There is a huge concern among parents of children with additional needs, autism and disabilities that what is happening now is an undermining of the minimal resourcing that is there already. The truth is we have created an education system that is more exclusionary than it is inclusionary, and we need to create an inclusive education system. In my constituency, Finglas Parochial National School was promised autism classes that were to be delivered by September. It is now not clear if that will happen, although I know the Minister has been out to visit. Similarly, I have been working with a parent for over a year whose child only goes to school for one and a half hours a day. A six-year-old child goes in for one and a half hours a day because the school cannot handle it as it does not have the resources, and the parents are taking the child home. This is a child with autism. We are failing too many children, too many families, too many parents and I am very surprised at the Taoiseach's response to the SNA campaign. What is the Minister's response to the proposed circular from the SNA campaign? I have read it. I do not see what is wrong with it. It is actually excellent if you read through it. It states that the purpose of the SNA role is to enable access to the curriculum for the students, support participation, promote independence, support emotional regulation and facilitate communication and social inclusion. To me, this new circular proposed by the SNA campaign is at the heart of creating an inclusive education, and I ask the Minister to seriously engage with them and to make the changes needed to create a genuinely inclusive education system for all our children.

Sentiment score: 0.14