Govt fails to grasp special education needs – Taoiseach fails to commit funding for September
Govt fails to grasp special education needs - Taoiseach fails to commit funding for September - The Labour Party
- Announce, backlash, retreat, re-announce is no way to make policy
- No commitment from Taoiseach to fund the 600 special classes needed in September
Labour’s education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny TD said Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are playing political football with SNAs and special education.
Speaking during Leaders’ Questions today, Deputy Kenny said the failure of this Government to grasp the importance of special education is causing untold damage to children and their families across the country.
Deputy Kenny will host a public meeting at 4pm today in Buswells with Forsa and SNAs to plot a path forward following the debacle. A protest will take place outside Leinster House at 5pm in support of our SNAs.
Deputy Kenny said:
“Accountability and ownership is important and this Government has failed to own up to the damage it has done to special education in the past number of weeks. The message sent to families and children with special education needs is that this Government does not care about you.
“The Taoiseach stood up in the Dáil today and said the policy of his Government is to increase SNA allocations, yet this is a complete contradiction of the letters received by over 200 schools two weeks ago from the Department of Education.
“The Taoiseach lectured me about SNAs – a waste of breath, and failed to address any of the concerns of parents watching and waiting for clarity from this Government.
“Many questions remain unanswered. Parents across the country are already preparing for the annual battle with the State for access to a special class placement for the coming academic year.
“Speaking in the Dáil today, the Taoiseach could not give me a straight answer about class allocations for the coming academic year.
“600 special classes are needed for the number of applications for the forthcoming school year, yet at present, there is funding for only 400 of these.
“The Taoiseach failed to provide any assurances to families that these classes will be funded. So we are staring down the vista of more protests, more confusion and more challenges for children and their families.
“Why is the Department of Public Expenditure limiting the resources for our schools? Teachers, SNAs, principals across the country are stretching every resource they have to help every child. School communities should not be left to pick up the piece from bad Government policy.
“To stave off political pressure, this Government found €19 million overnight. So was this just penny pinching all along? And can parents be assured that we will not be here in 12 months’ time again?
“There is too much short-termism from Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil when it comes to special education and every time, it is the children at the centre of this who are paying the price. The very minimum this State should be capable of doing is guaranteeing children an appropriate class place.
“We need to eradicate the annual fear, anxiety, worry and concern from parents across the country wondering if they will have access to an appropriate class for they child, if they will have the resources their child needs, if they will have SNA support and if they will have enough SETs. Parents should not have to carry that burden that is coming as a direct result of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil’s failure to take special education seriously.”