The Government is sleepwalking children, families and schools into a crisis in September. It surely can see what is coming, yet for whatever reason it continues to fail children with additional needs. Across the State, children are still waiting for appropriate school places. In Waterford, I am in touch with so many parents crippled with worry, deeply angry that they are being forced to fight to secure a basic right to education. Educators are being forced to fight to protect their roles, out on protest to be allowed to continue supporting children. In their own words, I will tell two stories from constituents in Waterford. Sabrina is a mam. She told me her youngest is seven and non-verbal. They have no speech and language therapy. They cannot get equipment because there is no senior therapist to sign it off. They even had to take the HSE and the Department to the High Court just to get a school place. Katie, an SNA, said it is heartbreaking to see children still waiting for placements. She said they are severely understaffed and underpaid. The job is physically, emotionally and mentally demanding. There is no risk pay, even when staff are injured. They support safety, learning, communication and care all at once without the support needed to do it properly. We in Sinn Féin and parents and educators across the State have been warning of this for years but the Government has failed to act. Classes are being redesignated without consultation. Supports are being diluted. Children are being denied access based on need. The Government has failed to plan, failed to invest and failed to deliver. It is a political choice and it has always been a political choice but the Ministers have always made the wrong one. It needs to be reversed now.

Sentiment score: -0.25