special classes almost exclusively in ASD provision, with very few new classes catering for children with mild general learning disabilities or language disorders, which require different educational supports and approaches.
“Instead of ramping up provision, the Government’s approach appears to be one of rationing – whether through the redesignation of Mild General Learning Disability (MGLD) classes or the creation of a new category of ‘inclusive special class’ with higher pupil numbers but no commensurate increase in supports. This is dilution, not inclusion.
“These changes are happening without consultation and without regard for the varying needs of children. The Government has adopted a cut by stealth approach, they have shown little regard for SNAs, teachers and children in the sector and they are sleepwalking into the worst ever crisis in special education this September.
“Sinn Féin is calling for an All‑Party Oireachtas Committee on the Future of Inclusive Education to be established – a ‘Sláintecare Committee for Inclusive Education’.
“This would be a forum to hear from parents, students, SNAs, teachers, therapists, school leaders and advocacy groups – with an aim to propose a clear roadmap for a new and better approach to how we provide inclusive education in Ireland.
“The dire situation we now face in special education is further proof that this Government is out of touch with reality and asleep at the wheel.
“Sinn Féin is demanding action and that children with additional needs’ constitutional rights be vindicated. No child will be left behind.
“We need a new and fairer approach, one that puts the needs of children at the centre.”
ENDS