Hear, hear.

Sentiment score: 0.00

The way children with disabilities and their families are treated in this State is an absolute disgrace. We are here not just every year, talking about school places and appropriate school places for children with disabilities. We have tabled countless motions on a range of issues from school places to assessments of need to therapies children are being deprived of and are not getting. We do not see any action from Government. Parents are at their wits' end. They are tired, frustrated, angry and they see a broken system and a Government that is simply not fixing it. Worse than that, they feel gaslit when it comes to special classes. They are told to contact their local SENO. They contact the local SENO and get a list of so-called special classes and are told in each and every case that the classes are full or there is no availability. In some cases, they get 14 or 15 refusals. It is heartbreaking for a parent not to know if their child will have the appropriate class come September. I received dozens of emails and phone calls in advance of the debate today, from parents I have dealt with in the past and now unfortunately parents I have not dealt with before. They are coming into a system that they have seen fail so many other children. They are asking me why this is the case. It is not only that their child cannot get access to a special school place. The same children are on waiting lists for assessments of need, where the State is breaking the law in not providing a diagnosis, and waiting lists for therapies. The waiting lists are going nowhere. They are only getting bigger and children are waiting longer. That is the reality of what this Government has done. I do not know if the Ministers know the level of frustration and anger those parents have. They want the best for their child. They want an appropriate school place. They want their child to have the full developmental supports. They say to me that they are battling and battling the system every single day with no support. That is why we are here again today with our motion. We will keep coming back with motions until the Government gets it right and until children and families with disabilities are properly respected.

Sentiment score: -0.09