Louth TD says children with special education needs 'being failed by the State'
Ó Murchú highlights lack of school places and limited availability of July provision
Children who need special education are being failed by the State, particularly with the lack of school places and the limited availability of July provision, Dundalk deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.
Deputy Ó Murchú was speaking during a Sinn Féin motion on special education tabled last week and said there is a “weakness in the system’ if support cannot be provided to those who need it, particular July provision. The Sinn Féin TD said: “We must ensure they are provided with all the benefits from a social and educational perspective and that we do what can be done.
"I know some work has been done in relation to expanding the programme and that SNAs have been able to be involved in providing the programme. We must expand this more. We must ensure we have made contact with all the retired teachers and others who are willing to play a part.”
He said there has been an “abject failure across the board” where TDs have found themselves having to raise specific cases with the minister in the Dáil. He said: “A family contacted me because they believe they have no space in a primary school where they thought they had one previously.
“They are from Dundalk, and are now even looking at schools outside the town. The fact is, though, that there is no room at the inn now for them. Contact has been made with the NCSE, with schools, etc. We are trying to use the baling twine to fix the engine once again, but we really need to find a better way to do this.”
He also raised the issue of the De La Salle College in Dundalk where he had highlighted how there had been concerns that a second autism class would not be opened.
He said: “I welcome that a solution was found. This is down to the principal, the school and the NCSE, but parents did have to go through a considerable amount of anguish and worry beforehand. “There is no shortage of issues we could bring up if we were going to start talking about autism services, etc.
“We had the Families for Reform of CAMHS in with us again. This also shows a failure in regard to the issues that need to be dealt with and that are not being dealt with as regards CAMHS-ID teams, the autism protocol, and the huge amount of work that still needs to be done.”